With a goal, to sew & donate 10,000 fabric masks to local hospitals in Ontario & New York, Rita Vinieris launches GOFUNDME to secure an additional 20,000 medical grade PPE masks to send directly to the frontline. Canadian bridal & fashion designer Rita Vinieris would typically make final touches to her new collection for Bridal Fashion Week, but instead has made it her team’s mission to help frontline workers feel safe and protected by sewing and donating masks to save lives and combat COVID-19. She’s even expanded those efforts further and launched a GoFundMe campaign to purchase 20,000 PPE medical masks to donate directly to health care workers on the frontline. 100% of all donated funds will go directly to the purchasing of fabric and elastic for production of masks, acquiring as many PPE surgical masks as funds allow, and shipping to Ontario hospitals and neighboring hospitals in the USA. “As a bridal gown designer I would typically be in New York City, this upcoming week, to showcase my Spring 2021 collection at New York Bridal Fashion Week. This is not the case this year. There will be no Spring 2021 collection being shown, there will be no weddings happening, there will be no buzzing of people on our streets. This pandemic has put the entire world on PAUSE.” said Rita Vinieris The Rita Vinieris team has sewn and donated over 1000 masks for donation, with 10,000 expected in the next couple weeks. Rita herself made mask kits to send to team members to sew at home, making this a passion project for the entire brand. Rita Vinieris is also accepting in-kind donations of fabric and elastic to help produce more masks. To donate supplies, please contact: concierge@ritavinieris.com.