Scout makes masks for school district

RIDGEFIELD — One Ridgefield High School student had been working toward becoming an Eagle Scout for years. Gavin Gannon’s final project was something he couldn’t have foreseen: sewing hundreds of masks for the Ridgefield School District. Although Ridgefield School District plans to start this coming year with online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is also planning ahead for when schools can safely reopen. Gannon, 15, a member of Troop 320, saw an opportunity to help faculty and students when that does happen. “I chose masks for my project to help (the district) be a safer environment for when schools are reopened,” he said. “It’s to help keep the community safe.” Gannon had no experience with sewing and started by finding a mask pattern and buying fabrics. His grandmother and mother showed him how to cut patterns and sew two-layer reversible masks. “It was a long process of cutting, sewing the masks together, and attaching the other bits,” he said in a news release. “It was fun, actually.” Starting the project in late June, he finished it in about a month. He also produced more masks than he originally thought. “We started at 200 (masks) and it went to 600, so it tripled,” he said.