STORIES OF IMPACT | Pamela Cooper
CatRock’s Maker-in-Residence Influences Entrepreneurship Among NYC Youth
The CatRock Adventure Maker Space and Design Lab exposes students to new skills that help them become social entrepreneurs. Pamela Cooper, CatRock’s Maker-in-Residence, has been at the heart of the program’s two projects this year: creating a Climate Change Quilt and making environmentally friendly masks.
Pamela was originally hired to help students create a Climate Change Quilt, funded by a Patagonia grant, that would communicate the need for environmental action. But when Patagonia encouraged grantees to repurpose pre-pandemic funds to help curb the disrupting effects of COVID-19, Pamela and the students shifted their focus to making environmentally friendly masks after witnessing loads of disposable masks littering Bronx streets and parks due to the pandemic.
The mask making project enabled Pamela to leverage all of her background to help support the personal development and growth of students. Pamela is not only an expert designer and seamstress, she is also a natural and gifted educator who loves working with the CatRock students. While some students had experience repairing used Patagonia gear in the CatRock Adventure Makerspace and Design Lab at the CatRock Lodge, the mask project was a new endeavor for most students.
“We jumped right in the first day,” recalls Pamela. “I demonstrated the mask making process and then taught the students sewing. Many had never even touched a sewing machine in their lives and now they are cranking out masks by the hundreds.”
“CatRock helps these kids learn new skills and opens the world to them. I think the mask project has taught them that there’s more to life and now they are inspired to become social entrepreneurs.”
Pamela also shared her entrepreneurial spirit with the CatRock students, which comes from her experience as the co-founder of inCare, a New York-based company that makes innovative therapeutic wearables and smart clothing that helps people in need. The company’s garments include the Ease Vest, a smart compression vest that enables users to manage stress and anxiety with the squeeze of a hug.
“The vest senses when you’re feeling stressed or anxious and inflates to hug you through a process called ‘deep pressure touch’ which has been proven to reduce stress indicators such as cortisol and adrenaline,” explains Pamela. “The vest is ideal for people with autism, Asperger’s, and other sensory processing disorders. The vest mimics the calming and peaceful state that occurs when you swaddle an infant.”
inCare also produces high tech masks that are antimicrobial and moisture wicking in addition to featuring breathing technology and reflective materials. The company donates masks to first responders, homeless shelters, and nonprofits. inCare will soon launch a shirt in the same high-tech mask material that features a built-in mask and extended sleeves to protect your hands.
Pamela also helped the students learned that everyone’s journey to social entrepreneurship is unique. Pamela’s path to creating therapeutic wearables started in college. She started out studying painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art, but soon realized she could accomplish more by making functional items, so she transferred to New York’s Parsons School of Design. While at Parsons, Pamela lost a friend to suicide and decided she wanted to help those managing mental health issues.
“I looked into things that could help people heal,” explains Pamela. “I wanted to learn what products could help someone in need when he or she didn’t have doctors or medication.”
Pamela also continues to work with the CatRock students in their mask making endeavors. “CatRock helps these kids learn new skills and opens the world to them. I think the mask project has taught them that there’s more to life and now they are inspired to become social entrepreneurs.”
Together and separately, Pamela and the CatRock mask making teens are both doing their best to improve the lives of others.