Growing up with three siblings on a soybean farm in Caroline County, Kelsey Spicer learned determination from her mother, Peggy — to do anything as well as men or better — and sewing from her grandmother Glenda.
This spring, Spicer, U-fab Interiors’ manager, put both those lessons into overdrive. Spicer and her coworkers have made more than 30,000 masks for VCU Health and Henrico County. Like modern-day Rosie the Riveters, she and her team sewed for three weeks straight either at home or while social distancing in the U-fab warehouse.
Spicer began working part time for U-fab in 2012 while attending Virginia Commonwealth University. She helped with e-commerce, social media and data entry. After graduating in 2014, she became the manager of the Robinson Street store. When U-fab expanded and moved to their new location on Broad Street in the West End, she began managing all customer-facing operations.
“What I try to bring through the door each morning is a calm and positive attitude,” Spicer says. “Over the years, I’ve learned that an even-keeled temperament is crucial to problem-solving.”
Two years ago, U-fab began hosting an annual in-store charity auction for CARITAS, which assists those facing homelessness and addiction. U-fab’s support, along with that of many others, has helped CARITAS prepare for an upcoming move into a new 150,000-square-foot space in South Side, where all of the nonprofit’s programs will be under one roof. U-fab is also assisting with some of the furniture and upholstery in the new space.
“Understanding CARITAS from a different angle has made me want to help even more,” Spicer says.
