Not all heroes wear capes! Thanks to some of the Aurora Public Library (APL) staff members and volunteer heroes, face shields were created using Aurora Public Library’s 3D printers for health-care workers in the Fox Valley area. At the Library we continue to seek for innovative ways to serve our community. Although our buildings are closed, we are making sure to put our equipment to good use. Our equipment we typically use for small businesses to create promotional material, cultivate hobbies, and express creativity. It is being re-purposed to support health-care providers.
When Will Wong, director for the Aurora Public Library Foundation, approached the Library about using the 3D printers. It was a no-brainer! Will quickly began to work on face shields and got his Roaring Robotics team involved, as well. The team followed sanitary guidelines along its entire process, including the creation of an initial test batch of 200 face shields. Will worked with health-care providers for approval of the face shields and once approved the 3D printers began running 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Will Wong said, “I own and operate STEM based programs and when it was apparent that there was a shortage of personal protective equipment for our front-line health-care providers, my students and I wanted to help. I reached out to the Aurora Public Library, Naperville Public Library, and other sources, to see if we could use their 3D printers to make face shields. They wanted to help, too, and as of today we have provided more than 350 safety masks and more than 100 N95 shields. We will continue to support hospitals, health-care providers and are now extending our efforts to provide the Aurora Police Department and Aurora Fire Department with safety masks. What are front-line workers are doing is nothing short of a miracle, and we are grateful to be a partner with the Aurora Public Library and others to support them at this unprecedented time.”
A special thank you to those involved for your amazing work. This wouldn’t be possible without the great work of everyone involved, including APL Foundation director, Will Wong, Chasewood Learning, Will Wong’s Robotic Team, Chinmaya Mission Chicago, Mahesh Chandramouli, Dr. Sangita Rangal, Edwards Hospital, Kathy Prince, and Naperville Public Library.
In addition to the face masks created by our 3D printers, APL staff members have been hard at work to create face masks of their own. West Branch Children librarian, Diana Kocunik, has been sewing face masks at home. Diana said, “I am up to 100 with orders for 30 more. I had all the materials and the skills to make them and it took off. I have sent masks to friends and family, coworkers and strangers.” Joining her in the efforts are Laura Gartman from Outreach Services. In addition, Christopher Burkhart, Information Technology Technical Lead, has been putting his 3D printers to work and has created more than 500 face shields!
Wondering how to make a face mask of your own? Join us at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 30 for our Virtual Adult Program where we do a step by step tutorial. Don’t forget, as stated by governor JB Pritzker, “beginning May 1, individuals will be required to wear a face-covering or a mask when in a public place where they can’t maintain a six-foot social distance. Face-coverings will be required in public indoor spaces, such as stores.”
Stay home and stay safe!