PPE is big news. In responding to the needs of our national healthcare workers, a community of Liverpool volunteers have joined forces to produce effective, low-cost visors to help protect those on the frontline fighting Covid-19.
The newly established group DoES Liverpool Visors launched a GoFundMe campaign in early April, to kick start their production process. In a short space of time, they were overwhelmed by donations.
Tom Darlow, technical project lead said:
“We’ve been blown away by the generosity of our supporters who raised £10,000 in 48 hours. Everyone is facing difficult financial situations right now because of coronavirus and many people are unclear about where their money will come from. It was lovely to see people from Liverpool, Manchester and the North West more broadly put their hand in their pocket and give money. We were really, really chuffed.”
The team, which now comprises 25 people, are working around the clock to get this important protective equipment out to those who need it most. By using on-site laser cutters, 900 units can be produced per day, that’s one visor created in less than 2 minutes.
As orders rapidly mount Tom goes on to say:
“We want to get more visors into the hands of those in critical need. We’re asking businesses and individuals to continue donating to our campaign so we can accelerate production. Every donation, no matter how small, helps us deliver visors to healthcare workers in need.”
DoES PPE are also in need of materials and volunteers to continue their fast-paced production and is enlisting the help of others:
“A huge challenge is sourcing the materials needed to produce the laser cut and 3D printed visors. If there are businesses out there who have any PETG, elastic strips and polypropylene sheets to donate, then get in touch with us.
“Likewise, we’re actively looking for people with 3D printing or laser cutting capabilities, to join our community and help us fulfil the orders we’re receiving every day. If you’re not technical, we’re also looking for volunteers in a number of support roles including finance, comms, PR, and project management.”
It’s heart-warming to hear how out of a crisis a group of like-minded people can come together to share their skills and knowledge to create something so desperately needed. The laser-cut polypropylene visors have been ordered by hospitals and GP surgeries far and wide including Aintree Hospital, Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRi), Liverpool Royal, Walton Hospital, and East Lancashire Hospital.
Head over to visors.doesliverpool.com if you would like to find out more and offer your support.
You can also find out more about DoES Liverpool BBC Radio Merseyside (tune in at 2:30:56), Heart Radio and Heart NW News.
