A coalition of individual hobbyists and 3D-printer owners all around the United States and the world, Makers for COVID-19 is producing PPE for hospitals and health care workers. To date, the coalition has 3D-printed and donated 82,000 units of PPE to medical workers in 30 States and across 8 countries.
The founder of Makers for COVID-19 is Karina Popovich, an undergraduate student at Cornell University’s Dyson School of Business pursuing a career at the intersection of entrepreneurship, technology, and social impact. After school closed in the spring, Karina went back home to Brooklyn with three 3D printers and began researching the problems caused by the pandemic and collaborating with other makers. She was honored by Entrepreneurship at Cornell and the Clinton Global Initiative University COVID-19 Response Award for her work.
Date recorded: October 15, 2020 @ 4pm PT / 7pm ET
Karina joins Dale Dougherty of Make: Community and Dorothy Jones- Davis of Nation Of Makers on Plan C Live this week along with several high school and college students who serve as Ambassadors in Makers for COVID-19.
Also joining us from the Makers for Covid-19 coalition:
- Jonathan Gao is a freshman Yalow Honors Scholar at CUNY Hunter College, where I am pursuing a degree in chemistry. Over the past several months, I’ve been glad to volunteer to print and donate nearly three thousand face shields and ear savers to healthcare workers on the frontline. Additionally, with the support of alumni from Brooklyn Technical High School, I founded my own COVID-19 relief fundraiser which raised $2500 in several days. When I’m not working, you’ll probably find me playing the guitar or listening to music loudly over my headphones.
- Marieross Navarro began to sew fabric masks and donate them to community organizations in NYC when prices of PPE rose and supplies became limited. She started “The Free Mask Project” as she believed safety should not have a price tag. Now, Marie leads the Makers for Covid: Fabric Mask Track. Through this track, she hopes to help other sewists who are (or want to start) producing masks for their own communities.
- Molly Teece is a senior Plastics Engineering major at UMass Lowell and co-president/founder of UML3D, a university club that focuses on empowering makers by exploring 3D printing technology and is currently producing and donating face shields to local essential workers.
- John H. Ng is a sophomore studying Civil Engineering at The City College of New York. He has a diverse background in STEM and urban affairs. He worked with NYPIRG as an advocate for better mass transit, as a metal fabricator at Studio 40 Inc., and participated in the Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 ACE Mentorship Program. He believes in giving back to the community and is currently manufacturing and distributing PPE. He also volunteers as a photographer for Open House New York, a cadet in Civil Air Patrol, and a mentor for FTC Robotics Team #14405.
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