Ashfield student's PPE campaign is a huge success

With the nation struggling during the coronavirus crisis, one young man from Ashfield felt compelled to help.
By Katrina Taylor
Published 14th Apr 2020, 12:47 BST
Updated 20th Apr 2020, 17:49 BST

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Jack, from Kirkby, is a Post-16 student at Ashfield School and after being diagnosed with autism at seven years old, has dreams of a career in mechanical engineering.

With his A-Level studies coming to an abrupt end, the 17-year-old initially wanted to help during the pandemic by working in a supermarket, however a number of job applications were unsuccessful.

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Unperturbed, he decided to draw on his engineering knowledge and purchased a 3D printer and supplies to begin making face shields.

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Three of the six 3D printers in actionThree of the six 3D printers in action
Three of the six 3D printers in action

His mum, Michelle, explains how his idea took off overnight:

“He started out with one printer and set up a Gofundme account to get donations for supplies.

“A business contacted us and donated £1,050. We were gobsmacked.”

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The donation, from Fizzy Fun who make bath bombs, allowed Jack to purchase a further five 3D printers, which he has been building this week.

Jack with some of his face shields.Jack with some of his face shields.
Jack with some of his face shields.

Jack has begun making face shields and face mask clips, and has already kitted out his local GP surgery.

Later this week he will be gifting face shields to a local funeral directors, who he discovered were collecting the bodies of coronavirus victims without any personal protective equipment (PPE).

He has even been providing technical support for others wanting to use 3D printers for PPE – the latest support request coming from New York.

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Jack explains his process: “Each printer takes up to eight hours to build before we can start printing, so that is what I have been doing every day.

“I work 12 hours a day and will keep making them until we have enough.”

Michelle speaks proudly of Jack’s plans once the pandemic is over:

“He has already said he doesn’t want this to just stop.

“He is going to donate any remaining money to local community projects, and the 3D printers will go to local schools, and has even said he can offer technical support so the children can learn to use them.

“I’m honestly so proud of my kids – his sister is a student nurse and she’s on the front line too, on her placement.”

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Related topics:PPEAshfield