Chesco Teen Makes, Donates 1000 Face Shields To Coronavirus Fight

CHESTER COUNTY, PA — As the coronavirus outbreak continues, local residents are stepping up in a big way to support first responders, healthcare workers, and their neighbors.

Among them is a Chester County teenager who has created his own highly productive method for efficeintly making face masks. And it's paid off in a big way.

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Gobind Singh, a 16-year-old student at Downingtown STEM, filled his basement up with new masks in a short period of time.

"With the outbreak of COVID-19, I have been trying to find ways to protect and help my community," Gobind said. "Through a simple design, I was able to locally mass produce 450 homemade face shields in one day at 30 cents a shield, alone, for hospitals and nursery homes."

And he didn't stop at 450: as of Wednesday, Gobind had made and donated 1,050 of the shields.

The shields are made with a few simple supplies: binder protectors for the shield itself, which are then attached to industrial headbands. "The design is cheap, reusable and cleanable, and effective," he said.

Gobind quoted Muhammad Ali's "service is the rent we pay to live on Earth," and added that he hoped the simplicity of the design, as well as the success of his project, would be an inspiration to others.

"I hope it will spark passion and drive in the youth of our community and motivate all students to take initiative."