Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Students use 3D printers to make supplies
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals, families and businesses in Las Vegas are stepping up to offer relief to people in the community who are in need of food, services and support. Here are stories about people who are leading with kindness and proving the community is #VegasStrong.
Students 3D-print medical masks
When students who use the technology lab at the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Educational Campus in Summerlin learned that hospitals were in need of medical equipment, they asked if they could use the school’s 3D printers.
Faculty determined it wasn’t safe for the students to gather in the lab, so the students offered to take the printers home.
About seven students in eighth through 12th grades are using the printers to produce medical face shields, face mask clips and ventilator valves for Las Vegas hospitals facing severe shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A lot of our students’ parents are doctors,” said Matt Boland, director of marketing and communications for the school. “They’ve been guiding us on what they need and saying they’re out of masks and headbands.
The response has been overwhelming. They want to help.”
The school reached out to local hospitals where officials said their supplies were low and they would take whatever the school could produce, Boland said.
“It’s a huge honor and a blessing to have access to our school’s state of the art tech lab to fight along side medical professionals to defeat this disease and save lives,” said senior Kalman Steinberg.
Noah Gragson to donate proceeds
Noah Gragson, NASCAR Xfinity driver and native Las Vegan, is donating 100 percent of the proceeds from the sales of his merchandise to the United Way Southern Nevada Emergency Assistance and Community Needs Fund to help those most affected by the current COVID-19 crisis.
Gragson will go live on United Way of Southern Nevada’s Facebook page at 12:30 p.m. Monday to announce the details.