OPERATION FACESHIELD

Help us make DIY medical face-shields for health workers battling COVID-19.


• How to make a DIY Faceshield

• Funding Operation Faceshield

• Other ways you can help

 

 


DONATIONS AND SUPPORT:

We are so grateful for your support of Operation Faceshield. As of now, thanks to your generous donations, we have met our immediate fundraising goal, and we now have enough mylar, foam, and other materials on order to produce nearly 2000 Faceshields over the next few weeks! As other artists, makers, and fabricators nationwide have started making their own faceshields (using ours or others' designs), supplies of basic materials are running low, so we want to ensure we buy only what we need to make our production goals, leaving enough for others to meet their local needs.

Although we now have sufficient resources to continue making faceshields, if you still wish to donate to support Processional Arts Workshop and our larger mission as an community arts organization, we welcome your donations. The pandemic has essentially negated our 2020 season of public workshops and performances, and our programming revenue has been reduced to almost zero. Your donations will help keep the lights on until public art events can once again take to the streets, more needed than ever before.

Processional Arts Workshop, Inc. is a registered non-profit organization under section 501(c)(3). Donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Click on the Donate Button below to access our secure Paypal server.

We also strongly encurage those who wish to donate to seek out other organizations coping directly or indirectly with the impact of COVIS-19. Here are just a few...

GiveDirectly.org
Direct cash relief to vulnerable families already under economic strain, for whom COVID-19's economic and health impacts are a compounded catastrophe.

International Medical Corps
First responders to the Congo Ebola epidemic in 2014, now bringing rapid deployment medical expertise to urban centers of the pandemic.

Artist Relief Project
An inititive to help artists musicians, and performers impacted by COVID-19.

 


HOW TO MAKE A DIY MEDICAL FACE SHIELD:

Scroll down for instructions and supply list....

Here's a downloadable PDF version of the info below.

DISCLAIMER: This is a makeshift emergency alternative for health workers and other at-risk workers who cannot otherwise obtain proper medical equipment. It is the best we could come up with limited resources, but it does NOT meet any medical, OSHA, or other standards, and we make no guarantee of protection from any pathogens or other hazards.  It is purely a “better-than-nothing” option for those who choose to use it.

Questions? Suggestions? Requests? Contact us at processionalarts@gmail.com

MATERIALS:
• Dual-temp or low temp hot glue gun and sticks.
EVA foam (2mm thick, minimum 28” on a side). You can also experiment with various other sturdy headband materials, but I like EVA because it glues well, cuts precisely, and stretches a little to fit. You can order EVA on Ebay, Amazon, or Canal Rubber in NYC (or chop up an old yoga mat!)
Velcro: 1” wide. The adhesive back stuff is not helpful, but won’t hurt if you glue/staple it anyway.
Foam rubber: min. 1” thick (cut to 1.25” strips). JoAnn fabric and Uline sell polyurethane foam. Dark colors are preferable to white.
5 mil Mylar Film (a.k.a Duralar). Can also use acetate transparency sheets, or equivalent sturdy material. You can get this in rolls from Amazon or Ebay.
Stapler, preferably staple-pliers (such as P22 heavy duty stapler with 5/16” staples

INSTRUCTIONS: First WASH YOUR HANDS!!!!
1. Prep Headband strips: Cut EVA foam strips about 29 ½“ long x 1 ¼“ wide. (Amazon sheets are 59”, so half = 29 ½ “ but anything 28-30" is OK)
2. Attach Velcro tabs: Hot glue a 2” tab of hook Velcro on left side (inset about 1/4” from edge). Staple edges of Velcro to reinforce. Turn strip upside down. Hot glue and staple (edges) a 5” x 1” strip of loop Velcro (fuzzy) all the way to the right.
3. Prep Transparent shield: Cut 5mil mylar pieces 11 1/2” x 9 1/2” (if you don’t have Mylar, a simple letter-sized acetate sheet will work, but doesn’t offer as much coverage or rigidity as the Mylar). Turn the sheet to landscape orientation and round the bottom edges (so they don’t snag on gowns, equipment, etc)
4. Prep Foam Padding: Cut foam rubber into strips 1” thick x 10” long. These will provide soft spacing between the forehead/nose and the shield.
5. Glue & staple Mylar (landscape format) onto EVA foam strip, flush with top of strip and centered on strip (9" in from each side). PRO TIP: mark up a paper layout to work on top of, so you don’t have to measure every time.
6. Hot glue foam padding onto mylar (REMEMBER: Use dual-temp glue gun on LOW SETTING for this step!). Center on mylar. Use ample glue and make sure to give it time to cool completely before moving (hot glue takes longer on insulating materials). if possible use a heavy ruler or other straight edge to apply pressure briefly.
7. Remove hot glue strands, dust, etc. Clean mylar with a cotton cloth and alcohol solution (or windex, if alcohol is unavailable).

 

 


OTHER WAYS YOU CAN HELP:

Pre-fab some parts
If you want to help make faceshield, but don't have the tools ot space to do the whole process, you can still help by pre-fabricating one part of the mask. Cut the Velcro tabs, or the EVA foam strips at home, then send us the parts ready to assemble! Every minute saved gets faceshields to the workers on the front lines sooner. We can tell you where to get materials and what the specs are. Contact us at processionalarts@gmail.com

Donate materials:
Got a roll of mylar lying around? Or a some old velcro? Send it to us. Contact us at processionalarts@gmail.com

Get others involved: Tell us if you know any makers set up to make faceshields. We can offer guidance and direct them to needy hospitals.

 


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