Our team of volunteers have collectively made over 26,000 face shields

The global COVID-19 pandemic has left many of the Solent’s front line staff without the required protection to safely carry out the key work they do - helping others in their communities and hospitals.

We started as a group of three volunteers (with two 3D printers) in Portsmouth…within a month our community grew - with volunteer makers, movers, punchers, coordinators and assemblers, all overseen by the The Makers Guild CIC. From the outset, we began our voluntary operations as a stop-gap until the big boys could manage the PPE shortage early on in 2020: a whopping 7+ weeks.

Our volunteers assembled a 3D print & laser cut team who have so far made over 26,000 face shields for doctor’s surgeries, community workers, pharmacists, care homes, food preparation & handling teams, security staff, Hampshire Police and many more, who continue to work tirelessly to keep people safe.

We have used open-source designs and overcome supply issues to get protection to those not covered by front-line PPE supply. Our remixed design allowed for faster production, reducing the print time of each face shield head-mount by half, meaning we could get the critical extra protection to those who needed it most, as quickly as possible.

As a volunteer group we started out with no funding. However due to demand we set up our Facebook and Crowdfunder pages so we could continue to purchase the materials needed to fulfil all requests. We have been truly astounded and blown away by the generosity of both our local community and hard-working, selfless volunteers who worked around the clock to provide much needed PPE for those in most need. 

We have a been proud to be part of a fantastic group of volunteers and support organisations when it mattered most.

Groups: Priory Secondary School, UTC Portsmouth, Ditcham Park School and St Edmund’s Secondary School, Victory Trophies, Mailboxes Etc, Selden Masts Ltd, CooperVision, The Hamble School, Southsea Cycles ...with more contributing teams to add.

Individuals: Michael Buchan, Paul Lawson, Ming Wu,

Sharilyn Arocho, Phil Davies, Miguel Blasco, Henry Marks,

Rich Thoroughgood, Claire Thoroughgood, John Pryde,

Rod LaSel, Jo LaSel, Murray Lane, John Compton,

John Bushby, Andy Langworthy, Mike King, Matthew Brydon,

Darren Ball, Ana Espina, Julia de Klerk, Abi Young,

Katherine Coghlan, Colin John Mills, Martin Pavier,

Richard Walker, James Crook, Lee Setford, Jez Johnston,

Jen Keane, Chris Rich, Eric de Greef, Katie Barrett,

Christopher Parke, Alan Richards, Colin Macey,

Lisa Walker, James Carter, Luke Twigt, Matt Sills,

Will Keeble, Steve Oliver, Marco Curto, Kevin Watkins,

Russell Sykes, Andy C, Sally Barrett, Claire Turner,

Gavin Thompson, Mark Hooper, Alan Richards,

Ashley Budd, Steve Karagozlou, Hannah-Louise Grey,

Abbie Hendry, Malcolm Dent, Liz Breadner, Maureen Breadner,

Xavier Manasse, Seb Bagnall, Sam Hallam, Louise Hallam,

Andrius Bigas, Steve Montgomerie, Alex Wilkinson,

Oscar, Ben Calvert-Lee, John Poole, Simon Homewood,

Jada Fray, Tina, Leigh, Carol Ritchie, George Elmer,

Crispin Summers, Will Hartridge, Jason Melis,

Charlotte Duke, Macie Phipps, Jenny Candy,

Joseph Maphosa, Gabriel Tossi, Duncan Band,

Nick Pratt, Jarrett Mills, Bob Simms,

Matthew Durham, Bertand Malas, Adam Cross,

Dave Western, Max, Jaz, Heather Buchan,

Sarah Malcolm, Adrian Brewer... and many more