Peterborough PPE Initiative
Donation protected
We are an ad-hoc collective of citizens working together to make Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) products for our community.
Will anyone be able to use the PPE products you’re making?
Yes. We have been in contact with staff at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) and they have confirmed their frontline workers can use a variety of PPE products made by the community. Additionally, we’ve had individual health practitioners and workers in other industries reach out to see if we can help meet their needs as well. We also are aware that several large non-medical manufacturers are working towards producing PPE in their plants and that may meet most of the demand across the country, but there will always be individuals in our community who cannot afford PPE but need it as well.
What are you making?
Our efforts are currently going into producing protective face shields. We are using an open-sourced design published by Prusa Research, a 3D printing company based in Prague, Czech Republic. This design is being used throughout the world by individuals and manufacturers as a safe and functional PPE product. You can learn more about Prusa Research’s design process and the involvement of the Czech Ministry of Health here: https://blog.prusaprinters.org/from-design-to-mass-3d-printing-of-medical-shields-in-three-days/
How are you making the face shields?
We have volunteers throughout the Peterborough and Kawartha region putting their individual skills to use. There are 3 main components needed for each face shield:
Laser Cut Shield: Starting with clear plastic PETG sheets, our volunteers use laser cutters to quickly and accurately cut the shield component
3D Printed Brackets: We currently have 12+ 3D printers running throughout each day creating two hard plastic parts, the first acting like the rim on a pair of glasses and holding the clear plastic in front of the wearer’s face, and the second attaching to the bottom of the clear plastic to help it curve around the wearer’s face to increase protection
Sewn Elastic Band: Using various types of elastic waistband material, our volunteers are cutting and sewing each individual elastic band to ensure our face shields will fit comfortably and reliably for all workers
What will my donation get used for?
While everyone involved is committed to donating their time and the use of personal equipment, none of us can afford the large volume of material required to mass produce PPE products. All donations will go directly to reimbursing individuals who have already paid for materials and go towards purchasing more materials so we can continue production for as long as needed.
In the event that we no longer need to be making PPE products and have unused funds, your donations will go the Peterborough Regional Health Centre Foundation to ensure they have the resources they need to continue keeping our community healthy and safe.
Can I get a charitable receipt for my donation?
Unfortunately no. In Canada, an organization must be a registered charity before they are able to write a charitable receipt. We currently have no plans to pursue becoming a registered charity.
Why aren’t you making other PPE products?
We have seen several communities around the world asking the public to help produce a variety of PPE products, from gowns to hand-sanitizers. Our current commitment to the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) is to supply them with face shields, so 100% of our effort is going towards that. As citizens with a vast array of skills, we feel confident we will be capable of producing other PPE products if we were requested to.
Who is involved?
We would like to thank the following individuals for all of the amazing work they’ve put into this effort:
Sue Armstrong
Kathryn Bahun
Emerance Baker
Steve Blair
Gianne Broughton
Keegan Campbell
Dwayne Collins
Tim Coupland
Nicole Dani
Steve Daniels
Fereydoon Diba
Megan Gamble
Jake Garvey
Joe Grant
Bec Groves
Trent Hedges
Annelie Howes
Dan Kitchen
Graeme Marrs
Don McLaren
Don Murphy
Denton Myland
Jan Myland
Brett Pitchard
Dylan Radcliffe
Xander Robar
Brendan Quigley
Greg Saul
Rob Southcott
Robert Vos
Scott Williamson
We would also like to send special thanks to the following companies and organizations for their ongoing support:
Artspace
B&B Game Designs
Blacks Distillery
Filaments.ca
Harco Enterprises Ltd
Paradigm Pictures
Peterborough Tool Library
Peterborough, Victoria, Northumberland and Clarington Catholic School Board
Stitch & Witch
Trent University Library
Watson & Lou
And finally, on behalf of everyone in our community, thank you to all of the incredible front line workers at the PRHC, helping to make sure we all get through this.
Last updated Apr 12, 2020
Will anyone be able to use the PPE products you’re making?
Yes. We have been in contact with staff at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) and they have confirmed their frontline workers can use a variety of PPE products made by the community. Additionally, we’ve had individual health practitioners and workers in other industries reach out to see if we can help meet their needs as well. We also are aware that several large non-medical manufacturers are working towards producing PPE in their plants and that may meet most of the demand across the country, but there will always be individuals in our community who cannot afford PPE but need it as well.
What are you making?
Our efforts are currently going into producing protective face shields. We are using an open-sourced design published by Prusa Research, a 3D printing company based in Prague, Czech Republic. This design is being used throughout the world by individuals and manufacturers as a safe and functional PPE product. You can learn more about Prusa Research’s design process and the involvement of the Czech Ministry of Health here: https://blog.prusaprinters.org/from-design-to-mass-3d-printing-of-medical-shields-in-three-days/
How are you making the face shields?
We have volunteers throughout the Peterborough and Kawartha region putting their individual skills to use. There are 3 main components needed for each face shield:
Laser Cut Shield: Starting with clear plastic PETG sheets, our volunteers use laser cutters to quickly and accurately cut the shield component
3D Printed Brackets: We currently have 12+ 3D printers running throughout each day creating two hard plastic parts, the first acting like the rim on a pair of glasses and holding the clear plastic in front of the wearer’s face, and the second attaching to the bottom of the clear plastic to help it curve around the wearer’s face to increase protection
Sewn Elastic Band: Using various types of elastic waistband material, our volunteers are cutting and sewing each individual elastic band to ensure our face shields will fit comfortably and reliably for all workers
What will my donation get used for?
While everyone involved is committed to donating their time and the use of personal equipment, none of us can afford the large volume of material required to mass produce PPE products. All donations will go directly to reimbursing individuals who have already paid for materials and go towards purchasing more materials so we can continue production for as long as needed.
In the event that we no longer need to be making PPE products and have unused funds, your donations will go the Peterborough Regional Health Centre Foundation to ensure they have the resources they need to continue keeping our community healthy and safe.
Can I get a charitable receipt for my donation?
Unfortunately no. In Canada, an organization must be a registered charity before they are able to write a charitable receipt. We currently have no plans to pursue becoming a registered charity.
Why aren’t you making other PPE products?
We have seen several communities around the world asking the public to help produce a variety of PPE products, from gowns to hand-sanitizers. Our current commitment to the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) is to supply them with face shields, so 100% of our effort is going towards that. As citizens with a vast array of skills, we feel confident we will be capable of producing other PPE products if we were requested to.
Who is involved?
We would like to thank the following individuals for all of the amazing work they’ve put into this effort:
Sue Armstrong
Kathryn Bahun
Emerance Baker
Steve Blair
Gianne Broughton
Keegan Campbell
Dwayne Collins
Tim Coupland
Nicole Dani
Steve Daniels
Fereydoon Diba
Megan Gamble
Jake Garvey
Joe Grant
Bec Groves
Trent Hedges
Annelie Howes
Dan Kitchen
Graeme Marrs
Don McLaren
Don Murphy
Denton Myland
Jan Myland
Brett Pitchard
Dylan Radcliffe
Xander Robar
Brendan Quigley
Greg Saul
Rob Southcott
Robert Vos
Scott Williamson
We would also like to send special thanks to the following companies and organizations for their ongoing support:
Artspace
B&B Game Designs
Blacks Distillery
Filaments.ca
Harco Enterprises Ltd
Paradigm Pictures
Peterborough Tool Library
Peterborough, Victoria, Northumberland and Clarington Catholic School Board
Stitch & Witch
Trent University Library
Watson & Lou
And finally, on behalf of everyone in our community, thank you to all of the incredible front line workers at the PRHC, helping to make sure we all get through this.
Last updated Apr 12, 2020
Fundraising team: Peterborough PPE Collective (2)
Steve Blair
Organiser
Peterborough, ON
Kathryn Bahun
Team member