Cape Hero: Teacher 3-D Prints 7,000 Masks

MASHPEE, MA — When times are tough, heroes emerge. We all know someone who's making a difference right now as we live through unprecedented times. Here at Patch, we've launched an initiative to help recognize these everyday heroes.

This submission comes from Consuelo Carroll, who nominated a colleague at Masphee High School, Mike Looney. Carroll said she nominated Looney, the school's director of career and technical education, because he used 3-D printers to make and organize others to create more than 7,000 face shields for medical professionals at Cape Cod Healthcare.

"He is a creative thinker who always has the best interests of people at heart, whether it's his students, co-workers or the community," Carroll told Patch.

Looney said the idea came after he received a phone call from a colleague whose mother works for Cape Cod Healthcare. His colleague asked if there was anything he could do to help, so Looney got to work.

Looney used the two 3-D printers at his house and began printing. Then, he brought in some more volunteers to meet the hospitals' needs.

"We started doing some outreach," Looney said. "We got 50 volunteers from people at home who printed the shields. Then they would bring them to my house for me to do the final assembly."

The face shields Looney and other volunteers made were designed to be reusable. Each one has a three-hole punch design which allows users to quickly replace the shields after use.

>> Do YOU have a local hero you would like us to know about? Share their story here.