From Toys To Protective Gear: How One Virgina Teen Is Giving Back Amid COVID-19

Charles Randolph, 13 year of Virginia’s Fall Church, is using his parent’s 3D printer to create facemasks for his community and medical officials instead of toys.

Randolph explains that he usually uses the 3-D printer to print small toys.

“This is the first real, useful thing I’ve made.” he tells WJLA-TV. But, this was not a time to create toys.

Randolph says he’s been following COVID-19 and the effects it’s having on the world. Once he discovered it affects people with pre-existing conditions he was moved to give back anyway he could. “I saw in the news that high-risk patients (like my Uncle), people with existing diseases like heart problems and asthma, I thought that would help him,” he said.

Randolph’s Uncle needs a heart transplant which makes him a high risk candidate to contract a severe case of coronavirus.

At first he wasn’t sure how he’d help his uncle. He says he pondered over what the world needs most. Following the pandemic there has been a shortage of protective gear such as face masks. That’s when he got the idea to use his parents 3D printer to create a mask for his uncle.

It takes Randolph 90 minutes and $1 to create each mask. He is looking to expand his productions and for more places where he can donate these masks.

Since then he has been using his parent’s 3-D printer to create more face masks to help others during this pandemic. “…I feel pretty good about this. I’m just waiting for another idea to pop up in my head.”