A letter of thanks from Andrew Cuomo, governor of New York, came as a surprise for recent J.N. Burnett grad Sean Uy who was making and shipping out protective wear to health-care workers as COVID-19 was taking a grip on the continent.
Almost six months after he shipped home-made face shields that he’d made using a 3D printer in his Richmond garage to New York City, the letter from Cuomo came expressing his “sincere appreciation” for the face shields “to help keep New Yorkers safe.”
“This experience has taught me so much, but the vast generosity and kindness of people – near and far – is what continues to inspire me,” Cuomo said in his letter. “Thank you again for this extraordinary gesture, and your support. I am forever grateful.”
At the beginning of the pandemic, Uy started making face shields after hearing from family living in the United States that front-line health-care workers were not getting all the PPE they needed.
Uy, who is currently studying aerospace technology at BCIT’s Richmond campus, said he made the shields to fill in a gap as the world was struggling to get enough PPE.
He also made "ear savers" imprinted with the word “hero." These are attachments for masks so that the skin behind the ears doesn't get irritated.
Now, with face shields in full production by big companies, Uy has stepped back from making them and is focusing on school.
But the recent letter from Cuomo reminded him of how far his garage-based project had gone in the early days of the pandemic.
As he shipped out his face shields and ear protectors, photos poured in from across the continent where he had sent them.
“I was very happy to receive those, seeing what I had built and touched here, I’m seeing them being used all over North America,” he said.
While he sent over hundreds of face shields and ear protectors to the U.S., Uy estimates the majority were sent to Canadian facilities, including 300 to the Richmond School District. Others went to Surrey Memorial Hospital, Rosewood Manor in Richmond and Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver.
They were also shipped across Canada to Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan.
