Makespace Covid-19 response continues thanks to local sponsors!

We are really pleased to say, thanks to some very generous donations from Arm, TTP and Amazon, our Makespace Covid-19 Response Activities can continue!

In particular, this means we are able to reopen requests for our Makespace Mask Kits!

Background

Whilst Makespace has had to suspend its memberships during the Covid-19 crisis, thanks to the wide network of skills and enthusiasm of the Makespace members, it has been able to re-apply its facilities and volunteer effort to respond very quickly to provide solutions for immediate Covid-19 problems faced by the community.

Makespace Covid-19 Response Activities

In particular, this has been enabled via a very strong engagement with Addenbrooke’s hospital and Makespace members working there.

One of our first projects was collaborating with NHS Addenbrooke’s to design and build emergency PPE for hospitals and frontline workers in the area.

Not only were 5000 Visors produced by volunteers to standards acceptable to NHS Addenbrooke’s, Makespace published the whole design and manufacturing process that was picked up by other companies to take to even higher volumes. These visors have been used in local hospitals and front-line organisations across Cambridge.

More details of this on the ​makespace.org/visor page.

Makespace Mask Kit

The most recent activity has involved the design and production of reusable cloth mask kits for people to make their own masks at home.

These kits are providing people with access to all the different materials and components needed to sew their own reusable, washable barrier face masks.

Each kit has instructions and enough materials to make 5 masks, and is provided for free as a thank you to those makers wanting to do their bit. Response has been amazing and thanks to the sponsorship and working with various suppliers, we’ve been able to secure more raw materials to reopen requests for these kits!

For more details and to request your own kit, see ​makespace.org/mask

For details of these and other Makespace Covid-19 Response Activities, see makespace.org/covid-19

Thank you to our sponsors!

Whilst all the work is being done for free by Makespace volunteers donating their time and skills, all the activities do also have real costs for materials, tools and alike. Given the amazing response for these activities, we found demand for doing them at a scale we hadn’t imagined and we really needed help to cover the costs.

We are incredibly grateful to three companies that stepped up to support our request for assistance in covering the cost of these Makespace Covid-19 Response Activities; Arm, TTP and Amazon. Each have been supporting and undertaking many Covid-19 activities that you can read about on their websites, so we’re proud to be one of them.

This support has made it possible to cover the costs of tools and materials for all the Covid-19 activities Makespace is undertaking, and catalyse the efforts and skills of all the Makespace volunteers.

On behalf of all the volunteers making it possible, and all the people being helped by the results – Thank you!

What is Makespace?

Makespace is a community workshop in Cambridge with equipment ranging from sewing machines and crafting tools to 3D printers, laser cutters and CNC routers. The 4000 sqft space is available 24/7 to its members who use it for commercial and personal activities, and it runs based on the amazing volunteer effort these members put in. Have a look around the makespace.org website for the whole story.

For more details on the Makespace Covid-19 Response Activities, see makespace.org/covid-19

For more details on the Makespace Mask Kits, see makespace.org/mask

For any enquiries, email contact@makespace.org