Rutter started fabricating the face shields in March when a Brooksville writer named Jill Day decided to make them at home. She turned to Haystack for help cutting the plastic, thus jumpstarting what Haystack now calls the COVID-19 PPE Project.
Rutter thought he’d be making face shields through the summer, but now it looks as if the project will go on indefinitely, he said. It has had financial help from the Maine Community Foundation and various local donors. Someone who orders five face shields might give them $20, Rutter said. Haystack employs the students.
From face shields the project expanded to ear savers, adjustable hooks used behind the head to hold the elastic straps on face masks that otherwise cause discomfort. Rutter is also looking into making child-sized face shields and possibly desk shields for classrooms.