The idea was initially presented by his mother, Christine, who had a number of friends working daily on the frontlines.
"I saw it on Facebook, how a kid in Canada was doing it for the Canadian medical workers," Christine said. "I sent it to Tyler and thought he could do this. Without me even knowing he went and started printing them. I started reaching out to every nurse I knew. At that point he started getting more requests] and we started donating them to a lot of different hospitals. We're over 500 now on how many we've donated so far."
Everywhere from their hometown of Merrick, Long Island to all the way up in the Bronx, Tyler began producing mask adjusters with his 3D printer. So far, he has provided adjusters to numerous hospitals, including: Mather Hospital, LIJ Medical Center and additional physical therapy offices.
**COMMUNITY STARS**
**PAST COMMUNITY STARS OF THE WEEK**
[Nominate A Hero!
Westhampton Teens Fundraising
Teen Raises $11K for Crohn's & Colitis
LI Kid Raises $10K for St Jude Hospital
LI Teen Starts Clothing Drive
LI Teen Starts Scholarship
Apparel Shop Starts Food Drive
Cafe Donates Games to Hospitals
Deli Feeds Front Line Workers
Tyler can print up to five at a time at 16-minute intervals with his 3D printer. Prior to being in quarantine, he used his printer for miscellaneous things that interested him or for the occasional part for Robotics Club - although in competition fabricated parts are prohibited - but during a global pandemic, it's been rewarding to see the impact he's personally been able to have.
"I got a few letters and they sent some pictures," Tyler said. "It was nice to see them in use."
While the printer does the majority of the work, Tyler still had to monitor the process. He opted for an efficient approach.
"He actually put a camera on top of his printer so he could watch it from his phone when he was downstairs or something," Christine said with a laugh. "Then, he'd go up and check on them."
Now officially a senior in high school, Tyler's schedule has gotten significantly busier. Simultaneously, the demand has fortunately, slowed as a result of the declining COVID-19 numbers in the area. He still intends to continue printing and giving back to his community, just maybe not in the cadence or volume that it once was.
"There isn't as much demand right now," Tyler said. "Obviously, I'm not going to be home all day and can't be constantly printing them like I was, but if people still need them I will keep making them]."
*Nominated by Islanders Alumnus Steve Webb's Team Up 4 Community Program [www.TeamUp4Community.org*
