IRMO, S.C. — Christopher Blake is a 16-year-old sophomore at Dutch Fork High School and currently Senior Patrol Leader of Boy Scout Troop 312 in Irmo.
For his Eagle Scout Project- one of the requirements for obtaining the highest position in the Boy Scouts - he has begun 3D printing personal protective equipment for medical personnel in SC.
Currently he's printing surgical mask extenders, "I’m going to get around 2,000 of these strap extenders for Lexington Medical and I’m working on reaching out to others," Christopher says,
Christopher is also printing reusable masks- which was the start of the project, “There’s an initiative in Charleston, the West Ashely High School robotics team I believe it was, started a call for people with 3D printers to help front their large masks and so that’s how I got involved. I started printing masks for them and then realized I could turn this into an Eagle Scout project.”
Christopher is a STEM student at Dutch Fork and takes Mechatronics at the Center for Advanced Technical Studies in Lexington Richland 5 as well as a part of VEX robotics.
Christopher started Cub Scouts in 2010 in Fort Bragg, NC and started Boy Scouts in 2014 in El Paso, TX. He was active in El Paso, San Antonio and now Irmo after traveling with his father's Army career.
Christopher's father Charles told Street Squad that he saved up himself to buy his 3D printer which is what is being used now to manufacture this equipment
Along with printing them himself - he is also calling anyone who has their own to help him out as well.
“The end goal of all of this is to meet the local need for medical equipment," Christopher says.
Christopher’s project is slated to last one month but says he will continue to 3D print as long as there is a need.
You can help Christopher by donating here or reaching out to him at legomaster244@gmail.com
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