Open Works hasn’t strayed from getting their hands dirty during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last spring, the Greenmount makerspace sprang into action when a shortage of personal protective equipment inspired them to launch a 3D print-off of face shields for frontline workers. Now, one year later, they’ve set their sights on another need: providing desks for students learning from home.
“There has been so much emphasis on making sure kids have laptops and internet access,” says founder Will Holman, “but desks weren’t even something I thought about.”
That changed in January, when Open Works sent out a survey to assess the needs of local public schools and community organizations. A key finding was that they were recording high numbers of broken or damaged devices from students who had accidentally dropped their school-issued laptops and tablets while learning from their…