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Canavan Group Making Masks
April 13, 2020 - Kim Delker
![kits assembly](kits-assembly.jpg)
Heather Canavan, a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, is taking the University’s “distance learning” model in a literal direction. When UNM announced that it would go on extended break, and then change its instructional model to a remote one, Canavan moved her lab operations to her garage. From her home office, Canavan and her team can view the face shields and masks for healthcare workers being printed in her garage to minimize the number of people in the same area. She’s also distributed the materials and equipment needed to sew fabric masks for non-healthcare workers in our community.
![kits ready](kits-ready.jpg)
“Right now, we’re seeing so many people who want to contribute, they want to help, they want to show support for our essential workers,” she said. “They are learning how to sew, how to make hand sanitizer, and how to make personal protective equipment. But we need to make sure that they’re able to comply with the ‘stay at home’ order and continue social distancing.”
ScrubHub will provide stipends for volunteers who operate the printers, courier the materials necessary to make PPE, and distribute the PPE to those who need it, just like delivery companies such as Grub Hub and Uber Eats.
![finished](finished.jpg)
Canavan has donated equipment from her own laboratory and has created a Go Fund Me account to pay the volunteers. ScrubHub ABQ was recently awarded $7,500 from the 2020 Pitch In Social Enterprise Challenge.
“Everything that is donated will go directly to supporting our community—we’re not going to take a dime. I know it’s a terrible business model, but it’s what we need to do,” she said.