CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – Wearing a face mask for hours on end may not seem like a big deal, but it can be quite the rub.
When Christiansburg resident Matthew Conley found out about this problem, he decided he wanted to help.
“I heard that some people were having their ears rubbed raw from having to wear a mask for an entire shift," Conley said.
He found a design online for mask holders and started advertising on Facebook that he'll 3-D print them for anyone who wants one.
In the first day, he had several hundred requests, including requests for as many as 100.
“This is what it looks like," Conley said, holding up one of the mask holders he printed. "The sides of your mask, so the part that goes behind the ear right there, attaches onto these individual loop holders. What you do is you place it behind your head as such and then you wrap the mask. It takes the strain from being on your ear right here onto the actual unit itself.”
Because of the high demand, he's asking anyone who can to print the devices as well.
He’s set up an email account, nrvearsavers@gmail.com, to help coordinate the effort.
“I feel excellent knowing I’ll be able to help somebody, but at the end of the day all I’m trying to do is give some relief to people who are out there who are doing some serious work that could actually changes peoples lives," said Conley.