John Michael, 18, Kerry

John Michael’s idea for the Open Call to Teenagers is the creation of a community who will make protective face masks, whilst also supporting each other during this difficult time. The ‘workshop’ need not be a physical place, people can make masks safely from their own homes, but John Michael would like the community of people to support each other, in person or online, share their knowledge and learn new skills.

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For example, if there is someone who has sewing experience, they may show others how to use a sewing machine and how to make a mask from a pattern, passing on their knowledge and helping to teach the group a new skill. Working together like this, volunteers would have the support and friendship of a community which they may not have had during government restrictions. 

John Michael is aware of the demand for surgical-grade face masks, and his project aims to alleviate this pressure too by making high quality face masks for the general public. He hopes that producing the masks at a reasonable cost will not only make them affordable, but the community of volunteers will bring together young and old to work together and socialise safely.

Money made would go towards supporting the volunteers who made them, particularly those who may be in financial difficulty as a result of the pandemic, and also to local charities who are doing vital work at this time, for example Kerry Recovery Haven.

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