Palos Community Hospital

Making Face Shields for Essential Workers

Kids these days…. Kids these days are industrious, civic-minded and generous. Kids these days are healthcare heroes.

Take Muhammad and Aqsa Shaikh of Orland Park. In March, after school closed due to COVID-19, the siblings decided to pour their savings into helping out. They didn’t just make a donation but solicited donations and spent nearly 167 hours and $4,000 to make 1,000 face shields to protect healthcare professionals and essential workers.

“Our father, an essential worker in retail, still goes to work four days a week. We first made him one to wear at work so he would stay protected,” said Aqsa Shaikh, a sophomore at Carl Sandburg High School and volunteer at Palos Community Hospital who’s logged 200 volunteer hours in a year-and-a-half.

“We also have a very strong connection with Palos Community Hospital and felt it was time that we protect these doctors and nurses, along with anyone that might be in need of these,” said Aqsa Shaikh, pictured with her brother.

With school closed, the siblings wanted to keep busy and give back to the community. They also brought the shields to nursing homes and senior living facilities. Essential workers in retail also received their handiwork.

Muhammad Shaikh, a senior at Carl Sandburg High School, figured out the materials needed to make the face shields. He has served over 400 volunteer hours at Palos Community Hospital and was set to receive several awards at the hospital’s volunteer dinner in May, which was canceled due to COVID-19.