As our nation’s housing crisis worsens, Americans want to help.
We donate funds, clothes and toiletries to organizations that work with unhoused people. We hope this lightens their burdens.
Two Staples High School students have given them light — literally.
Last summer, rising senior Shreyas Gorre and sophomore Rohan Sareen were looking for a way to use their engineering skills to help the community.
The teens designed a solar-powered lantern. Incorporating lights, wires, batteries and solar panels, they provide safety and comfort for people living many hours a day in darkness.
But how could 2 teenagers produce solar-powered lanterns?
With a 3D printer, naturally.
Rohan Sareen (left) and Shreyas Gorre, with solar-powered lanterns.
In November, Shreyas and Rohan invited residents to the Westport Library. There, they taught attendees — some of whom had no experience with the MakerSpace — how to assemble the lanterns. In addition to 3D printing, the project included soldering and circuitry.
Shreyas and Rohan know the MakerSpace well. They serve as senior coordinator and technology coordinator, respectively.
In late December — thanks to the Library Makerspace’s Ultimaker S5 and brand-new Bambu P1S 3D printer — the devices were finished.
Eight solar-powered lanterns were distributed to Open Doors, the Norwalk-based nonprofit that provides services to unhoused people.
The volunteers “loved seeing their printed parts turn into something that can truly improve lives,” Rohan says.
“It is incredible to see the work you have done have a real impact on the community,” Shreyas adds.
The 2 friends hope to run this program again this winter, with an updated lantern design and more volunteers. Anyone — of any age — interested in joining the program should email rohanjsareen@gmail.com or shreyasgorre@gmail.com.
Contributions to cover the costs for materials of these lanterns, and help fund similar projects at MakerSpace, are always welcome. Click here to donate.
MORE LIGHT: This is not Shreyas Gorre’s first community-minded venture. Last spring, “06880” profiled his work with Serve2Sustain.
The non-profit workd with local tennis clubs to collect used balls. They’re sent to a facility where machinery separates materials for reuse. They then go to RecycleBalls and Laykold, which supplies tennis courts for events like the US Open. Click here for that story.
SHS never ceases to amaze