April 30, 2020
Dan ShapiroOn April 13, I asked Glowforge owners for help. I wanted to launch a massive project to print and deliver 1 million Ear Savers to essential workers who are putting themselves in danger to help keep us safe.
We’re already halfway there.
As of today, Glowforge owners have joined us to print and deliver over 500,000 Ear Savers.
It’s hard for me to imagine half a million people, so let me share a tiny bit about just three of them.
Katrina is a nurse in Seattle, hard at work taking care of people in our community in their time of need. She sent us this pic after getting a delivery for her team, saying “You saved our ears!”
One of the ways that patients are diagnosed is with chest X-rays. This is from Sandy and her team of X-ray technicians, who are wearing masks all day, every day.
Dr. Ruben sent us this photo after getting a shipment of Ear Savers at the hospital.
And there are so many more – they’re in your family, in your neighborhood. Bus drivers in Atlanta, delivery workers in Manhattan, social workers in New Orleans. Multiply any one of those people by 500,000, and you get an idea of the incredible impact we’ve had on the world so far.
The critical challenge is getting the word out. None of this could happen if people like you hadn’t taken a minute to share free Ear Savers with the essential workers in their lives.
Every day I open my email and see more stories of how folks are helping. Here are just a few of the incredible examples of Ear Savers in action:
I’m so grateful for all of the people who’ve already helped us get this far. Together, we’re able to take care of the people who are taking care of us.
If you have a Glowforge or other laser, you can learn more about printing Ear Savers here. And if you and your team need Ear Savers, you can learn more about how to get them here.
Now here’s the amazing thing:
We’ve already heard from 8.5 million people who need Ear Savers.
That would be really scary, honestly, if this community hadn’t already proven itself equal to the challenge.
Thousands of Glowforge owners are already printing thousands of Ear Savers a day. Our community isn’t slowing down; it’s speeding up.
So is the team here at Glowforge. We’re doing everything we can to bring more capacity to make Ear Savers online. That means opening up a new factory line, creating new tooling, and getting to work in service of the wellbeing of the people taking care of us.
Small businesses like ours don’t always get to make a difference. Our company is still not very big, and it’s hard to imagine touching that many lives. To be able to do this, together with the customers who make our business possible, is the most important thing we’ve ever been a part of.
So I’ll be printing Ear Savers with my family. I’ll be telling everyone I know to ask for more. I hope you’ll join us.
Years ago, when we first started dreaming up the product that would become Glowforge, we said lots of things like “this will change the way people get the things they need” and “local problems will be solved by local creators.” Those were just ideas though.
Right now, we are all part of the first large-scale proof that those ideas work.
When we said that Glowforge could change things, could be a force for good, it was only partly right.
It’s the Glowforge community that is a force for good. When traditional supply chains failed, thousands of people across the country stepped up. That’s thousands of communities getting help from down the street instead of across the world. And soon, millions of people getting help from their neighbors.
You can help, too. It’ll only take 30 seconds, I promise.
Just share this post and tag the heroes in your life so they can get their free Ear Savers. With just a couple of clicks, you’ll be helping the people helping us all.
From all of us here at Glowforge, thank you.
— dan
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