Heritage Florida Jewish News - Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

Even though his bar mitzvah isn't until October, Mason Moses, son of Andrew and Wendi Moses of Orlando, Fla., has been working hard on his Bar Mitzvah Project - ear savers to use with facemasks.

Just what are ear savers?

"Ear savers are little things that you put on the back of your ears to relieve the pressure behind your ears when you wear a mask," Mason explained.

"We could not be more proud of all of his time, dedication and hard work. He has been busy printing ear savers for doctors, nurses and healthcare workers," said Wendi.

Thanks to support from his former STEM teacher, Jessica Krell at Baldwin Park Elementary, and John Taylor, who donated the use of his 3D printers, filament and his time, Mason has already delivered 400 ear savers to Arnold Palmer, the VA Hospital-Lake Nona, Orlando Health Hospital, Orlando Health & Rehab, Nemours Children's Hospital, Tri PT, Lake Mary Pediatrics, Guidewell Emergency Doctors, AdventHealth, CVS home infusion, A Well-Healed Foot, Miller & Korn Periodontics and Implant Solutions, and Martin Orthodontics.

Mason has fulfilled orders locally as well as shipped to doctors and healthcare workers in Tampa, Georgia, North Carolina and South Florida. 

Many people have offered to pay him, but he will not take the money. He loves helping others and feels very strongly about donating them for free.

He came up with the idea when he saw people making things with their 3D printers to be helpful and he wanted to use his 3D printer to make a difference. 

Mason started off printing 3D masks on his home 3D printer, but after weeks of printing and a lot of research, he learned that they were not very effective. He didn't want to give doctors or nurses a false sense of security and decided to make a difference in another way. He began researching other opportunities and found the ear savers. He worked hard on perfecting the model.

This is how ear savers work.

Mason shared the process, which is time consuming: "First, I had to make the file... I download my file to an SD card and I print each one separately. Each ear saver takes about 45 minutes to print and my printer needs about 10 minutes to cool down before I can remove the print."

"He has been very particular with his prints and only feels comfortable donating prints that came out perfect. He has had many failed printing attempts, but has never given up," said Wendi.

Mason is still looking for anyone who has access to a 3D printer to help out.

If you are in the healthcare industry in the Orlando area and are interested in receiving Mason's ear savers, email the Heritage at news@orlandoheritage.com or call at 407-834-8787. Please include your name and contact phone number or email and the information will be passed on to Mason.

Mason will celebrate his bar mitzvah at Congregation Ohev Shalom on Oct. 24, 2020.