Showing Heart

By Patrick Bohn, May 21, 2020

The Ithaca College print shop is earning recognition for PPE production.

Jeff Golden helped deliver personal protective equipment to Longview.

(Photo submitted)

In the nearly two months since Jeff Golden, director of general services at Ithaca College, and employees in the Ithaca College print shop began using college equipment and materials to produce personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks and face shields for the Ithaca community, they’ve shipped approximately 6,500 face shields and 20,000 masks.

They’re not doing it for recognition, but that hasn’t stopped it from coming.

Visions Federal Credit Union, based out of Rochester, awarded Golden and his team their “Heart of a Hero” spotlight. The program highlights individuals and businesses who are giving back to help those in their community.

“This award means a great deal to me, because it recognizes just how much time, effort, sacrifice, and creativity our team has poured into it to bring it to life.”

Jeff Golden, director of general services

“We knew Jeff was hero material,” said Tim Strong, Vision’s Community Development Manager. “The innovative thinking he exhibited and his desire to contribute to his community while keeping his staff employed is something we all should strive for.”

The award comes with a $500 stipend, but it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Golden and his crew aren’t keeping the money. Instead, they chose to use that money to produce 1,000 protective masks and 200 face shields towards a shipment of PPE for Longview, an active retirement and assisted living community in Ithaca that the college has had a longstanding relationship with. That shipment was delivered on May 20. Visions, in turn, donated an additional $1,500 so 2,000 protective masks and 400 face shields could be produced for Visiting Nurse Service of Ithaca and Tompkins County.

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Working with community partners and serving a public good are two of the tenets of the college’s strategic plan, and they are embodied by the work Golden and his crew are doing.

“This award means a great deal to me, because it recognizes just how much time, effort, sacrifice, and creativity our team has poured into it to bring it to life,” Golden said. “None of the staff members involved in this project came to IC to make PPE for a living. Wearing a mask, working an assembly line, and filling out production logs all day isn't in anyone's job description, but they have all done so every day since this all started without complaint, and for that I am incredibly grateful to — and proud of — all of them.”

“Anything I can do to help our students, I’m always on board. It feels great to know we’re doing something in these challenging times. It shows that the college cares.”

Brad Buchanan, associate director of recreational sports

Hierald Osorto, director of religious and spiritual life, helped deliver PPE to IC students currently living off-campus. (Photo submitted)

Over the past month, the shop has shifted focus slightly, and begun printing masks for the campus community. On April 20, a group of Ithaca College staff members delivered masks to 90 IC students who were living off-campus. Brad Buchanan, associate director of recreational sports, helped with the delivery.

“Anything I can do to help our students, I’m always on board,” he said. “It feels great to know we’re doing something in these challenging times. It shows that the college cares.”

The print shop is also planning to build up a stockpile of masks, and working with the Office of Residential Life, to provide to students and their families when they return to campus to retrieve their belongings.

Although the target audience has moved for Golden and his team, their overall goal remains the same.

“Everyone here appreciates that what they are working on is going out to make a difference, and it’s a thing worth doing,” he said.