Topeka business donates ear savers to frontline workers across US

A Topeka couple is using their small business to help frontline workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

Nicholas Koch and Shannon Hayden are the co-founders of 'Live Engraved' -- a local company that makes custom gifts.

They got a new laser machine for their business a month ago.

It came with sheets of acrylic that sparked an idea in the young entrepreneurs minds.

Koch said, "We decided we were going to take those sheets and make 'S Hook Ear Savers' and donate roughly 150 of them to a couple local clinics and hospitals.”

Thanks to the power of social media, 150 quickly turned into much more.

“We posted about it on our Facebook page and friends and family from all over started reaching out to us saying, hey can we donate 50 bucks, 100 bucks, whatever it was and before we knew it, we had close to $800," Koch continued saying, "So, we ordered a bunch of acrylic and went from making 150, to just under 5,000.”

What started as a way to help local hospitals, is now reaching states across the U.S.

Koch said, “We’ve donated to hospitals as far as New York, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Texas, and Minnesota.”

All to solve a problem brought on by COVID-19.

Hayden said, “With the mask, they rest on your ears and if you’re wearing that mask every single day for 8 to 10 hours, it rubs your ears raw.”

Their design takes tension off the ears and can be easily cleaned and reused.

Koch and Hayden said it's the least they can do.

“We don't have the skills to be on the frontlines treating these people and helping out that way, so using the skills that we do have to help them fight the battle helps me sleep better at night," Koch said.

The couple also filled an order for 4,000 ear savers from Frito Lay, for all their frontline workers in the Midwest.

Of the donations, Koch and Hayden still have 1,500. Anyone interested can contact them through

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