Burnaby Volunteers Build and Adapt Over 400 Devices at Our First Annual Holiday Hackathon

Reed helping volunteers build devices.

Thank you to everyone who came out and helped us hack over 400 devices — 243 toys and 163 switches — for kids with disabilities at our first annual Holiday Hackathon on November 22nd!

We were blown away by the support from our local community in Burnaby. In all, we had over 230 volunteers at The Amazing Brentwood, many doing their first ever toy hack. And a huge thank you to all of the companies, families, and therapy teams who hacked together and made a difference in their community.

We were also grateful to be joined by Nancy Cameron, the daughter of our founder Bill Cameron, who brought things full circle by adapting a toy herself. (Pictured below with our Director of Innovation, Chad Leaman).

Director of Innovation Chad Leaman with Nancy Cameron, daughter of Bill Cameron.

All of the toys from the event will be donated to families and clinicians across Canada, as part of our Hacking for the Holidays campaign.

Of course, there’s still time to donate to our Hacking for the Holidays campaign. Every dollar makes a difference as we aim to raise $125,000 and deliver 2,000 toys to kids with disabilities across the country.

Two RBC employees hack together at the Hackathon.
A woman wearing a Neil Squire toque adapts a toy.
Justin with a man and a youth who had adapted a toy.
Three young girls work on a toy.
RBC employees show off the toys they are working on.
Carey and her daughter Evie, who received toys from Hacking for the Holidays, are interviewed by Grant Hardy on AMI.
Kristina and Didi from the MMC behind the desk.
A boy smiles as he works on a toy.
A man wearing safety talks with his fellow toy hackers.
A woman smiles as she works on a toy.
A man shows off the toy he is working on.