Join or Start a Chapter!

What is a Makers Making Change Chapter Leader?

Chapter Leaders are passionate volunteers, community connectors and leaders. These amazing people are the backbone of Neil Squire’s Makers Making Change program. A Chapter Leader volunteers their time and skills to pair makers with people with disabilities. This matchmaking allows makers to use their skills to help those with disabilities to assistive technology needed in to live more independently. Makers Making Change currently has 20 chapters in Canada and the US (and 32 Chapter Leaders). Our goal is to have a chapter in every province, state, and territory in Canada and the U.S. by 2030!

Volunteers at a toy hack.

Above: Bellingham Chapter Leader Mary Elliot (center right) at Holiday Toy Hack Event in Bellingham Washington. Hosted at the Invent Co-working space in December 2019.

How Does the Chapter Program Work?

A Chapter Leader’s goal is to connect makers to people with disabilities in their area and encourage sign up on the www.makersmakingchange.com. The website host a library of open source assistive device design files, and a forum to collaborate, troubleshoot and learn. In addition to this, Chapter Leaders bring together community to host fun events like buildathons(yes, even virtually!) They also host webinars, and perform outreach in order to build critical partnerships. Disability partnerships include local organizations for specific disabilities, rehabilitation hospitals, occupational therapy programs, care homes, as well as government and state departments. Chapter Leaders connect these groups with makers in makerspaces, university engineering and design programs, as well as local tech and telecommunications companies.

Why is the Chapters Program Needed?

The Canadian Survey on Disability in 2012 showed that over 80{039027a8d5ea1dbe724edad0fccf57f8ce2cb2ddf838a89881538f69f8f20e70} of people living with a disability use an aid or assistive device. Those who uses assistive devices use them on a daily basis to increase their independence. However, the cost of assistive technology is very high, and those without insurance may not be able to acquire the assistive devices they need. In some cases, even those with insurance may not be able to be funded for the devices they need. This lack of access to affordable assistive technologies further isolates and marginalizes people with disabilities and limits their full inclusion. Chapter Leaders see this barrier and want to help be part of the solution.

A Lip Sync attached to a gaming controller.

LipSync Gamestik is an open source sip and puff mouse that allows people with limited movement in their hands to play video games.

Who Can Be a Chapter Leader?

Disability Professionals

Chapter Leaders are disability professionals who want to innovative the way we deliver assistive technology. These dedicated professionals see gaps in our current systems and take action to create change.

Head shot of a volunteer. Sip and puff mask.

An image of the parts for a Sip and Puff mask.

Above left: Kristen Webber Makers Making Change Chapter Leader for Atlanta Georgia. Center photo: A client of the Shepherd Center demonstrating a Sip and Puff Mask. Far right: samples of various Sip and Puff Mask adaptations

Meet Kristen Webber, an Occupational Therapist for the Spinal Cord Rehabilitation program at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Kristen came across Makers Making Change when researching adaptive gaming and started a chapter out of her workplace.

When the COVID pandemic hit, Kristen came up with an innovative way to help her patients stay safe while enabling them to use their sip and puff assistive tech. Using her OT super skills, she invented the Sip and Puff Mask. Together with her fellow staff members, Kristen organized a socially distanced event to build these modified masks for clients. Simultaneously, Kristen also broadcasted the event virtually, and invited other spinal cord rehabilitation hospitals to participate. A video, step by step instructions, and materials lists for the Sip and Puff Mask project can be found in our open source assistive device library.

Makers

Makers are creative passionate inventors, designers, engineers and tinkerers. They like to use their skills and knowledge to make an impact in their community.

A volunteer holding an award.

Ryan Hall participants making assistive devices on a table.

Above left: Winchester Chapter Leader Ryan Hall hold holds an award Valley Makers Association received for their Makers Making Change from the Shenandoah Valley Tech Council for Community Impact.

Above right: Participants build access switches for people with disabilities at Winchester's Firefly café.

Ryan Hall (above left) is the President of Valley Makers Association and a Makers Making Change Chapter Leader in Winchester Virginia. Ryan's wife Molly, an Occupational Therapist, drew his awareness to how makers can help people with disabilities. Together with members of his makerspace, Ryan started creating adaptations using 3D modelling and 3D printing. By using these maker technologies Ryan was able to create custom assistive technology for Molly’s workplace affordably. Soon, Ryan started hosting presentations about Makers Making Change and open source assistive technology to students in the Occupational Therapy program at Shenendoah University.

In Dec 2019, Ryan engaged members of his makerspace and community to create switches from our Assistive Device Library. The event was hosted at Firefly Café, a workplace that employs and trains people with disabilities through NW Works. Over 2 hours, participants followed simple step by step instructions from the Makers Making Change website to build their switches. At the end of night, the Access Switch Buildathon event was a big success! Altogether, 20 switches were built by volunteer makers. Switches created at the event were donated to Valley Health Pediatrics.

Educators

Educators care deeply about engaging their students in real life applications of design thinking through career education. These days, makerspaces are found in many schools, universities and libraries. This means students and teachers can use these tools, as well as their skills and knowledge to help their communities thrive. Brian Campbell is a District Principal and Career Educator in Fort Saint John, British Columbia. When Brian learned about Makers Making Change, he stepped up to start a chapter in School District #60. As part of this school-based chapter, Keith joined Brian to host a switch buildathon event and engaged teachers and administrators in his district to create a Makers Making Change grade 12 BAA approved course curriculum.

In Jan 2021, teacher Jennifer Andrews plans to run the first pilot of this new course with help of funding from Shell Canada. Learn more about our educational resources here.

Makers Making Change and Neil Squire Society at a booth.

Peace River North volunteer makers.

Left photo: Keith MacGillivray, district Principal of Student Support/Special Needs and Brian Campbell District Principal of Career/International Education pose with their Makers Making Change swag at their first switch buildathon event.

Right photo: Student and teachers pose with their switches.