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The West Park Healthcare Centre in Toronto is one of seven GAME Checkpoints, a network of partner organizations led by Neil Squire鈥檚 Makers Making Change program that help people with disabilities access adaptive gaming.
At HDR, an architecture and engineering firm with offices across Canada and the world, giving back to the community is an important part of their company culture. So when their Toronto office learned of an opportunity to adapt toys for children with disabilities as part of the #HackingForTheHolidays campaign by Neil Squire鈥檚 Makers Making Change program, they jumped at the opportunity.
To kick off #HackingForTheHolidays 2023, we partnered with HSBC Bank Canada to host a build event on September 18th. HSBC Bank Canada employees from Toronto and Vancouver volunteered their time to adapt 35 toys that will be donated to local hospitals and kids with disabilities.
鈥淲e brainstormed what my needs were and what I鈥檇 like to try out. And the beauty of this is I can try things out without breaking the bank,鈥 Sarah says. 鈥淟iving on a pension limits my ability to experiment with expensive things.鈥
Lea particularly wanted to learn how to better use Dragon Naturally Speaking, a dictation software that allows her to use her voice to control her computer instead of a keyboard and mouse, making computer work much easier on her body.