Earlier this year, we were blessed by an amazing organization who asked if they could help raise funds to support the e-NABLE Community…by asking people to run or walk or dance their way to 5K worth of foot shuffling, body wiggling, exercising goodness to help make a difference in the lives of other people while also making a difference in their own health and wellness.
Wherever they were in the world and whatever time zone they were in (and maybe cross the border and run in two time zones and time travel?) didn’t matter. They just asked people to sign up to run, walk, slither, shake, hip-hop, silly walk or propel their bodies forward in such a way that they moved it far enough to earn a shiny amazing medal and help them raise money for e-NABLE.
Turns out, the amazing folks at the Whovian Running Club are at it again with their Timey Wimey event where you can participate in not only helping to raise money for e-NABLE again, but you can also help raise money for other charities who are making the world a better place too!
Last spring, the Whovians managed to raise over $13,000 to help support the e-NABLE Community by donating the funds to the care of our partner non-profit the Enable Alliance. It was the largest donation we have ever received from a group and we are excited to share with you how we were able to use these funds to support our amazing community!
How the first round of Whovian Donations was used:
eNABLE Sierra Leone/Nigeria
e-NABLE Sierra Leone needed support with unique challenges and opportunities. The national unrest related to general elections forced the clinic to close for safety reasons. After the election, it was subjected to a number of new fees from the winning party in order to reopen. The e-NABLE Alliance was glad to help it reopen and continue its development of the Gripper Hand. One of the founders of the chapter, Ed Choi, traveled to Nigeria to help install printers in an incubator space for entrepreneurs and successfully made a hand for a young boy from a displaced persons camp north of the lab. After we discussed concerns about appearing to appropriate art in our projects, Ed explored the markets trying to make contact with local artists and hoping to capture the art of the area for future collaboration. Ed is currently working on a hand for the eNABLE Conference gallery which he will use to demonstrate techniques for customizing generic designs; we also hope that future research will show that adding art will improve the acceptance of the device and a better medical outcome due to more frequent use.
eNABLE Canada – e-NABLE Nepal – e-NABLE Thailand
Peter Byron, founder of eNABLE Canada, came to Baltimore in June to help with a week of summer camp and test the 3D printer network they took to e-NABLE Nepal on July 2. We sponsored his attendance at the East Coast Rep Rap festival. where we purchased tools, materials and filament for his lab and the lab he was testing. Peter was able to take filament and devices from camp to Nepal. Additional filament and devices were donated to support the relationship between volunteers in Toronto and e-NABLE Thailand. During the week of summer camp, the e-NABLE Alliance volunteers worked with almost 400 youth in 20 sessions. He held web conferences with campers and youth staff during other weeks of camp, offering feedback on art hands and comparing experiences with APLA filament and printing in heat and humidity.
eNABLE Fabrilab (Bogota, Colombia)
The eNABLE Alliance paid for all the transportation, lodging and food for Christian Silva, who gifted new open source designs to the community:
The Promimetic Body Powered Hand and Arm in a generic style.
Frozen/Princess style and Thor/medieval Style.
The Promimetic myoelectric designs.
The first lower leg design for the e-NABLE Community.
Christian Silva continued to talk to students and encourage the work of a for-credit class in 3D Printing Medical Devices at the University of Maryland College Park, where they developed an impact test to simulate the device candidate landing on his foot while playing on parallel bars in OT. Christian also worked on an arm and leg for the first device candidate in Dar, Tanzania. He will be holding interactive workshops on bioprinting during ENABLECON 2018.
eNABLE Haiti
e-NABLE Alliance volunteers traveled to a clinic northeast of Port au Prince, Haiti at the start of summer. They took devices and other 3D printed medical equipment, including a stethoscope, microscope, tweezers and clips for IV bags and neonates’ umbilical cords. The team they were with dug a well for the clinic, and set up a sterilization center for bottles and containers. They identified a location and staff to train when they set up a printer farm. Currently people are reviewing ways the clinic can print to sustain themselves. give the e-NABLE prosthetics away for free and continue follow up care and future devices. The lead engineer for the e-NABLE outreach and overall project has discussed next steps with a government representative and is starting to work with youth robotics competitors and advisors who are forming e-NABLE Chapters at their schools.
eNABLE Honduras
The e-NABLE Alliance supported a visit from two members of e-NABLE Honduras to the East Coast Rep Rap festival, including housing, securing donations, and transporting the materials from Baltimore/Washington to New Jersey and air travel home. e-NABLE Honduras has shared cases and curriculum during and since their visit with the e-NABLE Community.
Andrew and Aidan Delisle, Nub Werkes
eNABLE Alliance was able to supply Nubwerks with much-needed filament to help them continue making free 3D printed hands and arms for those who need them. Andrew and Aidan are a father and son team based out of Michigan who have been creating free 3D printed hands for limb different children like Aidan who was gifted his first e-NABLE hand from one of our amazing volunteers (Michael and his son Carter) a few years ago. Since getting his first hand, this father/son team has been making e-NABLE devices for other children in the limb difference community and need continued support with purchasing materials to do so!
eNABLE India
The e-NABLE Alliance works with several groups in India. We are working on projects that will culminate in demonstrations at talks at the Indian Institute of Technology in Spring 2019. We work with several chapters in Plantation, Florida who support a project in Khandwa, India, and Peru. The group gives away body powered designs and also works on a myoelectric design new to the eNABLE Community, the Inali arm. We also contribute devices and time to chapters in Texas who participate in research and development of techniques and designs and support gifting events in 5 locations in India – from the rural northwest to central and southern cities.
eNABLE Mexico
e-NABLE’s work in Mexico this summer included helping teams representing their countries at FIRST Global and sharing information about e-NABLE. Five of the teams at the competition already volunteer with e-NABLE. Others, including the refugees of Team Hope from Lebanon, have 3 D printers and are eager to get started.
Thanks to Natureworks and 3D Fuel for gifting the APLA Maria took with her in two suitcases. We also donated the Prusa i3 MK3 printer and filament that was not easily available for the IRB approved clinical trial of e-NABLE devices and Camp e-NABLE in Vera Cruz. Maria Esquela was able to put together a workgroup focused on testing and improvement of the e-NABLE K1 design, which is the most popular hand being made and given away by a professional Occupational Therapist in Mexico City. A graphic artist who is very happy using her K1 hand is partnered with her OT and MediPrint, a high-end commercial printer in Mexico City. They have pledged to redesign the hand for the community and share an artistic model of it as inspiration for people customizing generic designs. Maria said, “I would like to thank a group of professional designers and fabricators who normally operate quietly in the community for diligently offering support as I traveled alone on this trip, and for the security, enthusiasm, and experience they unfailingly offered every day. On both the academic and commercial tracks, we dramatically increased the depth of projects and the network for device candidates during this trip.”
Supporting Jen Owen and Maria Esquela’s Trip to FIRST Robotics Champs in Detroit
e-NABLE Alliance was able to support the travel costs to help Jen Owen, Founder of enablingthefuture.org and Maria Esquela, Founder of enablingalliance.org to attend the FIRST Robotics National Championships in Detroit, Michighan this spring where they were able to connect with many of the FIRST teams who are also e-NABLE Chapters from all over the world as well as recruit more teams to join the global movement of makers!
They presented a talk along with FIRST Teams 1511 Rolling Thunder and Frog Force 503, who have been active e-NABLE Volunteer teams and chapters who have not only been making devices for others all over the world, but holding workshops and teaching others how to create the e-NABLE Designs too!
During this trip, Jen and Maria also began the planning process for the first ever e-NABLE Alliance Hand Camp for children with limb differences who wanted to create their own designs for their devices.
Research and Testing of Devices, Printers, Materials
The e-NABLE Living Classroom at SUNY Polytechnic Institute received a donation of APLA filament for the e-NABLE Community. The filament began as resin donated by NatureWorks, and made into filament by 3D Fuel. Each roll is given to someone who promises to help tell e-NABLE’s story and document what becomes of the filament they receive. As part of their immersive learning experience, the classroom used the filament as an immersive, real-world experience in launching enterprise-level inventory management software and shipping accounts.
They have also been working with volunteers serving in areas of great unrest, where it is difficult to print due to power, scarce resources and personal risk. With the help of this educational program, the e-NABLE Alliance has been able to maintain discreet contact with volunteers in Syria and Yemen, and begin to create reliable channels for sending humanitarian aid and e-NABLE materials through a partnership with NGOs.
In the coming year, we will continue to outline ways that e-NABLE service learning is informally educating people who’s formal education has been interrupted, and including women and girls who have not been given access to training and resources in the past.
As volunteers create devices, medical advisors and partners will continue to work with them on fitting and gifting the devices, collecting feedback, offering ongoing health care, and sustaining volunteers by for paying them to use workforce skills acquired during service learning.
Supporting Jen Owen and Maria Esquela’s “Behind The Scenes” work for e-NABLE
Some of the Whovian funds were used to help Jen and Maria continue to work full time behind the scenes for the global community. Their work answering emails from recipient families, makers and others who want to help, organizing events, connecting clinics with volunteers who can help, finding resources to gift to the community and many other tasks, helps to keep the global movement functioning and growing!
Their volunteer work is a full-time job and without the support of the global community and people who help fund their work, they would not be able to continue to do what they do!
If you would like to support Jen and her work with enablingthefuture.org and the global community, please consider making a one time or a recurring donation.
If you would like to support Maria and her work with enablealliance.org and the global community, please consider making a one time or recurring donation HERE.
If you would like to make a large donation to help fund both Maria and Jen as well as the global e-NABLE Community, please consider making a donation HERE.
The eNABLE Alliance and the Global e-NABLE Community thanks you wonderful Whovians, NatureWorks, 3D Fuel, SUNY Polytechnic and all the volunteers in the community who transform our community and the world every moment they give the world a helping hand.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN THE VIRTUAL 5K TO SUPPORT e-NABLE?
For more information on how to participate:
It’s finally here! It’s time for some Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey, Racey Wacey Stuff!
Whovian Running Club is pleased to announce that the Timey Wimey Event is now open!
To help support e-NABLE – make sure you register for the “Handles 5K” which can be found on the registration page HERE.
This is your opportunity to hop in the TARDIS or grab a vortex manipulator.
Your mission: head back to January 2018 (and every other point over the last year) to register for those WRC events you may have missed! The medals are the exact same medals and the proceeds from these events will go to the exact same charity partners. Yes, you will get the wonderful digital bibs.
CRITICAL INFORMATION: After you enter your address information, you will have a series of “Required” items. You are NOT, repeat – NOT, required to register for every event, but you ARE required to answer each one by selecting the event OR selecting “No Thanks.” You will see $25 added to your total for each event you select. If you get to the end and your total is ZERO, you have not selected any events and you should go back and change your answers as appropriate.
Now you can register for:
Hell in High Heels 12k supporting the Daphne Legacy Tour to save Galgos!
Handles 5k supporting E-NABLE to provide prosthetic hands for kids!
Sigma 6k supporting Magic Wheelchair to create amazing wheelchair costumes!
Liz 10k supporting Oceans Initiative to conduct critical research to save whales!
Demons Run Half Marathon supporting Patriot Paws to help wounded vets!
AND
The Long Way ‘Round Confessional Dial Challenge Medal equally supporting all our 2018 charity partners.
You can only register for the Confession Dial if you register for (either through original registrations or during the Timey Wimey event or a combination of both) THREE events from the 2018 series. Only the five 2018 events above qualify you for the Confession Dial!
If you register for (either through original registrations or during the Timey Wimey event or a combination of both) ALL SIX 2018 medals (Hell, Handles, Sigma, Liz, Demons and the Dial), you will become a WRC 2018 KeyHolder and receive a FREE TARDIS Keyholder Pin! If you are picking up the last medals you need to complete the series, make sure you select YES on the KeyHolder question!
Thank you everyone for helping us to continue to make a difference!!
Just….RUN!