AMS 2025

New e-NABLE Community Sponsorship Program from MatterHackers: Support the Volunteers Who 3D Print Prosthetics

AM Research Military

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e-nable-logoYou know the old adage – “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” e-NABLE, a heartwarming network of designers and volunteers who strive to offer unique and useful 3D printed prosthetics to kids all over the world, has reached fishing status, as it were. This 100% volunteer organization, which we always enjoy following, has had a major change in the visits to their website over the past year, going from people looking for a volunteer to create a 3D printable device for them, to people who instead want to learn how to create and build 3D printable prosthetics for themselves, or for their children, or start their own e-NABLE chapter to help others. What started as a blog and website to match prosthetic recipients with individual volunteer makers is now on its way to collecting and assembling the necessary information for people to help themselves, with mentorship and support from volunteers and growing community chapters all over the world.

matterhackers-logoe-NABLE has now announced that popular 3D printing products and supply retailer MatterHackers has again offered their support to the global e-NABLE community, and created a new Sponsorship Program that allows individuals to directly gift 3D printers, filament, and other needed materials to their own schools, libraries, makerspaces, families of prosthetic recipients, or even an e-NABLE Community Chapter in need! MatterHackers has offered a helping hand to the e-NABLE organization before, by creating a comprehensive retail Hub and donating a portion of the proceeds to e-NABLE, and also co-producing the innovative Within Reach 3D printed tool design challenge, along with Pinshape and Ultimaker, for people who still have fingers, but have lost function. The contest resulted in over 200 new designs, which are all available open-source.

enabling-the-futureNow, because of this new partnership, anyone who wants to donate items, whether for use in their own communities or overseas, can sponsor a 3D printer, filament bundle, or a prosthetic hand kit (this great Raptor Hand Assembly kit is only $40!), and e-NABLE will send it right to your chosen group, school, or library, or to an e-NABLE chapter in need. MatterHackers have also created e-NABLE Gift Cards, available in denominations of $20, $50, and $100. Every month, e-NABLE will share where your gift has gone, and even some images if they are allowed, so you can see exactly how you made a difference in the lives of recipients and their families, or students and communities. There are e-NABLE chapters in more than 50 countries, and the need is growing for reliable machines and a source of good materials and hardware. So why not help out this Christmas?

e-nable-sponsorship-programGo to the e-NABLE page on the MatterHackers website, and choose which item you’d like to gift to an e-NABLE Community Chapter. You can also surprise one of your local schools, libraries, recipient families, or another group with a gift! By donating a new 3D printer to a school or library, you are giving multiple families in that area access to a valuable STEAM-based learning tool, as well as assistance from employees and volunteers who can help people create their own devices. You can also gift 3D printing materials, like this three-pack of Pro Series PLA Filament for $110, or simply choose a gift card amount that you would like to donate to e-NABLE. Once they’ve collected enough, they will purchase a new machine or supplies and ship it to a Community Chapter looking for help through e-NABLE Outreach. The gift card may be a good option if you want to help, but don’t have a lot of extra cash, as the least expensive printer bundle, the Robo 3D R1 Plus Budget e-NABLE Bundle, is close to $1,300.

sponsor-robo-e-nable-bundleBe sure to check the Sponsor This Item box and add it to your cart. Once you’re ready to check out, be sure to enter your own billing and shipping address – any items you have indicated as Sponsored will not be shipped to you. You will receive a confirmation email from MatterHackers once you’ve placed your order, and a second email from Jen Owen from e-NABLE to confirm where you want your sponsored items to be sent. If you have a local school or e-NABLE chapter you want to donate the items to, be sure to have their address ready. If not, e-NABLE is also happy to ship your gift to an e-NABLE Chapters in need. Don’t forget to sign up for email updates, so that when e-NABLE updates their blog, you can see where your gift has gone and how it’s helped!

How else can you help e-NABLE? Just create Community Chapters in your own cities! Reach out to your area school districts, public library systems, makerspaces, and fablab communities, and find out how to create summer camps, workshops, after school programs, or other gatherings. Then, invite local families of kids and adults with upper limb differences to attend, so they can learn how to 3D print and assemble their own devices. These types of events can also engage students, teachers, and anyone else who is interested in learning more about 3D printing technology, and how it can change the world. You could also invite your local medical community to attend, and get hand specialists, medical students, and occupational therapists involved.

e-nable-programsIf you have created, or are interested in creating, an e-NABLE Community Chapter, please visit their Chapters page, and get going! This is an easy way for you to create or support spaces where families who need it can find access to 3D printers in their own communities. Discuss in the e-NABLE forum at 3DPB.com.

[Source/Images: e-NABLE]

 

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