11 and 9-Year Old Sisters Seek Funding to 3D Print Prosthetic Hands for Needy

Probably the most inspiring stories I have read over my time writing for 3DPrint.com have had to do with the 3D printed prosthetic devices which are seemingly being printed almost daily. Organizations of volunteers, such as e-NABLE are spearheading major initiatives to make the lives of children and adults, missing certain extremities, significantly better. The e-NABLE community is filled with over 1,000 members, all doing what they can, to bring affordable, or in many cases free, 3D printed prosthetic hands to as many people in need as possible.

Sierra showing off the Cyborg Beast hand that she put together – 3duniverse.org

A couple of months ago we covered an incredible story about a 10-year-old girl named Sierra Petrocelli from Monkton, Vermont, who assembled a 3D printed hand called the ‘Cyborg Beast‘, in order to bring attention to the technology at her school’s science fair. This wasn’t all though. Soon after, she helped an 8-year-old in California that was in the need of a prosthetic hand. Her work ended up garnering quite a bit of media attention, and her enthusiasm for the technology has spread throughout her family, and school.

Now, 11-years-old Sierra and her 9-year-old sister Sage, have lost no interest in the topic. When I was their age I certainly wasn’t thinking about ways in which I could spend my time volunteering to help others, but these girls obviously are a little different, a little bit more special perhaps. They now seek to continue helping others by purchasing their very own 3D printer. The problem is that the machine they are looking to acquire is well outside of what any children their age could ever afford. Because of this, they have turned to the Indiegogo crowdfunding platform, to ask the world to help them out.

The LeapFrog Creatr 3D printer the girls wish to purchase

Over the next 60 days, they are looking to raise $3000. The money will be spent on a Leapfrog Creatr 3D printing educational package. The package, which includes a high quality, easy to use, fully assembled and pre-calibrated 3D printer, also comes with 16 spools of 3D printer filament, and an elementary school curriculum, among other items.  It would set the girls up perfectly to 3D print hands for those in need.

Why the educational package? When the printer is not being used by the girls at home, they will bring it into their school so that it can act as a valuable educational tool. The girls also state on their Indiegogo campaign, “we won’t be hanging around the house bored, instead we will be discovering how the 3D printer works and making amazing things.”

If you’d like to help Sierra and Sage out, you can do so by visiting their Indiegogo campaign page. Feel free to share your thoughts on this story in the 3D printed hand forum on 3DPB.com. Below you will find a video of Sierra, and what she has done thus far.

Sierra, assembling a 3D printed hand – 3duniverse.org