Charity Partner
The Helping Hand Project
Last year a group of Wake Forest University students attended the April $5K and set up a “bake sale” to raise funds. That group was part of The Helping Hand Project (HHP).
HHP is a 501c3 nonprofit which leverages the power of 3D printing to provide children with specially designed, cost-free prosthetic devices and are located on six NC college campuses: WFU, WSSU, UNCC, ECU, UNCCH, and NCSU. College students use their education and training to design, develop, and print the prosthetics, while also fostering a community of belonging by organizing community events that unite children with limb differences through education and support.
Emma Coltoff, TCTC member and WFU chapter president/founder had this to say:
“As you probably saw, HHP as a non-profit has a two-pronged approach to our mission that is part of every chapter's efforts. We have chapters at WFU, WSSU, UNC, NC State, UNC-Charlotte, and ECU.
1) creating 3D printed prosthetic hands, activity specific devices (i.e., violin bow holder, swim fins, writing instruments), and assistive technology (grocery bag holders, grip strengtheners, etc.)
2) creating and maintaining a support network for individuals with limb differences through biannual (twice a year) meetups.
All chapters also engage in STEM outreach in their local areas, teaching children about 3D printing and prosthetics, as well as general science/engineering. This is another great bonus activity we get to engage in as an engineering-based non-profit -- sharing our knowledge and our love of STEM!
Our WFU chapter adds to this existing set of goals with the following additional projects:
1) having a presence in the Triad area specifically -- most of HHP's other chapters are in the Research Triangle or Charlotte.
2) conducting novel research in the effectiveness and satisfaction with 3D printed prosthetics, which is a truly understudied area. Lots of people are making these devices but not many are studying how well they are used or last.
3) growing our organization's partnership with actual clinicians -- both so we can broaden our reach to individuals in need, and to learn from clinicians to make our products better.
For the most part, we have kept our budget extremely low (under $250 of expenditure per year) the past two years of operation, as we did not have much of a budget to work with. We have used this money to replace parts on our printer, get filament to print our products, and we just recently purchased a display stand (like the ones used in a museum) to create a display at the hospital for the public to be able to see our hands. In the future, we would love to be able to purchase new components for our printer or perhaps an additional printer to expand our capacity (varies, but one spool of filament is $40 and a new printer is usually $5-8K), provide food at some of our meetings for members to help with attendance & retention ($70/meeting depending on attendance), submit our work to conferences to share our knowledge (submission fees are around $40 + travel and conference registration fees.)”
Since the $5K is a free race for our TCTC members and a low-cost race for non-TCTC members, the hope is that athletes will donate a portion of what they would have spent for all seven races to The Helping Hand Project.
And if you are not currently a TCTC member, we would love for you to be a part of our family! Instead of spending $35 for seven races, join TCTC for $20 and then donate the remaining $15 to HHP!! Not only do you get enjoy ALL the benefits of TCTC for a year, you get to do good AND feel good all 365 days too!!
Athletes can donate during registration or by clicking the DONATE button at the top.
PS – don’t worry…..HHP plans to do a bake sale again in 2024!!
