About Us...

HANDS ACROSS BORDERS:
Our Global Community Service Project

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FIRST® is more than just robots...

When American inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST® in 1992, he set out to build a culture where scientists and engineers are as celebrated as pro athletes are. He also wanted to inspire generations of young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators.

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At the end of this past competition season, our mentors told us about other FIRST®  teams that were making a difference in their local communities. We were told about one team that made a motorized wheelchair for a small child whose family couldn’t afford one. And another team, that wanted to help refugees living in makeshift tent communities on the border, by engineering small, portable solar panels so that those families would have electricity for lights and to charge their cell phones. We even learned about a group of FIRST® teams from nearby Columbus, Ohio who banded together at the height of the pandemic to produce PPE (personal protective equipment) for local first responders and area healthcare professionals. It was amazing to hear about what kids like us could do when given a chance.

Then our mentors asked us “What were we going to do?” In fact, they challenged us to think BIG, to put the service of others before ourselves, and to use the skills that we were learning to leave a lasting impact on the world.

After learning that there are children in developing countries who were born missing fingers and hands, or who have lost them due to illness, accidents, or regional conflicts, the students from our four teams decided to work collaboratively to manufacture and assemble 3D-printed prosthetic hands for children.

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 This 3D-printed prosthetic hand was custom-made to fit a small child - Image credit, e-NABLE 

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Working closely with IMAHelps.org, a volunteer organization that runs humanitarian medical missions to countries in Central and South America, and the financial backing of the David and Inez Myers Foundation, we are joining others from the maker community to create free, low-cost upper limb prosthetic devices for children and adults in need. 

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There are two (2) types of upper limb prosthetic devices that our teams have learned to create. They are…

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• The e-NABLE Phoenix Hand – for children with amputations below the wrist; and

• The e-NABLE Unlimbited Arm – for children with amputations between the wrist and elbow.  We are currently experimenting with a modified version of this arm for children with an amputation above the elbow.

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Once we receive the required measurements, photos, and videos from the recipient, it takes approximately 2-3 weeks to manufacture, assemble, test, and ship the 3D-printed prosthetic device to those in need. 

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If you, or a child you know, needs a 3D-printed upper limb prosthetic device, please contact us at info@clevelandfirst.org

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