Makers Making Change

Clubs That Care youth leader Skye wearing a Worlds UNBound shirt and sitting in front of a soldering iron.

Anshul, wearing safety glasses, uses a soldering iron to work on a device.

Young students work on a device together at a build event.

With help from funding from the Clubs That Care initiative of Neil Squire's Makers Making Change program, the team at Worlds UNBound have been engaging their summer camp participants in assistive device builds.

Read more: buff.ly/HuYUVkM

A man in a wheelchair plays FIFA 2023 by using his tongue with a mounted joytick against another man in a wheelchair.

A great article on the West Park Healthcare Centre's adaptive gaming program and the impact gaming can have for people with disabilities. West Park is one of our GAME Checkpoints, and we are proud to support their adaptive gaming program.

Read more: westparkfoundation.ca/spotlight/pa...

YouTube video by SwagAbility How Adaptive Gaming Is Empowering People with Disabilities

Our friends at the Stan Cassidy Centre for Rehabilitation, one of our GAME Checkpoints, were recently interviewed on The SwagAbility Show, discussing adaptive gaming and all things assistive technology. There’s even some great discussion on our work and the GAME Checkpoints initiative.

Ryan Vancouver staff stand together for a big group photo.

MMC staff member Kris guides a busy room of makers at Ryan's Vancouver office.

A man works on a device during a build at the Ryan Vancouver office.

Ryan Vancouver team members work together at a build event.

Earlier this month, the Ryan Vancouver office raised funds and helped us adapt toys and switches for kids with disabilities as part of their annual Ryan Shares Day of community giving.

Read more: buff.ly/B0qMUoD

Kristina, Courtney, Tyler, Shanelle, Jake, Justin, Josie, and Reed standing in front of the Innovation gear logo in our Burnaby office.

Our team leads from across Canada are at our Burnaby Head Office this week for a planning and strategy session.

A collage of MMC's new team members: Kris, Samantha, Jolene, Grace, Yasmeen, Emily, and Heather.

Recently, we’ve welcomed aboard a number of new members — Kris, Samantha, Jolene, Grace, Yasmeen, Emily, and Heather (left to right, top to bottom) — to our team to help us out with outreach, events, and projects. Take a moment to meet the new faces at Makers Making Change: buff.ly/BN5V1Gv

Jaxon uses a screwdriver to work on an Interact Switch.

Jaxon has always been interested in technology and helping people. So, when Neil Squire’s Makers Making Change program began recruiting youth leaders for its Clubs That Care initiative, it only made sense for the Grade 10 student to answer the call.

Read more: buff.ly/YLBtYCz

Looking down the length of a large meeting room with desks of people sitting or standing around tables beginning to make items. Visible are matts, plyers, wires. In the forefront table, one person seems to be instructing others who are concentrating on what she is showing them.

A person wearing eye protection appears to be using a tool to connect wires to a device.

Hands hold a device over a mat. Tools are scattered around.

People look at parts together. They stand over a table with mats, tools and a printed page with images and instructions.

At a recent #MakersMakingChange workshop, we were guided through creating a variety of #Switches, #Joysticks & #Interfaces with our own hands! What an experience! We learned a ton & had a blast! Many thanks to
@makersmakingchange.bsky.social and @neilsquiresociety.bsky.social!

#AssistiveTechnology

Come join the #NYC chapter of @makersmakingchange.bsky.social for a hands on workshop on how to use @microbit.org for a range of #AssistiveTech #OpenAT devices to support users with physical disabilities. 7/12/25 11- 1:30 in BK: zeroday.camp/microbit-as-...

An image of balloons. Text: "Celebrating 100,000 participants served since 1984 - Neil Squire"

Today, we celebrate a huge milestone on our 41st anniversary. Since 1984, we’ve served 100,000 participants with disabilities! A heartfelt thank you to our donors, supporters, volunteers, and community for making this possible. We couldn’t have done it without your help. Here’s to the next 100,000!

Samantha, Kris, Shanelle, Justin, and Courtney at the Makers Making Change booth at Skills Canada.

On May 29th and 30th, our team attended the Skills Canada National Competition in Regina, Saskatchewan. Over the course of two days, we taught over 340 students how to solder and build a battery interrupter.

Read more: buff.ly/Rk1qR31

Tyler speaking on a panel at the International Symposium on Assistive Technology.

Tyler with representatives from the Gyeonggi Rehabilitation Engineering Service Research Support Center in front of the centre.

Tyler Fentie, the Accessible Gaming Lead for
@neilsquiresociety.bsky.social's Makers Making Change program, was honoured to be invited to speak at the 2025 International Symposium on Assistive Technology, which focused on adaptive gaming, in Seoul, South Korea on June 11th.

Read: buff.ly/j2pquiL

University students working together at a build event.

We're hosting our first Clubs That Care: Talk To Us Tuesday on June 10 at 3:30 pm PDT. Join members of the MMC team and other Clubs That Care leaders at our quarterly virtual meeting. This is a space to come with questions & learn more about the Clubs that Care leaders.

Register: buff.ly/lDrPNkA

a cartoon graphic of a person using a tablet. The words NAAW.ca.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated in #NationalAccessAbilityWeek 2025! We had approximately 15,000 participants helping raise awareness for access and inclusion.

We would be grateful if you could take a moment to fill our feedback survey: buff.ly/Vi828g2

#NAAW #NAAW2025

Chad and Gordon talking to people at the fair.

Come by and say hi! We're at the GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre Recreation Resource Fair in the GF Strong Gymnasium in Vancouver, BC until 5 pm.

#NationalAccessAbilityWeek #NAAW #NAAW2025 #Accessibility #Inclusion #NeilSquire #Disability #MakersMakingChange

Adam in his wheelchair, with joysticks and switches on his lap tray to play video games.

Adam loves racing games. Thanks to his new #AdaptiveGaming set-up from Neil Squire’s Makers Making Change program, he can now play them with his brother and friends.

Read more about how his gaming set-up allows him to game independently: buff.ly/li2GAS5

#NationalAccessAbilityWeek #NAAW #NAAW2025

Youth volunteers and families at OpenRoad Volkswagen Burnaby work on adapting toys.

Congrats on 25 years, and thank you OpenRoad Group!

For #NationalAccessAbilityWeek, and as part of their Road to 25 celebration event series, the team at OpenRoad Volkswagen Burnaby and community and youth volunteers adapted 30 toy cars for children with disabilities yesterday.

#NAAW #NAAW2025

Atlantic Regional Director Bev Grasse with grillmaster Richard Grasse, and Premier Susan Holt and her daughter.

Yesterday, we kicked off #NationalAccessAbilityWeek with a barbecue at our Fredericton office. We were honoured to have Premier Susan Holt in attendance, pictured here with her daughter, and our Atlantic Regional Director Bev Grasse and grillmaster Richard Grasse. [1/2]

Josie Versloot and Tyler Fentie from our Adaptive Gaming team, alongside images of Adaptive Gaming devices including the Xbox Adaptive Controller and switches. Text: MMC Live Ep 8: Adaptive Gaming, presented by Makers Making Change and Neil Squire.

New episode alert — our next episode of MMC Live on adaptive gaming streams Wednesday, May 28th at 11 am PDT / 2 pm EDT!

You can catch the update live on our Facebook page and the Neil Squire YouTube channel. (The update will be available afterwards on our Instagram, as well).

a cartoon graphic of three people sitting at a table, one is in a wheelchair. The words NAAW.ca.

We're just over one week away from National AccessAbility Week (NAAW)! Are you interested in organizing a buildathon during #NAAW? Funded by the Government of Canada, Clubs That Care micro-grants supports youth leaders ages 15-30 in building affordable assistive technology for their community. [1/2]

Images of switch adapted toys and joysticks, and a female maker at a build event. Text: Real impact, real opportunity. Everything to know about Clubs That Care, $3,000 micro-grant. Logos for Makers Making Change, a Neil Squire program, and a note that it is funded by Canada Service Corps.

An image of people working together at a build event. Text: Clubs That Care $3,000 Micro-grant. Impact your community: engage 10 volunteers, build 20 assistive devices.

A person soldering. Text: Opportunity to lead. Receive $3,000 micro-grant, purchase tools & materials, including a 3D printer.

Images of different 3D printed and low-tech assistive technology. Text revealing different steps: 1) Aged 15-30?, 2) Fill out application & complete interview, 3) Sign letter and receive grant, 4) Make a difference.

Canadian youth aged 15–30 with a passion for STEM and community impact — this is for you.

Apply now for the Clubs That Care micro-grant: www.makersmakingchange.com/s/clubs-that...

#ClubsThatCare #MakersMakingChange #NeilSquire #VolunteerImpact #AssistiveTechnology #3DPrint #Makers #Accessibility

A Willow Joystick, a Musical Grasp Training Aid, a Round Touch 60 Assistive Switch, and a Redwood Joystick

Here’s a roundup of #OpenSource assistive devices that have recently been added to our library: buff.ly/MxIMDvk

A soldering workstation with a 3D printed part, a cable, plyers, and various tools.

For National Volunteer Week, we wanted highlight one of our volunteers. Grade 12 student Hanna has been a dedicated volunteer for over a year. She says that volunteering with Makers Making Change helped her choose to study engineering.

Read more: buff.ly/kPvnRw7

#NationalVolunteerWeek #NVM2025

Volunteers Matthew and Harvey and our Distance Training Coordinator Gordon stand outside. Text: Thank You Volunteers!

At Neil Squire, volunteers are at the heart of what we do. As we mark National Volunteer Week 2025, we want to celebrate their incredible contributions.

Read more: www.neilsquire.ca/volunteers-m...

#NeilSquire #NationalVolunteerWeek #NVW2025 #Volunteers

Kim with a cart of adapted toys.

Thanks to your support of our Hacking for the Holidays campaign last year, we were able to deliver adapted toys to places like The Centre For Child Development.

“The children’s eyes lit up when I gifted these switch toys to them,” says occupational therapist Kim Ta.

Read: buff.ly/xguDF7F

Natasha's daughter smiling with her TouchChat and keyguard on top.

“Knowing that there is a 3D printer and programs like Makers Making Change [. . .] available right here in our community makes me feel so supported when there are not a ton of other resources available,” Natasha says.

Read: www.makersmakingchange.com/s/managed-co...

A hand with a pencil between the fingers scrolls a laptop. Text: We're hiring!

We're hiring for Co-op STEM Event Leaders to run STEM-education events (including build events) at local schools in their community. This is a great co-op opportunity for engineering students in Canada.

Apply today: www.neilsquire.ca/getinvolved/...

Makers Making Change update LipSync firmware - Can I Play That? Makers Making Change updated the firmware of their LipSync, an open source mouth controlled input device for people with limited mobility.

Last week @makersmakingchange.bsky.social updated the firmware of their LipSync, an open source mouth controlled input device for people with limited mobility.

The new firmware makes usability improvements based on user feedback, such as adjustable scrolling speed.

caniplaythat.com/2025/04/07/m...

A LipSync with an updated mouthstick and a LipSync Hub with the stand, displaying the text LipSync 4.1.0 Makers Making Change.

Last year, we launched the fourth iteration of the LipSync, re-designed from the ground up to better serve the people who use it. Today, we’re excited to share our LipSync 4.1 firmware update, a major update which addresses the user feedback we’ve received over the last year.

Read: buff.ly/ucemLJ2

A LipSync with an updated mouthstick and a LipSync Hub with the stand, displaying the text LipSync 4.1.0 Makers Making Change.

Last year, we launched the fourth iteration of the LipSync, re-designed from the ground up to better serve the people who use it. Today, we’re excited to share our LipSync 4.1 firmware update, a major update which addresses the user feedback we’ve received over the last year.

Read: buff.ly/ucemLJ2