Shad Alum shares how the program helped her to turn her passion for STEAM into a community project serving children with disabilities
Natalie Mitchell has always had a passion for STEAM education. But when she applied to Shad in the fall of 2022, she had no idea that the program would teach her things about herself that would alter her self-perception and set her on a path to starting a community project that not only affected her own life course but would positively impact some of the most deserving members of her community.
“I would have never been able to do what I’ve done with the project if I didn’t learn the skills that I learned at Shad, if I didn’t gain the confidence I did, and if I didn’t meet the people that I met. It really was a life-changing experience.”
Growing up in Portugal Cove, a small town in Newfoundland, Natalie learned the importance of community from a young age. Her family has always embraced the idea of giving back to others, especially those in need, with her grandma taking her to volunteer at food banks and charitable events at church as a child. So, when Natalie’s sister, a social worker who provides respite care to children with disabilities, shared that the kids she cares for often struggle to find toys that meet their needs, Natalie saw an opportunity to help.
“My sister’s involvement in the disability community really opened my eyes to the lack of inclusive toys and assistive devices available in the province. She would be going toy shopping, and she just couldn’t find things that the kids that she was working with were able to use.”
Rather than simply accept the status quo, Natalie saw finding a solution to this problem as an opportunity to put the STEAM and personal growth skills she had honed at Shad into practice, identifying ways she could adapt toys to meet the needs of the children with whom her sister worked.
“I noticed that a lot of toys have really tiny buttons, and for kids that struggle with dexterity, that can be really difficult to use. So, I learned how to take these toys apart and rewire the insides with things called mono jacks and battery interrupters, which just kind of moves the circuit over so that you can attach a larger button.”
Natalie used a 3D printer to create larger buttons that the new toy circuits could be connected to, creating a path for children with special needs to use and enjoy the newly adapted toy. She called her project ‘Tech for Community’, choosing to emphasize the cause her initiative aims to champion: the building of community. Parents can reach out to the project directly with toy-adaption requests, which Natalie then procures and works to modify to suit their child’s needs.
“Seeing kids play with newly adapted toys fills me with so much joy and provides me with an overwhelming sense of purpose. It’s an emotional and empowering reminder of how small efforts can have a profound impact on the lives of others.”
Since starting, Natalie has grown her Tech for Community team to include several other volunteers who help her in adapting toys requested by parents. She also works to increase the initiative’s impact by conducting school workshops in her community to teach students how to perform the rewiring needed to adapt toys, which they then donate to students with disabilities in their local schools.
“One component of the workshop is the actual adaption of toys, teaching students how to do the modifications. And the other part is just building empathy in the community and educating people, especially young people, about disabilities and the impact we can have on others.”
For Natalie, growing her project has meant a lot of speaking in front of groups of people she doesn’t know, something she found very intimidating before Shad. But Shad helped her to learn how to communicate ideas effectively and influence others by sharing her passion and insight regarding the issues she cares about.
“The pitch for our Design Project really did help me learn to communicate more effectively. Being able to do public speaking wasn’t something that I was super comfortable with, but I definitely gained a lot of confidence in public speaking through Shad.”
Her growing ability to publicly advocate for the cause she believes in helped Natalie earn an Ingenious+ National Award given on behalf of the Rideau Hall Foundation. The award invests in young Canadian innovators and encourages their ideas through funding, mentorship, and learning opportunities. Natalie was one of five award recipients and was the top winner in the category of Equity and Inclusion.
“The foundation grants Regional Awards, National Finalist Awards, and then National Awards. I traveled to Halifax in April to receive a Regional Award, and then about three weeks later, I found out that I was a National Award winner as well. And so, they flew me and my mom to Ottawa for the award ceremony and that was really cool because I got to meet some really amazing innovators from across the country.”
The award provided $10,000 worth of funding to Tech for Community, money that has made a huge difference in Natalie’s ability to serve the community members she’s dedicated so much of her time to.
“Buying new toys and the filament for the 3D printer used to make the modification pieces really adds up. This money has just made a huge difference in helping to pay for those costs so that we can help more kids and keep growing the project.”
Natalie is also grateful for the help she received from Brilliant Labs, a youth organization in Atlantic Canada that provides STEM education for young people. The charity provided mentorship and funding support to Tech for Community as the project was getting off the ground.
Natalie plans to pursue a dual degree in Business Administration and Engineering at university and hopes to grow Tech for Community beyond Newfoundland. She is incredibly grateful for her time at Shad, sharing that without that experience, she would not have believed in her ability to pioneer this kind of community initiative. “Learning to think creatively and think outside the box to make a difference in my community was a really important skill that I learned at Shad.”
And even if Tech for Community remains a more local project, Natalie feels the difference the initiative has made to kids close to home is something her and her team can feel really proud of. She’s excited to continue to witness the impact the modified toys have on deserving kids.
“I think doing this kind of work creates a more inclusive world. For a lot of kids, play isn’t something that they get to experience with their peers. So, for us, it’s about…children with disabilities being able to have toys that neurotypical and neurodivergent kids can play with together instead of believing some toys are only for certain kids. Changing that belief really does make a world of difference.”
