A Burnaby-based organization is asking the public for help to adapt toys for kids with disabilities.
Commercially available assistive switches and switch-accessible toys are expensive, so the Neil Squire Society's Makers Making Change program is hosting a campaign to help make play more accessible for all community members.
The annual fundraiser, Hacking for the Holidays, is returning this year to help collect donations and make play accessible to all kids with disabilities this holiday season.
The goal, according to a news release, is to raise about $100,000 in addition to building 2,000 toys, switches and video game joysticks. The campaign is also aiming to host more than 100 events across all 10 provinces.
Hacking for the Holidays is on now until the end of December, during which Makers Making Change will be holding toy hackathon events across Canada where students, volunteers and corporate partners can build adapt toys for kids with disabilities.
The release noted commercially available assistive switches and switch-accessible toys are expensive and can easily exceed $100 each.
"That high cost leaves many families and therapists supporting kids with disabilities without the interactive toys and access methods that are crucial to childhood development," the release said.
Often, the cost of parts to adapt one toy is $5 or less and is done by students, community makers, and corporate volunteers at their events.
A donation of $50 can purchase one toy and provide the parts to make one switch, giving a child everything they need to play with a new toy this year, the website noted.
For more information, or if you wish to make a donation, you can visit the campaign's website.
