inquiry, innovate, collaborate - tetra society of north america

Looking for that community connection, or a way to apply your ICE training, The Tetra Society of North America may be the answer. The Tetra Society of North America is an independent non-profit organization that provides customized assistive devices to people with disabilities. Tetra is the brainchild of Sam Sullivan; mayor of Vancouver B.C. Sam became a quadriplegic due to a skiing accident in 1979. The society was formed in 1987 after an engineer volunteered to devise gizmos to meet his day-to-day needs. Since then, the society has completed more than 4000 projects. As mayor of Vancouver, Sam hoisted the Olympic and Paralympic flags at the winter games in Turin, Italy using a Tetra designed flag holder. How it Works Volunteers work one on one with people who have a specific need that cannot be met by commercial assistive devices. The client covers the cost of the materials and volunteers design and fabricate the project. As a result, every Tetra Project is unique as it is tailor made to each person’s particular circumstance. All concerns such as liability, standards, and safety are discussed in detail during the application process. Agreements and waivers are signed before any project begins. Volunteers are typically engineers, technologists/technicians, technical educators and general tinkerers who have an interest in technology and a desire to help. You do not have to be associated with a specific business or industry.

To see the type of projects they have been involved in, watch the video gallery at http://www.tetrasociety.org/in-the-news/video-gallery.php

There are chapters throughout North America (many in the GTA). For more information, visit their website at http://www.tetrasociety.org/