Many of the children at the Broward Children’s Center use assistive technology to function in their daily lives.  I started hunting around the internet and found an adaptive guitar that allows us to tie devices such as sip-and-puff technology into the gaming system opening the door to even MORE of our kids and providing them with ability to enjoy this wonderful donation as well.

I ended up finding a device called AT-Play from Compusult to accomplish exactly what I was looking for.  As described on their website:

AT-Play allows physically disabled persons to independently play the Rock Band 2 video game for Xbox 360. Guitar strumming and chords can be controlled with your preferred arrangement of switches, including sip-and-puff devices, buttons, and foot pedals.

This same company has provided us with proven technologies in the past and are a very highly respected company.  They are also the makers of the Jouse 2 product which is their version of sip-and-puff technology.  Several of our kids at the Broward Children’s Center utilize this equipment every single day.

So with the kiosk on its way to our facility and the adaptive and assistive technology at our fingertips, I am trying to raise funds to help pay for this modified equipment.  To make a donation, no matter how  much, all you have to do is CLICK HERE. All donations will be processed through First Giving and donated directly to the Broward Children’s Center.  You can also click on the “widget” in the right hand column of this blog to make a donation.

If you would like to see this technology in action, I have included the video from Compusult below.  If you fast forward to about 3:00 into the video, you will see this modified technology in action.  Once we have this entire setup in place I am hoping to get some video of the kids at the center enjoying this great new addition!

Once again, I am asking for your help to raise funds for the adaptive part of the setup.  Donate Now to bring a smile to their face and help make the kids at the Broward Children’s Center a Rock Star!

Ever built up your Twitter list and found yourself at your “twitter threshold?” I have searched out many tools in the past and never found that “perfect” tool.

In addition, not too long ago, Twitter changed their API so that you could not unfollow a large group of people!  So, when I found this tool, I was quite happy.

It will log into your Twitter account, find everybody that you follow that does not follow you and then YOU have the choice to unfollow the people you wish.

Simple and straight to the point!!

Unfollow Twitter users who do not follow you!

I am just putting the finishing touches on my presentation and anybody who knows me, knows that it will be one to remember…. so what I am trying to say is YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS IT!

For more information and to register, please visit:
Fundraising With Social Media Seminar.

MIAMI — Philanthropic NFL brothers Henri and Zack Crockett were tuxedo-clad at Ocean Drive's chic Clevelander on Tuesday night as they hosted their “Diamond Ball,” an inaugural pre-Super Bowl fundraiser.The event, which offered guests a chance to rub shoulders with professional athletes and sports personalities, raised funds for the Crockett Foundation's educational, mentoring and tutorial programs for youngsters.

On the way in, the Crocketts and their friends — including former New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons quarterback Danny Kanell and former Miami Dolphins wide receiver Nat Moore — posed for pictures outside on green Astroturf carpet (rather then a traditional red one).

Inside, DJ Sage was spinning records on a turntable and hip-looking partygoers were bathed in colored lights that matched Ocean Drive’s nighttime neon vibe. A silent auction included everything from footballs to guitars.

Lots of short, short dresses and high, high heels were spotted, as well as one woman in a tiara. Men wore suits, but created casual South Beach airs by leaving neckties at home.

The Crockett brothers, who live in South Florida, spent most of the evening posing for photos with guests and hanging out on The Clevelander’s modern-style furnishings.

But they did stop to talk.

Zack, a running back for the Indianapolis Colts from 1995-98, and Henri, who played for the Falcons, said their hearts are with the Colts this week. They have family living in Indianapolis and a long history with Colts starting linebacker Clint Session, who hails from the Pompano Beach area.

Zack said Session’s father was his little league football coach when he played for the Pompano Chiefs as a kid.

“I kind of raised him,” added Henri, 35.

Chic set

Guests at The Clevelander event (and anyone who drops in on South Beach’s famed Ocean Drive area this week) will find a whole lot more than just pre-Super Bowl buzz.

The spot, famous for its art deco look and celebrity-watching potential, is a veritable feast of fashionable eye candy.

Hotels and restaurants decorate with a theme here: posh chic. Modern furnishings mix with animal prints (one hip hotel lobby is partially decked with a wall of tortoise shells). Along Ocean Drive, limousines of every size and shape cruise through pastel neon lights next to restored classics as well as sleek and exotic European cars — symbols of performance and wealth.

Amid all of that activity stands a must-see for the fashion set: the mansion where Italian designer Gianni Versace lived and was murdered in 1997. The famed gated estate is obvious because of two large planters outside that are emblazoned with Versace’s trademark Medusa symbol.

“Miami Beach, it’s all around fashion. It’s a very modern place,” said Charlie Gurri, who works nights at the stylish Hotel Nash’s front desk. This week, rooms there are more than $300 a night.

“There are a lot of parties at night. It can be kind of wild sometimes,” he said.

via Ex-Colt Crockett hosts fundraiser | IndyStar.com | The Indianapolis Star.

A lot of charities rely on voluntary funding. This funding is carefully distributed and there are often more important things ahead of a generous budget for the website.So how does a charity get the most out of its website? It needs to let users find out information about the charity, but the main objective of the site is to get people involved with the charity, usually resulting in the user donating money.

In this article, we look at 8 principles that you should follow when creating a charity website.

Read more… 8 Tips to Design a Charity Website | Webdesigner Depot.

Get a sneak peak at the upcoming Fundraising with Social Media conference on February 19 at the Sheraton Suites Cypress Creek, presented by the Forum for Nonprofits. Listen to Katya Andresen of Network for Good in Washington, D.C. discuss the role of social media in a nonprofit’s overall fundraising plan and how to set the proper goals for success. Skip Kimpel, the author of Social Networking for Nonprofits and another conference presenter, talks about how to blend together various social media tools and other ways to save time and increase effectiveness. For more information on the Social Media Conference, click here (PDF), or email trendsman@aol.com.  You may also register online for this event

CLICK HERE TO PLAY: Skip Kimpel Radio Interview

Thousands of people with disabilities, their families, caregivers and healthcare professionals are expected to attend this free, three-day expo and conference for a taste of the latest technologies, techniques and tips for improving their physical, technological and social environs.

The following products–many of which are still in development–will impact people of all ages with a wide range of physical, sensory and intellectual disabilities.

– Tongue Drive System TDS: Enables people with high-level spinal cord injuries to maneuver a powered wheelchair or control a mouse-driven computer cursor using simple tongue movements.

– Accessible Wii: Custom-designed Nintendo Wii interface for quadriplegic users. — Cushion Pressure Mapping: Allows for the development of more comfortable and usable wheelchairs by mapping pressure points on seat cushions of various materials.

– Implanted Electrode Technology: Experimental technology which can actually be implanted in the body and, when used with external programmable control units, it can help provide function to paralyzed limbs.

– Auditory Menus and Deaf911 Phone: Exciting demonstrations of experimental technology currently under development for people with visual and manual limitations Auditory Menus and hearing loss Deaf911 Phone.

– Robotics technology: Displays on robots that retrieve and deliver objects using a laser pointer.

– Accessible Bluetooth headset options for people with manual limitations.

– Visit www.abilitiesexpo.com/atlanta/pavillions.html for more.

This unique peek into the future of AT is made possible by the Shepherd Center, NeuroTech Network and Georgia Tech's Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access CATEA, Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Technology Wireless RERC and Aware Home Research Initiative. “In addition to providing an exciting forum for people with disabilities to gain knowledge and view products and services, we are thrilled to present the Community with the new Assistive Technology Pavilion,” said David Korse, president and CEO of Abilities Expo. “The forward-thinking scientists and professionals at Georgia Tech and the Shepherd Center are revolutionizing accessibility and, at Abilities Expo Atlanta, attendees will find out how!” Registration for Abilities Expo is free. Preregister for priority access at www.abilitiesexpo.com/atlanta SOURCE Abilities Expo

Kevaleen Lara of Abilities Expo, +1-310-210-3138, klara@shomex.com

via Experience the Future of Assistive Technology at Abilities Expo on November 6-8, 2009 | Reuters.

Technology Assisting the Disabled

Join us tomorrow, November 19th 2009 from 1:30pm to 3:30pm EST at the Greater Ft. Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce conference room for a FREE presentation on this awesome technology.

Georgia Tech researchers believe a magnetic, tongue-powered system could transform a disabled person’s mouth into a virtual computer, teeth into a keyboard – and tongue into the key that manipulates it all!

Presented by Maysam Ghovanloo of the Georgia Institute of Technology in coordination with ARC Broward, Broward Children’s Center, The Wasie Foundation and the Greater Ft. Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce.

For those of you who can not attend this event, I will be broadcasting it LIVE at the times listed above.  You can visit the live stream tomorrow by going to:

http://www.SkipKimpel.com/live/

Remember, this event is FREE and open to the public.  If you do plan on attending the event at the Chamber office, please RSVP to mleachman@arcbroward.com or by calling 954-746-9400.

The Ft. Lauderdale Chamber office is located at 512 NE 3rd Ave, Ft. Lauderdale, FL  33301

Hope to see you there or online!

It also gives you a good idea of the children that we serve at the BCC and the challenges that we have to overcome both medically as well as technologically.