REMINDER: Tech-Savvy High School and College Teams Compete in National Engineering Championship to Support People with Disabilities at Work
Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) April 03, 2017 -- WHAT:
Despite businesses across America proudly championing the “inclusion” buzzword, nearly 80 percent of people with disabilities remain left out of the workforce. Fortunately, this fact is not being lost on hundreds of tech-savvy high school and college students nationwide who participated in the 2017 SourceAmerica Design Challenge, a unique engineering competition designed to help people with disabilities improve productivity and secure long-term employment and choice in the workplace.
Over the past six months, 160 student teams from 26 states worked closely with employees with disabilities in their communities. The goal: to understand the challenges they face and design breakthrough assistive technology that supports greater employment success. Five high school and three college team finalists will demo their groundbreaking engineering devices, and explain to the judges at the championship how their innovative designs benefit both employees with disabilities and their employers’ bottom line.
WHO:
Seventy high school and college student team finalists from Ohio, Kansas, Michigan, Delaware, California, Connecticut and West Virginia
Participating Design Challenge employees with disabilities and their families
Mark Barlet, Founder, AbleGamers and Keynote Speaker
Dennis McBride, SourceAmerica, Vice President, Strategy & Innovation
Charissa Garcia, SourceAmerica Design Challenge Program Manager
DATE: Friday, April 7, 2017
TIME:
9 a.m-4:30 p.m. (ET): Design Challenge Championship
9:45a.m.-noon: High School Student Presentations
Noon-1 p.m: Design Showcase and Lunch
1-2:30 p.m: College Student Presentations
3:15-4:15 p.m: Award Ceremony/Winners Announced
**Interviews, Photo/B-Roll Opportunities Available Throughout the Day**
WHERE:
The Embassy Suites by Hilton, D.C. Convention Center,
Capital Ballroom A - D
900 10th Street Northwest
Washington, D.C.
CONTACT:
For media interviews and to come cover the Design Challenge, please contact:
Stephanie Lowet, slowet(at)mcginnandcompany(dot)com, (301) 537-5556
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More information on the 2017 SourceAmerica Design Challenge and finalists can be found here: http://www.sourceamerica.org/2017-design-challenge-finals-event
About SourceAmerica
Established in 1974, SourceAmerica creates job opportunities for a skilled and dedicated workforce of people with significant disabilities. SourceAmerica is the vital link between the federal government and private sector organizations that procure the products and services provided by this exceptional workforce via a network of more than 1,200 community-based nonprofits. Headquartered in Vienna, Virginia, SourceAmerica provides its nonprofit agency network with business development, contract management, legislative and regulatory assistance, communications and public relations materials, information technology support, engineering and technical assistance, and extensive professional training needed for successful nonprofit management. SourceAmerica is an AbilityOne-authorized enterprise.
Stephanie Lowet, SourceAmerica, http://sourceamerica.org, +1 (301) 537-5556, [email protected]
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