The Helping Hand Project was able to deliver a 3-D prosthetic arm to Joel Payne from Statesville, NC. Joel, who is a 7-year-old, loves the Carolina Panthers -- knowing this, the Helping Hand Project was able to make his prosthetic arm extra special.  

For the full story, visit: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article190995399.html

We would like to thank our donors again for supporting the Helping Hand Project last fall! Your gift helps children, like Joel, receive prosthetics at no cost to their families.

On behalf of the The Helping Hand Project at UNC Charlotte, we would like to THANK YOU! Through your generosity we have exceeded our crowdfunding goal! Your contribution will be put to great use as the HHP mission continues to grow and expand. Our hope is that we can continue to make a positive impact to the lives of these children and their families.

This semester has been full of excitement here at UNC Charlotte! In September,  the Helping Hand Project hosted a family support event at Chapel Hill, flying in families from around the country. In attendance was Amy and her father from Austin, Texas. The UNC Charlotte Chapter has been supporting Amy for the past year. During this event, we were able to deliver her a third arm! Amy is truly a Wondergirl and we wanted her arm to reflect it. Contributions to HHP not only go to build these fun devices, but they also provide social support events to their families. At these events we can learn more about our recipients to not only customize the fit but to reflect their personalities!   

Also, because your donation, our mission will be expanding to raise awareness and teach others how to participate. Recently, we attended the Mini makerfaire at Charlotte’s  Discovery Place to do just that.  At this event we connected with teachers from many local schools and gave children the opportunity to learn more about 3D printing. In the next year and beyond we hope to connect to even more children and build even more hands! Again, thank you so much for your support, your donation will impact so many!

Recently, we were contacted to build an arm for Joon, a 15 year old boy from South Korea. He asked for a slight variation on his arm, and we were happy to do so! The Fidget Arm was born!