After a recent afternoon brainstorming session held in the heart of St. Paul’s diverse Rondo neighborhood, the trio launched ‘Modeling the Future’ to bring their idea closer to reality.

Their project aims to offer youth in the Twin Cities a chance to learn 3D printing from the ground up by building a 3D printer from scratch, teaching STEM skills in assembly, circuit boards, and hardware.

“Because the self-replicating RepRap printers come in kits and are mostly built from user-sourced materials, our team thought it would be great to not only offer curriculum for CAD classes, but also to include youth in the actual building of the 3D printers they would later use,” Smith said.

Their initial goal is to raise $750 from the local community to get the first pilot off the ground with Tronix Team, a local after school program through Park Ave Youth and Family Services that works to eliminate the achievement gap in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) by providing hands-on electronic projects to diverse, underserved adolescent groups.

From there, they say, the idea is to expand the program to other community centers, after-school programs, museums and libraries around the Twin Cities.  “We want to get kids excited about STEM projects and to spread the word about this exciting 3d printing technology,” he noted.

As a division of AmeriCorps, CTEP requires all members to participate in an extended group civic engagement project above and beyond their day to day roles of coordinating new digital inclusion initiatives, which include projects like BRIDGEdotMN.

The 3 – 5 person groups each create an action plan and timeline during the first three months of service and then implement their project during the remaining months of their one year term. Members consider issues such as feasibility, community impact, sustainability, community buy-in and cost when planning their projects. Past project topics have included working with local health providers to assist community members in accessing online health information, creating resources to increase internet security and distributing refurbished computers to low-income families.

“CTEP strives to instill a lifelong ethic of service and responsibility. It is the hope of these projects that members will gain skills and confidence to affect community change with a group of fellow concerned citizens, which we hope will then translate into continued action even after the AmeriCorps member completes their service term,” said Program Director Joel Krogstad.

Other CTEP projects in the works include: a cyberbullying awareness campaign, streamlining the North Star Digital Literacy Standards, and a summer camp for online/mobile game development. Members round out their experience by holding public presentations on August 3rd and exploring opportunities for continuing their respective programs into the future.

“CaringBridge recently appointed Leigh Bailey and Karen Hohertz-Jacobs to its board of directors. CaringBridge is a Minnesota-based nonprofit providing personal and private websites that connect people experiencing a health challenge to family and friends, making each health journey easier. CaringBridge seeks board members who can provide leadership, valued advice and governance of its program.”

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Many of us are purely visual, but there is a subset of Internet users that do not use website pages conventionally. That’s why St. Paul’s Wehrman Collaborative, or WeCo, was formed.

WeCo works with government, private and public companies, and nonprofits to improve online design from the code up, making sites much more accessible to many different kinds of complimentary technologies, including screen readers for the visually impaired, speech recognition and eye tracker systems for people with limited hand use, and many other devices.

“Our primary purpose is to provide user experience testing surrounding how people with disabilities use websites,” explains WeCo president and founder, Lynn Wehrman.

WeCo is an evermore common combination of a social venture and for-profit business called a social enterprise, or mission-based for-profit. Created in the wake of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to assist disabled Internet users by helping redesign the very websites that are trouble-filled, WeCo employs a team of test consultants composed completely of their target audience: disabled individuals. Currently, they employ a nine-person test team, but have plans to hire 21 more testers in 2012.

“We believe that people who live with disabilities have viable skills that should be rewarded [in the marketplace],” says Wehrman.

Besides creating open and fair access for all, there are also legal issues that business and government entities should be careful not to overstep when it comes to communicating with their customers. In accordance with the ADA and Rehabilitation Act of 1973, organizations that received federal funds need to make communications available to all people, regardless of disability level. (There’s a lot more on basic access, but I’ll leave that to the attorneys.)

Overall, WeCo sticks with inclusion ideals focusing on testing websites with different technologies, educating on digital accessibility, managing partnerships with design firms who understand accessibility and the laws around it, and, more recently, working with Microsoft Office 2010 functionality with screen readers and speech recognition. And there’s only more to come.

On Dec. 7, WeCo was a featured presenter at the 2011 Minnesota Government IT Symposium, and just two days later they gave their first “Access Approved” seal to Northwest Indiana Regional Bus Authority based on the WeCo Standards of Access.

Founder and Carleton College professor Jeff Ondich launched the company after developing a small electronic French-English dictionary and saw the larger language gap as a challenge he could tackle.  As technology has evolved since  and mobile devices become globally accessible for the first time, this Minneapolis company is doing it’s part to have a positive impact on the less fortunate.

In January, when the 2010 Haiti earthquake killed 220,000 people and injured another 300,000, Ultralingua responded by providing a free Haitian Medical Reference Guide to help the cause. The app included a Haitian Creole-English medical dictionary, audio phrasebook, and anthropological reference guide enabling doctors, nurses and other medical professionals to communicate with Haitian-Creole speaking patients.  Accessed by via iPod touch by relief workers who were on the ground, the app had life-saving value.

This unique experience, fused with years of personalized nonprofit software donations, led to the genesis of Apps for Aid, a new initiative Ultralingua announced at the beginning of December.

The Apps for Aid program was designed to make communication between international humanitarian organizations and the communities they serve easier. As Ultralingua’s marketing coordinator, Ashleigh Lincoln, puts it, “We provide product donations to partner organizations in a variety of areas, including disaster relief, education, medical care, engineering, immigration and more, to make communication across languages easier. “

So far, hundreds of software licenses have been donated for Mac, iOS and Windows. In May, the International Medical Relief will be taking Ultralingua’s free Spanish/ English apps to the field in Peru and Panama.

His earned-income nonprofit creation provides students from economically disadvantaged high schools with professional internships and mentoring opportunities within the IT division of various corporations.

“This recognition is really a tribute to all of those involved at Genesys Works…Thank you for being there and for seeing the vision of how we can fundamentally change the tracks of life for so many young people across our country,” Alvarez said.

Started in 2001 and based in Houston, TX, Genesys Works has trained hundreds of students to date — many from the Twin Cities — where the org’s only sister location is led by  “reformed venture capitalist” (Crescendo) Jeff Tollefson.

Since launching Genesys Works here in St.Paul early 2008, Tollefson’s team has helped train and place 235 local high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds into paid year-long internships throughout IT departments of 37 companies — including 3M, Medtronic, Ecolab, Cargill, Target and UnitedHealth, among others.

“The recognition of Rafael as a leading social entrepreneur is well-deserved.  He has architected a non-profit business model that not only serves the needs of low-income youth, but provides valuable services to the business community at the same time,” said Tollefson, noting that the earned income stream funds 80% of operations.

Solid work.

“What do Stillwater prison and a K-12 Minnesota school have in common? One has inmates doing hard time, and the other is dealing with hard times from budget cuts. But there is other common ground.

The Minnesota Computers for Schools (MCFS) program is a non-profit organization that trains Stillwater Correctional Facility inmates to refurbish computers donated by local businesses. The computers are then shipped to K-12 schools across the state for a nominal fee.”

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“In March of 2010, Jessica found herself without a working computer at home, and in danger of falling behind in her school work as a result.

Fortunately, thanks to a new project in the Brainerd area to provide refurbished used computers to income eligible families at a very low cost, Jessica now has a working computer at home, and thanks to a reduced internet access fee provided through Consolidated Telephone (CTC), she is also able to do on-line research from the comfort of her own home.”

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As such, the now 30-person operation moved on from “floral patterns and dust bunnies” to a state-of-the-art 30,000-square-foot warehouse in Zumbrota, Minn. to support 566 percent, 3-year growth that pushed annual revenues up over the $10-million mark.

WaterFilters.net may be a for-profit company, but the water runs deeper in this corporate culture.

“From the outset there was a concern about healthy ecology,” says Karl Rist, content marketing specialist at WaterFilters.net. “Our customers represent a wider community and they recognize the need for healthy water and a sustainable planet. We are part of that.”

When Arvig flew to Washington D.C. in September to meet with Scott Harrison, founder of global nonprofit charity: water, they formed a new collaboration called “Water Filters for Charity.” As a result, WaterFilters.net now donates 5 percent of sales — indefinitely — towards providing under-served individuals around the world with improved water facilities.

“We have always made it our mission to improve water and the world, but we decided to do more,” says Arvig. “It aligns perfectly with our company’s core values, and especially with our emerging emphasis on servant leadership. As a business, we offer our customers affordable, pure water. As a corporate participant in a larger movement, we are committed to bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in need.”

Since the program began in November, WaterFilters.net has already donated $10,000 to charity: water, a nonprofit that sends 100 percent of donations to water projects in needy communities. That’s enough to support two wells and clean drinking water for 1,000 people.

And their giving doesn’t stop there. Arvig and his team plan to send donations to a variety of nonprofits through a “You save, we give” campaign this holiday season. Blue Planet Network, Clean Water Fund, Living Water International, Project Wet, Thirst Relief International, WaterAid, Water for People, Waterkeeper Alliance, Water.org, and The Water Project will all benefit from this Minnesota company’s generosity.

“MINNEAPOLIS – Nov. 18, 2011 – During the third annual Give to the Max Day on Nov. 16, more than $13.4 million was raised to benefit Minnesota nonprofit organizations. And, a record 47,534 donors logged on to GiveMN.org to donate to their favorite Minnesota charity.

That tops last year’s donor record by nearly 5,000. In a 24-hour period, nearly 4,000 Minnesota nonprofit organizations benefited through donations, matching grants and prizes. GiveMN has helped raise $46 million for nonprofit organizations across the state since launching in November 2009.”

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“MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota’s nonprofit organizations ask Minnesotans to give to their favorite charities at GiveMN.org during the third annual “Give to the Max Day” on Nov. 16, with hopes of raising as much money as possible for nonprofit organizations in 24 hours (starting at midnight on Nov. 16 through midnight on Nov. 17).

GiveMN has raised more than $33 million for more than 5,000 nonprofits since its 2009 debut. Last year’s Give to the Max Day was once again one of the most successful one-day online fundraising drives in history, engaging more Minnesotans in nonprofit giving than ever before. Give to the Max Day drew an astounding 42,596 donors last year. As a result, more than $10 million was raised for the 3,663 participating nonprofit organizations.”

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