Makers For Vets Program Returning To Northeast Ohio

LAKEWOOD, OH — Challenge America is again bringing its Makers for Veterans program to Northeast Ohio. Teams of engineers, doctors and other "makers" will work together at St. Edward High School to forge solutions to difficulties faced by disabled military veterans.

The makers are all volunteers working together to improve life for a veteran. The engineers, doctors and students will be formed into groups and then paired with a veteran. Each veteran will have a unique challenge for the makers to take on. The teams will then discuss and design prototypes for a solution and then spend three days building a model for the veteran.

Earlier this year the first Makers for Veterans event was held entirely in Northeast Ohio. Volunteers built their prototypes at the Joseph & Helen Lowe Institute for Innovation at St. Edward High. This year, an expanded version of the program will return to the high school and to Northeast Ohio.

Read about one of last class' veteran participants.

Dallas Blaney, the executive director of Challenge America, told Patch he loves holding the Makers for Veterans program in the Cleveland area. "This place has been so great to us," he said. His organization has launched partnerships with the Cleveland Clinic, local universities and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Makers for Veterans will kick-off August 28 with a welcome reception in downtown Cleveland. Volunteers will be able to meet this year's class of veterans and discuss the challenges needing to be tackled. Blaney said there's always a need for more volunteers and interested parties can signup to help Challenge America on the group's website.

An official launch of the program will be held September 20 at St. Edward High. During that event, teams will be able to discuss, in-depth, the problems faced by their veteran, and begin to formulate ideas for a solution. Teams will keep in contact through a private Slack channel, allowing them to communicate easily online.

The Make-a-Thon will be held November 8 through November 10 at St. Ed's and a closing ceremony will be held Nov. 11 at the Global Center for Health Innovation in Cleveland.