Can mobile technology help the blind? Enable more people to purchase farm-fresh foods? Empower citizen-scientists to reduce invasive plant and insect species? Increase high school students’ skills in math and science? Yes. It can do that and so much more.
Curious and creative minds at nonprofit organizations throughout the United States are asking these kinds of questions every day. And the Motorola Mobility Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Motorola Mobility, is proud to help them make their dreams a reality. Combined with other grant-making programs this year, the Motorola Mobility Foundation has provided one million dollars in funding for digital, social, and mobile technology programs that expand awareness and engagement in communities across the country.
These are just a few of the exciting programs underway:
- Horizons for the Blind will revolutionize the way people who are blind or visually impaired shop. A mobile scanning application will give users quick and efficient access to product information on the go.
- Thousands of low-income shoppers who rely on Food Stamps can’t use them at farmers markets. Just Harvest Education Fund is about to change all that by equipping the Pittsburg Citi-Parks farmers markets with wireless technology to process food stamps as well as credit and debit cards; making fresh, healthy food accessible to everyone regardless of income.
- The Adler Planetarium will develop Explorers Wanted, a location-based alternate reality game using online, social and mobile media to engage the Chicago community in astronomy through positive, personal experiences. Gamers will use a series of clues and challenges to advance the plot of an overarching story, culminating at the museum for an exclusive, final event.
This year’s largest grant was awarded to the Center for Mobile Learning at the MIT Media Lab. The year-long collaboration between MIT and the Motorola Mobility Foundation will create a signature curriculum based on App Inventor, a simple tool for building Android applications. It will focus on empowering young learners in the world of mobile computing by giving them the ability to create and personalize their own mobile applications.
View the complete list of this year’s Empowerment Grant winners.
The Motorola Mobility Foundation focuses its funding on education, community, health and wellness and disaster relief. For more information, on Motorola Mobility Corporate and Foundation giving, visit Motorola.com/give
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