Belle River teens tailor toys for kids with physical limitations

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Belle River District High School students are making sure children with physical limitations can enjoy the simple pleasure of a new toy this holiday season.

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Computer engineering and technology students took part in the Greater Essex County District School Board’s second annual Hack the Holidays Adapt-It Workshop on Monday.

“It’s a good learning experience for the students,” said Heather St. Pierre, the school’s computer engineering technology teacher. “It’s great to see kids applying the skills they learn in class to a real-world activity. It’s even better that it’s a charitable activity.”

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The goal of the workshop is to adapt toys for children with physical limitations at the John McGivney Children’s Centre.

In order to transform the traditional toys into inclusive holiday gifts, students put their skills to the test by modifying wiring and soldering new connections to make the toys more accessible.

A wide range of toys, from remote control cars to electronic baseball pitching machines, were adapted to include large buttons that function as on-and-off switches.

“Sometimes students without physical means need larger buttons to manipulate toys so that their play is accessible,” said Kelsey Smith, educational co-ordinator at John McGivney Children’s Centre school authority.

“Some students don’t have the fine motor accessibility to flick an on-and-off switch. Now, they will be able to push a large button and operate the toy.”

Disassembling the toy proved to be the most challenging task, according to Ethan St. John, a Grade 12 student at Belle River. He said unscrewing the tiny screws that held the toys together took him the most time.

“I’m taking my knowledge that I’ve learned over the past two years to benefit kids who are in need of these toys,” said St. John. “The best part is being able to give somebody the ability to do something that they couldn’t otherwise do.

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“If I was a kid in their shoes, I would love to have a toy like this, especially for Christmas.”

A second workshop takes place Wednesday at Tecumseh Vista Academy from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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The toys, funded by donations from the Kingsville Optimist Club, the Essex Knights of Columbus, and the Carpenters and Joiners Union Local 494, will be distributed to JMCC families on December 3.

“We just want everybody to have the availability of accessible play,” Smith said.

mholmeshill@postmedia.com

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