Community Partnerships

Community Partnerships

Baldwin Wallace University Center for Innovation and Growth

The Center for Innovation & Growth (CIG) at Baldwin Wallace University prepares tomorrow’s leaders to change their world. Students learn – and practice – skills in creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. The Center’s mission is to infuse innovation and entrepreneurship campus-wide and contribute to the regional economy.

Along with several other regional organizations, The Innovation Garage® gives back and supports the CIG in several areas. We support as an advisory board member, and provide education to members of the student growth practice. This includes education events, as well as providing growth practice interns opportunities to collaborate and support our client engagements.

Reach out to us if you would like to understand more about CIG.

Community Partnerships

Inclusioneers

The Inclusioneers Solution

At the heart of the Inclusioneers concept is the need for engineered adaptive solutions, coupled with the energy and talent of college engineering students, guided by the strength of experienced business professional engineers.

Who We Are Together –  Inclusioneers are volunteers that provide inclusive engineered solutions to help the disenfranchised enjoy the same facilities, events, and activities, that are commonly taken for granted by the mainstream population.

Through volunteer time and talent, our team helps people of all abilities engage in community programs and enjoy their natural learning environment.

Inclusioneers Purpose

The Inclusioneers organization is formed exclusively for charitable purposes. The Inclusioneers organization is purposed for the charitable mission to provide inclusive engineered solutions that (a) are ADA (American Disabilities Act) compliant, (b) are designed by mentor engineers that volunteer from local businesses and student engineers that volunteer from local colleges, (c) bring accessibility to public facilities, public events and (d) provide independence and mobility to individuals with developmental disabilities, empowering people of all abilities in the Summit County community.

Inclusioneers Background

In the fall of 2015, it all started with a simple idea to bring an engineered solution to the aid of a 3 year old girl who just wanted to ride a bike with her siblings. Because she was born with a physical disability, she received support from a local board service agency, designed to provide assistance to individuals with disabilities. Through community connections between Summit DD Board, a local business engineer and the University of Akron, a volunteer effort was formed to grant a little girl’s wish.

In the spring of 2016, after the successful completion of an adaptive bike handle-bar project, additional requests for inclusive engineered solutions were met with enthusiasm. An entire class of 30 Biomedical Engineering (BME) students at the University of Akron (UA) volunteered to solve more client requests and make a positive “real world” impact on individual lives. With this expanded pool of talent, teams scaled up to accept 5 new projects.

Additionally, mentor engineers from local businesses volunteered their time, project management experience and engineering know-how to assist the UA student engineers.

As a result, projects moved more quickly and teams learned to clearly define: (a) Roles and Responsibilities, (b) Communication Channels, (c) Project Procedures and (d) model a classic Project Management approach throughout the project process (i.e. Concept Reviews, Design Reviews, and Design Testing etc.).

An anchor project for community outreach of Inclusioneers and the Summit County Development Disabilities Board is the Mobile Sensory Bus. Conceptualized during the Covid Pandemic and launched in 2022, the MSB has become the visual calling card for Inclusioneers support across the community. To check out a virtual tour of the MSB and learn more visit this link.

The Innovation Garage® supports the Inclusioneers as an advisory board member and supports its operations and events.

Visit The Inclusioneers Facebook Page to learn more.

Community Partnerships

Pegasus Farm

A Premier Therapeutic Equestrian Center and PATH Intl. Premier Accredited

The mission of Pegasus Farm is to create a community that holistically supports and empowers people with diverse needs through therapeutic equestrian programs, vocational services, and recreational and social activities.

Located in the Canton-Akron area of northeast Ohio, Pegasus Farm was founded in 1986 by three Canton City School teachers who envisioned an equestrian center that could offer children with special needs the opportunity for physical activity and recreation.

Pegasus Farm opened in the spring of 1986, with five students, two horses, and one backyard, and grew to 70 students in its second year. Donations and volunteer labor led to building a nine-stall barn, acquiring more horses, and a windfall of other goods and services including feed, tack, and riding helmets. From the beginning, volunteer staff demonstrated a strong commitment to quality, striving to offer services that were based upon best practices and established industry standards.

Because of this strong early effort, Pegasus Farm became one of the first facilities to be accredited by PATH International (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International) in its first year of operation. The Farm has successfully maintained this accreditation at the “premier” level, which is the highest level of accreditation PATH offers.

Additionally, Pegasus is accredited by the Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA) which sets national standards for group riding programs. All of Pegasus’ instructors are individually certified by PATH Int. and by the Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA) in one or more categories of instruction and at one or more levels of achievement.

Over the past 35 years, with the generous support of individuals, organizations, and foundations, Pegasus Farm purchased land and built a heated indoor arena that allows us to serve at our current capacity. Today, Pegasus Farm is one of the largest, most programmatically diverse therapeutic equestrian centers in the United States.

Pegasus Farm provides Equestrian Programs, Adult Day Services, and additional support programs for Military and First Responders.

The Farm also provides job training and employment opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities both on the property and within in its Country Store and Gardens Farm Shop.

The Innovation Garage® supports Pegasus Farms as a member of its Board of Trustees and select event sponsorships.

If you’d like to contribute your support, visit their Online Donation page.

Community Partnerships

The University of Akron

Illuminate Conference & Biomedical Engineering Teams

The Innovation Garage® supports the University of Akron at its annual Illuminate Events for first year students looking to discover their individual passions and interests as a career.

Our Team also supports the Department of Biomedical Engineering by providing support, coaching and insight as part of project activities with the Inclusioneers, and Summit County Developmental Disabilities board.

Community Partnerships

Leadership Akron

Junior Leadership Akron

Junior Leadership Akron is modeled after the Leadership Akron Signature Program and provides community awareness and leadership skills for high school juniors throughout Summit County.

Through a nine-month curriculum of community-based experiences, participants become familiar with current issues, community and natural resources, and other factors influencing Akron’s future.

The Innovation Garage® supports the program by participating and sharing insights in its Business and Entrepreneurship program days.