Project Voice

I met Jim Barrett at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast after I'd announced the availability of some pro bono time.

During his volunteer work with Easter Seals patients he had designed a new keyboard that would allow them to communicate much more easily. He needed sponsors, seed money, something to get the prototype out of design and into development.

And in order to get that started he needed a brochure. And a logo. We sat down, talked it out and I helped him get started.

I wrote the brochure, laid it out, designed a logo and gave him a PDF on disk. He was then free to print what he needed as he went along.

I gave a little time to someone who was giving a little time.

Here's the text I wrote for the initial brochure.

==============================

(brochure front panel)

Imagine this.

You think. You feel. You move.

And you are unable to speak.

(logo)

Inside 1st column

Project Voice

What we mean ....

Some people with disabilities are confined to wheelchairs. In some

cases, cerebral palsy being one of them, the ability to speak is

lost over time.

Steven Hawking, the celebrated physicist, is one of those people.

The computer technology that helps him educate and communicate to

us what he understands about the universe is not priced out of

this world.

While talking books and talking boards can be cost prohibitive for

personal ownership, inexpensive labs can be set up using recycled

computers and a bit of ingenuity.

That we can do. There is much work ahead of us and much of it is

beyond our particular expertise.

And so, we need your help!

(Inside 2nd column)

Project Voice

What you can do immediately ....

• Raise Your Voice! Help get the word out. Talk to people you

know. Get the idea juice flowing.

• We need Financial Expertise and help administering donations.

• Underwriters: Help secure 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.

• General Legal, Patent & Copyright

• PR/Media assistance

• Videographer or photographer to document the conversion process.

• Tech writer to document the conversion process.

• We need you to help think of things we need that we don't yet

know we need.

We appeal to you, what else do we need?

(Inside 3rd column)

Project Voice

What we intend ....

We intend to make assistive communication technology more

affordable.

We intend to show how to set up computer labs for those in group

homes and day centers.

We intend to create a hardware list of new and used equipment that

is most and least desired.

We intend to document the process of converting recycled computers

so that others might follow our lead.

And, what else do we intend? If you're interested just call. We'll

put you on an update list.

Who knows what your rewards will be? Our rewards will be more and

better conversations with our friends. And we will all know we've

made a difference in someone's life.

The back panels consisted of a letter written by Mr. Barrett.

If you'd like to get in touch with Jim Barrett. let me know and I'll give him a ring.