Community Good Projects
Welcome! This page has all of the information needed to start helping out the community by joining a team, working on a project, and seeing the impact that your work can have.
Frequently Asked Questions about Community Good Projects
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None! The only things we require are your energy and passion to help the community.
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Maker Works provides classes and memberships for Community Good volunteers, but funding comes from whoever gives us the project (which is often the nonprofit organization May We Help).
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Meetings are not on a set schedule, but we aim to have one every other week — we try to accommodate everyone.
How many hours we expect you to put in varies depending on the project. All projects have some sort of deadline, but some are sooner than others; see the current project (below) for more detail about what is expected from Community Good team members.
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For each project, we usually get roughly 6-10 people. If you want to join, please plan to stay with the project until its completion.
Current Project Needing Help
Adaptive dock-mounted reel-less fishing system
Description: We have a request through May We Help to design and build at least two dock fishing devices for users with very minimal motor function. The users will be students at Washtenaw Intermediate School District. The proposed design is to use a Japanese reel-less fly fishing rod (tenkara) with a bell to alert the user of a bite, as well as a safety bobber which encapsulates the hook when it returns. The device needs to clamp to the dock and have a built-in battery pack so the user can trigger the rod by using a button on their wheelchair. The button has a 3.5mm audio jack wire, which will need to plug into the adaptive device. The “casting” of the rod will require external aid and likely involve a spring and hair trigger.
Started On: 4/13/2025 (first meeting)
Deadline: before the school year starts (end of August)
Expected Number of Work Hours per Week: TBD
Compensation: TBD
Main Tasks:
Designing some sort of adaptive device
Helps to have experience with drafting, CAD, etc.
Manufacturing the device
If you feel like none of the tasks above speak to your strengths but you still want to participate, please still fill out the interest form! The project leader will always try to find tasks for everyone to do. We are happy to teach you the skills needed to assist effectively.
Meetings are happening in-person at Maker Works (3765 Plaza Dr, Ann Arbor).