Google finally announced the five nonprofit organizations that won its Giving through Glass contest, an opportunity to make use of its Glass wearable device to heighten their impact in societies.
From over 1,300 proposals, Google picked the winners, namely, Classroom Champions, 3000 Miles to a Cure, Mark Morris Dance Group, Women’s Audio Mission and The Hearing and Speech Agency.
Each of these nonprofits will bring home a pair of Google Glass, $25,000 grant, trip to Google for training and access to developers of the wearable device for assistance in realizing their projects.
For Classroom Champions based in Jacksonville, Florida, a group of Paralympic athletes and mentors who teach students about ability rather than disability, they will use the Glass to show students from high-needs schools what and how they train and compete, with the hope of teaching children the value of empathy.
"You know how we all say, 'Try and see things through other people's eyes?' It's tough to do, but with Glass you literally can," Steve Messler, founder of Classroom Champions, tells USA Today.
Messler is also a bobsledder who has competed in the Olympics three times.
Based in Lumberton, North Carolina, 3000 Miles to a Cure, meanwhile, will use the Glass eyepiece for riders or racers to document their 12-day journey, which is expected to raise awareness about brain cancer and gather research funds.
Through dance, New York-based Mark Morris Dance Group helps people suffering from Parkinson’s disease redeem their sense of independence and control in their daily existence. With Google Glass, the group will develop a Glass app under its award-winning initiative dubbed as Dance for PD that will help PD patients remember and activate their body movements.
On the other hand, Women’s Audio Mission in San Francisco will let its instructors wear the Glass device to teach girls and women about arts, music, science, math, engineering and technology and produce an immersive experience.
The Hearing and Speech Agency in Baltimore will use Glass wearables to help people with hearing loss, autism and speech-language challenges improve their communication.
“Developers are already working with these inspiring groups, and next week these five nonprofits will descend on Google Glass' Base Camp in San Francisco for training, and to connect with their Google mentors,” Google.org director Jacquelline Fuller writes in a blog post.
Google Glass has gained a bad rap in the past, compromising the safety and security of its users after being embroiled in several incidences in public places, so this new partnership of the company with charitable organizations is seen by observers as a good move to pull up its tainted reputation.
