“Don’t be bored… Make Something!” This is Joey Hudy’s mantra. Joey first came to my (and most of the rest of the world’s) attention when he and President Obama shot a marshmallow cannon in the White House during the 2012 White House Science Fair. I even reported on a video about the incident shortly after it happened. It was fascinating!
Joey Hudy is a 15 -year-old boy, with no particular affinity for sports or the arts. He is, however, incredibly talented at Make-ing things, and wants to be an engineer when he grows up and gets out of school. Joey has ADD, ADHD, and Aspergers, and has attended six different schools in his short life.
Once Joey realized his talent for the Make lifestyle, he was hooked, and hasn’t looked back since. He has gotten a lot of support in the past from Make, Elenco, Shopbot, Cognizant, and many others in the Make community.
Joey Hudy has started speaking to young people everywhere to encourage them to find something that interests them and pursue it. Joey specifically encourages STEM-related activities for those kids who can’t seem to find their place among their peers. Joey tells all kids, “Don’t be bored…. MAKE something!” Joey has said many times that Make changed his life. He is just trying to pass the message to help other kids just like him.
Joey has set a goal to attend and speak at three of this year’s Maker Faires around the country. If you didn’t know, there are four annual Maker Faires held around the country: Maker Fair Bay Area (May 19-20), Maker Faire Kansas City (June 23-24), Maker Faire Detroit (July 28-29), and World Maker Fair New York (Sept. 29-30). In order to do this he needs to raise about $5,000 — not a small chunk of change by anyone’s standards. Unfortunately, even with all of his White House publicity this year, the fundraising has had lackluster results. So far, he has only had two contributors for a total of $75.
Let’s get Joey Hudy to Maker Faire to be a young ambassador for STEM education! Let’s band together as proud Geek Moms and help him raise the funds he needs to go. You can buy “Don’t be bored… MAKE something!” bracelets, you can donate directly to his ChipIn account, and you can view his progress on his website. He has also given a few other methods of donating directly or with a tax write-off that are detailed on his site.
Let’s MAKE his dream happen!
