Three mothers from Lynn who work to make their city more inclusive are about to bring their revolutionary project designed to help ease disabled peoples’ lives, thanks to a massive donation and their passion.
Lynn Disability Network Group was one of seven finalists to present its project at “The Arc Tank 5.0″ at the JFK Library in Boston on Tuesday. The group is run by three mothers who work to create inclusive events for families who also have members with disabilities throughout Lynn.
Lisa Tulipani, who is one of the mothers, delivered a passionate presentation on “The Lynnebago,” referencing her own struggles of having to change her 4-year-old son with disabilities on public bathroom floors. “The Lynnebago,” is an attachable trailer with an accessible bathroom and an adjustable changing table that features sensory-friendly and multilingual communication technologies.
The group asked for $63,000, but Northeast Arc awarded $75,000 to help Lynn Disability Network Group bring “The Lynnebago” to life. Tulipani said the money will help have the schematic design of “The Lynnebago” professionally fabricated and delivered to the city and will be used to design a website.
“It has been a blur of really amazing things,” Tulipani told MassLive right after the final verdict. “It was surreal.”
Northeast Arc, a Danvers-based nonprofit that offers support and services to individuals with disabilities or autism and their families, hosted its fifth annual “The Arc Tank” on Dec. 5.
The “Shark Tank”-style pitch competition rewarded about $200,000 to projects aimed at improving the lives of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
The event was emceed by NBC10 and NECN morning news anchor Latoyia Edwards and featured a panel of judges moderated by serial entrepreneur and investor David Chang.
Tim Browne, chief innovation and strategy officer at Northeast Arc, said “The Arc Tank” started because the nonprofit wanted to encourage entrepreneurs and businesses to think about people with disabilities while they were developing their own programs.
“When we looked on a nationwide basis, we could not find social innovation contests specifically for people with disabilities or autism,” he said. “We thought that by doing The Arc Tank, we would help start that conversation and get people to start thinking about the needs that our population that we support exist.”
Since 2017, “The Arc Tank” has awarded more than $850,000 to proposals that promise to break down barriers for people with disabilities. With “The Arc Tank 5.0,” the event officially surpassed its $1 million donation from Steven P. Rosenthal, founder and chairman of West Shore, LLC., from 2017.
“We have opened the doors for so many people across this country,” Browne added. “Through ‘The Arc Tank,’ we’re hoping to inspire more people to be thinking big and thinking bold and living out their dreams.”
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Browne said several projects over the years especially showcase “big-and-bold thinking,” including “The Lynnebago,” which was also named this year’s fan favorite.
“We touched so many lives and so many people’s hearts,” Maria Riley, with Lynn Disability Network Group, said. “A lot of people understood what ‘The Lynnebago’ represents and they feel passionate about it.”
“The Lynnebago” was also one of only two finalists from Massachusetts that presented at “The Arc Tank 5.0.” Out of 150 applicants, seven projects made it to the final round.
The other finalists were:
- Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center for Indigenous Health: Ask Grandma: A Culturally Responsive Early Developmental Support App
- Cephable: AI Powered Accessible Controls for Everyone
- Floreo: Virtual Reality to Teach Social, Communication, Behavioral, and Life
- Institute for Exceptional Care: IDD Advocate Corps
- Impruvon Health, IntellectAbility, StationMD, SimplyHome: Inclusive Tech Care Collaborative
- Lynn Disability Network Group: “The Lynnebago”
- NFlyte: An All-in-One Practical Life Skills App for Autistic Adults
The goal of “The Lynnebago” is to help disabled individuals and their families overcome barriers that deter them from participating in public events.
Lynn Disability Network Group already offers an adult changing table that the women paid for out of their own pockets.
The infusion of cash from “The Arc Tank” will allow “The Lynnebago” to make more events throughout Lynn — and potentially the North Shore — accessible to people with disabilities.
“We feel passionate and that’s where this came from,” Riley said. “We were going to do this no matter what and I’m glad that we did get this grant because now we can make it happen as soon as, like, tomorrow.”
“We are so proud of us,” Louise Dominique, with the group, added. “I feel like I’m still dreaming.”
Tulipani added that they were approached by several organizations who wanted to either buy in or support “The Lynnebago.”
On Wednesday morning, the group met with Lynn’s public health director and received a rolling grant of $25,000 every year for the next three years “for studies and projects focusing on access, inclusion and innovation,” Tulipani told MassLive Wednesday.
More information about Lynn Disability Network Group can be found on its Facebook page.
