Many job-seekers with disabilities know how hard it can be to secure a job. For this reason,Goodwill NYNJ will serve as a MakerSpace to host The Make Your Job! project to expand entrepreneurial opportunities for individuals with disabilities in Northern New Jersey.

Imagine a world where anyone can make almost anything and an individual can be a one-person corporation with global distribution. This is the concept of a MakerSpace—to make economic growth available to all and empower individuals to become not only entrepreneurs, but self-sustaining for-profit businesses, regardless of disability, work experience, age, employment history, or access to capital.

Goodwill NYNJ has teamed up with the Rutgers NJ MakerSpace Association and the Rutgers Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CUEED) to launch Make Your Job! in northern New Jersey. This 2-year pilot project is funded by the Kessler Foundation. 

MakerSpaces are community centers that house prototyping and fabrication tools geared toward innovators, entrepreneurs, and micro-manufacturers. MakerSpace participants have access to creative technology including 3D printers and laser cutters, interactive classes to learn how to use the equipment, and a vibrant atmosphere spurring creativity. The general public may contribute to the project by: Donating high tech equipment for the project, providing consultation and/or hands-on training site for students, offering resources to support our entrepreneurs in selling merchandise, or becoming a funder to enhance and expand the MakerSpace project.

Last month, our NJ Operations hosted an open house to introduce the Make Your Job! pilot project to individuals with disabilities, potential consultants, in-kind donors, funders, and other entrepreneurs.

For more information about our MakerSpace and the Make Your Job! pilot project, please contact Lori Friedman, Senior Vice President Northern NJ Division at (973) 474-2021 or lfriedman@goodwillnynj.org