Global Technology Awardee Creates Non Profit to Further Humanitarian Uses of Technology
Davies-Gauthier Foundation Established to Improve Access to Technology for People with Intellectual Disabilities
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO – Principals at AbleLink Technologies, Inc., a national leader in research and development of cognitive support technologies, today announced the formation of a non profit organization with the mission to improve access to computer technology for students and adults with intellectual disabilities. The new organization, the John R. Davies – Francis Gauthier Foundation, was named after relatives of the founders of the nonprofit and will utilize donations and grants to provide free and low cost computer equipment and specialized software to special education students and adults with intellectual disabilities receiving supports from non profit service agencies.
Daniel K. Davies, Founder and President of AbleLink Technologies, Inc., was recently named a Tech Museum Laureate for his pioneering work in research and development of cognitive technology, and thus chose that occasion to establish the Davies-Gauthier Foundation. “This is the realization of a dream Steve and I have had since the beginning of AbleLink” noted Davies. “Although technology costs have decreased over the years, lack of funding for assistive hardware and software remains a huge barrier to adoption of technology for people with cognitive disabilities, and we are blessed to be able to get this effort started.”
Co-Director of the Davies-Gauthier Foundation and AbleLink vice president, Steven Stock, echoed the need: “Over the years we have repeatedly seen the situation where the special education classroom gets hand me down, donated PCs with outdated software and hardware. Yet these are the same kids that need the power of today’s technology to run the multimedia-intense software applications that work best for them. An initial focus of the new Foundation will be to establish Cognitive Technology Labs with state-of the art hardware and software equipment to help kids get what they need to succeed.”
AbleLink has committed $100,000 over the next five years to get the new foundation off the ground, through a combination of cash contributions and donations of new technology. The Foundation will operate as a 501(c)(3) corporation eligible for tax deductible donations, and plans to raise $1 million overall over the first five years. The Foundation will, in turn, establish Cognitive Technology Labs using specialized computer hardware and software for free or at significantly reduced cost to schools and organizations that provide services to students and adults with intellectual disabilities. The term intellectual disability is a more recent adaptation of the term mental retardation, which generally refers to people who have had significant deficits in cognitive functioning since birth or from early in life.
Both of the Foundation’s namesakes were people with intellectual disabilities. The late John R. Davies was the oldest brother of Dan Davies, and the late Francis Gauthier was an uncle to Stock. “Without knowing it, these two men were a significant reason why Dan started AbleLink and why I joined him six months later” noted Stock. “I would have loved to see Uncle Francis using some of the software we have developed over the years. He wasn’t able to speak very much, but like so many with intellectual disabilities, he was a guy who was so much more capable than he was able to show.”
Anyone interested in obtaining more information about the Davies-Gauthier Foundation can call 719-592-0347 or email info@davies-gauthierfoundation.org.