Organization helping injured veterans get on their feet again
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The robotic exoskeleton uses sensors and motors to help people walk again. (Image courtesy of Ekso Bionics)
An organization that started sending socks and toiletries to veterans has established a much loftier goal.
Chris Meek, co-founder of SoldierSocks, says five years of shipping tube socks and baby wipes to soldiers overseas ended, for the most part, when combat ended. But then the group saw an even bigger need.
“We came across an article in a magazine by a company in Richmond, California, called Ekso Bionics,” Meek said. “They make an exoskeleton device that enables paralyzed individuals to literally stand and walk again.”
So the group launched a variety of fund-raisers to buy eight of the $100,000 suits, and Meek said they’re trying to do more.
“We had initially pledged to funding 10, but after we hit eight of the 10, we went back to Ekso Bionics, and we’ve now committed to 80 suits over the next three years,” Meek said.
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