It takes a village of smart, kind, industrious volunteers to design, build and deliver so many cars and other assistive devices.  Geeks for Kids is, after all, an all-volunteer initiative.  This year alone, we will host about 150 Build/Delivery events plus some special events.  If you are interested in volunteering and having a bigger impact, Build & Delivery events (covered on this page) are for you!  If you are a recipient, a donor/sponsor, or a newcomer wanting to get the lay of the land, then Guest Events are for you (learn more about those events here).  

To build all these cars, assistive devices and host all these events, Geeks for Kids needs 300+ volunteers each year – students and professionals alike - with lots of different skills including:

• Engineers
• Roboticists
• Programmers
• Mechanics
• Physical and occupational therapists
• Designers
• Seamstresses
• Project managers
• Writers
• Fundraisers
• Marketers and social media mavens
• Sponsors and donors
• And, more!

Read on to learn more about some of the ways you can get involved.

Design & Planning Meetings

The folks on our Design Team & Business Leaders Board keep Geeks for Kids and Invent for Good humming like a well-oiled engine.  These teams meet year-round.  The Design Team meets Monday and Thursday evenings, and the Business Team meets every other Wednesday for lunch.  These folks fuel all that we do.  

The Design Team designs and builds all the technical components that go into our vehicles.  And, the Business Leaders Board handle all business tasks including recruiting recipients and volunteers, planning events, raising money, identifying potential partners, writing documentation, etc. 

To learn more about how you can make magic happen for all the kids who are waiting for the #Power2Play, visit our Join the Team page to learn more or drop us a note to arrange a visit.

Build Events

It’s "all hands on deck" for Build Events. Over the course of each Build, 40 to 75 volunteers strive to assemble 10 to 12 cars in a day.

No tech skills are necessary for many tasks. Physical therapists check our designs to make sure they suit each child’s specific needs. Seamstresses help us cut out and sew seat cushions and make seat belts. Folks from all walks of life help with tasks like wrapping hard, plastic wheels with rubber tread, pulling LED lights through plastic tubing, installing license plates and cushions, and more. 

There are lots of jobs for our technically-minded folks, too.  The techies can pitch in and help our Design Team build drive systems that make it possible for kids to drive using only their hands, or their feet, or just with a flick of the finger or the press of a cheek.  They also help us assemble other assistive devices.  They create wiring harnesses.  And, they modify steering assemblies and ready safety systems for installation.  

There is lots of work for every skill set and interest. And, no one has to "go it alone."  One of our experienced team leaders supports every team.

The Details

• Dates: There are 9 Build Events this year. See the column at top, right to check out this year’s schedule.
• Time: 8:30a to 4:30p – You can join us for the day and see a build through from beginning to end, or you can choose to volunteer for just the morning or afternoon. The morning shift runs from 8:30a to 1:30p, and the afternoon shift runs from 11:30 to 4:30p.
• Location: The Downtown Underground, 3101 Mercier Street, Suite 419, Kansas City, MO 64111
• To Fuel Your Engines: Drinks, lunch and snacks will be served.

Invent for Good

In our Invent for Good program, student teams from all over our region and beyond gather to design and prototype new solutions to the challenges our recipients face.  We coach a local, Kansas City team in our workshop as well as teams from middle schools, high schools and colleges around the U.S.  These teams need lots of guidance from professional engineers, programmers, product developers, healthcare and child development experts and more.  We invite you to join our team and help student translate what they learn in their classrooms and labs into life-changing solutions for other kids. 

Our internal team meets on Monday evenings in our workshop in downtown Kansas City, MO.  We meet with other teams weekly at times and places that suit their schedules. 

If you or your kids would like to join our team or form a new team, visit our Invent for Good page to learn more.

Delivery Day Celebrations

To our team – and we hope soon for you too – Delivery Days are like the best Christmas morning ever! We bring together our recipient families, volunteers and sponsors for one huge party.

We set up a play area and a racetrack, do a final fitting for each child and then send the kids out to take a few loops around the track. When you see our kids (kids who cannot explore on their own) race around in their custom, electric cars for the first time, you'll see why our team volunteers so much of their free time to give these kids the #Power2Play. Then, relax and enjoy the party! There will be treats and drinks, music, bubbles, balloons and lots of fun. It will be the best day of your year!

The Details

• Kansas City - Fall Delivery Day & All Abilities Trunk or Treat
  • Date:  Saturday, October 5 (or 10/6 if rained out on the 5th)
  • Time:  
    • Volunteers:  Noon to 5p
    • Recipients:  1p (for final fitting and training before the party starts!)
    • Guests:  2 to 4p
  • Location:  The Summit Church, 3381 NW Chipman Rd, Lee's Summit, MO 64081
     
• Kansas City - Summer Delivery Day
  • Date:  Saturday, May 31 (Set-Up Only) and Sunday, June 1 (The Event)
  • Time:
    • Volunteers:
      • Set-Up Crew, Saturday, 5/31/25 – 3 to 7p
      • D-Day Crew, Sunday, 6/1/25 – 11a to 6p
      • Wheels & Wishes Crew, Sunday, 6/1/25 – 1 to 7p   
      • Load Out Crew, Sunday, 6/1/25 – 5 to 7:30p
    • Recipients & Guests: Sunday, 6/1/25 - 1 to 5p
  • Location: Porsche Kansas City, 9415 W 65th St Building #2, Merriam, KS 66203
  • To Fuel Your Engines: Drinks and treats will be served.
     
• Cleveland Delivery Day 
  • Date:  Saturday, June 14 (Tentative)
  • Time:  8a to 5p
  • Location:  Hyland Software, Building 3, 28105 Clemens Rd, Westlake, OH 44145
     
• Colorado Springs Delivery Day
  • Date:  Saturday, July 26 (Tentative)
  • Time:  Noon to 5p
  • Location:  TBD

Star Shot Initiative

What is a "Star Shot" and why are we launching one now?  Initially, we discussed launching a moon shot - a term that has come to mean tackling something hard and maybe a bit crazy.  Then, we realized that what we must do is very hard and more than a little crazy.  So, we dubbed our new initiative a "Star Shot" - something we cannot yet do, but just like America's initial Moon Shot, we must and will find a way. 

Now, for the why.  The Geeks for Kids team has hit the mother of all speed bumps - the discontinuation of the base car we have used since our launch.  At the end of June, we will have no more cars for our kids.  This comes as the demand for our cars has doubled; we have hundreds of kids waiting in our queue, and our new year has not even begun.  To add to the challenge, the kids who are applying range in age from 1 to 18 and have differing needs, abilities and sizes.  One size and type of vehicle will NOT fit all. 

We need your help.  Whether you are a planner, a project manager, a designer, an engineer, mechanic, a physical therapist or a software developer, you can help.  Sign up to learn more at our brainstorming session on August 26, 2025.