Pandell Gives $30,000 in Winter Wear and AR|VR Technology to Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth
December 15, 2019 (Calgary) - Every holiday season Pandell staff work together on a fundraising project to support a local charitable organization. This year we wanted to connect with people who share our passion for [read: obsession with] modern technologies that can be used to achieve something awesome.
Enter the Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth, aka, USAY.
USAY’s program leaders have brilliantly connected the dots between respected story-telling arts rooted in Indigenous culture and the modern world of augmented and virtual reality technologies. They’ve partnered with local AR|VR production experts who’ve helped bring Elders’ stories to life; transport people to significant places and events in Indigenous history; and create virtual escape rooms that teach adaptive skills unique to Indigenous youth experiences.
Did someone say augmented reality? That’s a software developer’s Disneyland! This week Pandell held a project wrap-up party that brought our techno-loving staff together with USAY’s energetic team, for a fun meet and greet. Besides gorging on pizza and ice cream, we were entertained by USAY’s very own AR and VR productions they brought along to share. We also presented USAY with the fruits of our ‘Doughvember’ fundraising activities, which included:
- 47 warm winter jackets of every color and style, self-selected by the teens currently enrolled in USAY’s programming. A big thank you to Sunridge SportChek for the discounts!
- $20,000 worth of technology tools to create an onsite AR|VR learning studio at USAY. The gifts included 15 Oculus headsets with face screens and cases, a projector and screen, a MacBook Pro, numerous games, software, and more. The studio primarily will be used to deliver teacher-led training sessions that will assist youth in acquiring the technical skills needed to begin careers in AR and VR production.
As they say, that’s a wrap for our team charity project this year! We’re always interested in learning about not-for-profit organizations making a difference in our community and how we could support them. Write to us with your 2020 Holiday Charity Project Idea at info@pandell.com.
About USAY
USAY is a not-for-profit organization that strives to provide essential programming and services to Calgary’s Indigenous youth between the ages of 12 and 29. Its fundamental vision is to empower urban Indigenous youth to envision and attain a healthy sustainable future while upholding traditional Indigenous values. Learn more at www.usay.ca.
About Pandell
Pandell is an industry leader in delivering Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions to 500+ energy companies in Canada, the USA, and abroad. Our customers range from startups to major enterprises across energy sectors including oil & gas, pipelines, utilities, mining, and renewable energy. Our cloud-hosted product suite helps finance, land, and field operations run their business more effectively; while our enterprise division builds and manages large-scale web portal applications that facilitate work across organizations. Combining the strength of our industry experience, Lithium™ technology, and practical software subscription model, we are Crafting the Future of Energy Software.
