Google launches program to help people with disabilities

Google has launched a program to help people living with disabilities. The company is putting $20 million in Google.org grants behind nonprofits that use emerging technologies to increase independence for people living with disabilities. And it wants your help: Google is issuing an open call to identify new areas of opportunity. Google is kicking things off by supporting two organizations:

• It is giving a $600,000 grant to the Enable community, which connects people who need prosthetics with volunteers who use 3-D printers to design, print, assemble and fit them for free.
• It is also giving a $500,000 grant to World Wide Hearing, which will develop, prototype and test an "extremely low-cost" tool kit for hearing loss using smartphone technology that’s widely available in the developing world.