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Generator is a design and fabrication sandbox in the heart of Burlington, Vermont’s South End Arts and Business district. Its makerspace is a combination of artist studios, classrooms, and business incubator at the intersection of art, science, and technology. They provide the tools, expertise, education, and opportunity that empowers community members to create, collaborate, and make their ideas a reality.
Mascoma Bank’s gift to the Generator’s community, education, and empowerment fund has supported public classes and tool trainings throughout the pandemic. In-person and hands-on classes are still being offered, although running at half capacity this past year.
Significantly, this fund also supports ongoing education and training for instructors as well. In 2021, Generator will be incorporating multicultural diversity, equity, and inclusion training “so that our instructors can help make Generator a place of belonging, and not othering.”
Meg Hammond, executive director at Generator, explains how safety training and cultural training often intersect – and it starts with safety. “The better we can train people to be safe at Generator, the better as a whole we can take care of each other.”
For example, safety training helps prevent people from jumping to assumptions of knowledge that could lead to injuries later. For instance, don’t assume that everyone knows how to use a hammer.
Generator also helps launch businesses through their entrepreneurial programs: JumpStart, JumpStart Business of Art, and JumpStart Collegiate for college students. And, says Meg, “Mascoma’s B Corp certification serves as a model for the businesses they help create.”
Generator is supported by members, academic partners, company underwriters, and numerous individual and organization philanthropies. You can find out more at generatorvt.com
We serve artists, hackers, designers, fabricators, hobbyists, students, and businesses by providing access to tools within an open innovation environment.