COURTESY DO GREATER FOUNDATION

William McNeely, center, launched the Mobile Creative Learning Lab to put technology in the hands of children in underserved communities.

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William McNeely created an ice cream truck of technology.

The Do Greater Foundation founder established a Mobile Creative Learning Lab, the rolling tech equivalent to frozen treats. Instead of fudge bars and drumsticks, the vehicle is filled with iPads, TVs and wireless internet access that brings technology to spaces in Charlotte which otherwise may not have it. McNeely’s mission is to expose children to technology, particularly as it pertains to preparing them for the role it plays in and after school.

“Our foundation is all based on helping kids to do greater things in their lives—to make an impact in the lives of others,” he said.

Yet the former Apple executive’s desire to give stems from personal experience as well as altruism. McNeely fought and beat lung disease. His battle included three years on oxygen, a bilateral lung transplant, and over 100 staples in his chest, but he did not quit.

“Last year around this time, March 24, I had to have a double lung transplant,” McNeely said. “I went down pretty rapidly.”

Shortly after being diagnosed, McNeely started attending Creative Mornings, an international monthly speaker series with a Charlotte chapter. He received a $250 Helpful, Unfettered Gift (HUG) creative microgrant to buy the first iPad for the Mobile Creative Learning Lab.

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“It really started about three and a half years ago,” McNeely said. “I started attending Creative Mornings, and I was just diagnosed with idiopathic lung disease. My condition continued to get worse and worse. I would sit in the back with oxygen tanks.”

He noted how attending the monthly gatherings offered a source of inspiration during a physically straining time.

“It really encouraged me to try and figure out what was next for me,” McNeely said. “What was next in my life?”

McNeely’s was treated at the Duke Medical Center in Durham. He returned to Charlotte a few months following the transplant, and attended Creative Mornings shortly after.

“I remember very vividly, I returned to Charlotte around Memorial Day weekend, and that Friday was the first Friday in June, and I came to Creative Mornings,” McNeely said. “I said to myself, ‘what is it? What am I supposed to be doing?’ That day, I decided to apply for a HUG grant.”

Now the Do Greater Foundation is able to host learning sessions through the mobile unit, connecting children with mentors and tools for a brighter future.  

“We go into underserved and under-resourced communities, and we teach creative technology in the form of design, music production, coding, and those things,” McNeely said.
For more information: https://dogreater.org

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