A former homeless man who learned laser-cutting skills launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to give others the same kind of career opportunity. Marc Roth is raising $60,000 for the Learning Shelter, a program that will teach hardware skills to homeless people in San Francisco, according to VentureBeat.
In 2011, Roth was jumping from one homeless shelter to another, or living in his car in San Francisco. When he encountered do-it-yourself workshop TechShop, he spent his last $50 to join the membership-based organization. He spent months mastering laser-cutting, CNC machining, and 3D printing. After a year, he was able to launch his own hardware startup called SF Laser and now employs several workers, the report detailed.
Roth intends to look for four potential students for his program who will be provided with a free 90-day accommodation. The students from the homeless community will attend daily classes plus a free TechShop membership. In addition, they will be able to attend 20 classes for free. After finishing the 90-day course, Roth will help them connect them to jobs. He also plans to hire one or two of them for SF Laser, the report explained.
Marc Roth's target launching date for the Learning Shelter is March 15, VentureBeat reported.
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