Virtual Tour for a Real Cause

From the December issue of Hamilton Business:

Shawn Mayo is past his Boy Scout days, but he’s not ready to stop giving back to the community.

That’s why he reached out to the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce to connect with a group he thought could benefit from the online virtual tours he creates through his company Shadowbox Digital Stage Inc.

They put the Hamilton transplant in touch with Mark Preece Family House – a place for people to stay while their loved one is in the hospital.

In the virtual tour, 30-year-old Mayo said he tried to show off what the Barton Street East space looks like – the common kitchen, the various rooms and the living room.

Connected to the Google Maps system online, Mayo’s creations allow websurfers to virtually walk around the facilities as well as out onto the street – in this case, giving them a sense of where they’ll be staying before they actually get there.

“That alleviates one of many things somebody is dealing with,” Mayo said.

Pearl Wolfe, executive director of Mark Preece Family House, said the tour – recently posted to their website – will help raise awareness about the facility.

Mark Preece House has been open since 2011, but because it doesn’t typically serve Hamiltonians, it can be difficult to get the word out to other communities in Ontario, Canada and across the world, Wolfe said.

Because the facility is funded entirely by room rentals, fundraising and donations, it would be tough to come up with the money to pay for a virtual tour, she said.

To view the article in the Spec, visit: Virtual tour of Mark Preece Family House