HISTORY & MISSION
Our Mission
The Bionic Project aims to create a more inclusive world for everyone, regardless of physical ability.
We dismantle disability bias, build empathy, and foster connection through education, story and sport.
The Bionic Perspective
People with physical disabilities remain one of the most misunderstood and overlooked groups in our society. Decades of inaccessible schools, workplaces, and public spaces have kept many people with disabilities outside the mainstream of community life.
As a result, many non-disabled people grow up without meaningful relationships with anyone who has a physical disability. Most students have never had the opportunity to learn directly from someone with a disability, to ask questions and truly connect.
This separation hides an important truth: disability has been one of humanity’s greatest engines of innovation.
Voice-to-text. Curb cuts. Touchscreens. Audiobooks. Closed captioning.
Solutions designed for a few that transform life for everyone. At Bionic, we believe the future should be built this way — more inclusive, more creative, more human.
When people move together, perspectives change.
And when we design for every body, the world works better for everybody.
The Future Is Bionic
Building the Bionic Project
The Bionic Project, Inc. was founded by Will Borden in 2018. An avid runner and below-the-knee amputee, he saw an unmet need for athletic events that welcomed people of all abilities. Will created the Bionic5k in Harvard Square in 2018 and launched a second race in San Francisco in 2022. Both events broke down barriers and built community in powerful ways. As a career educator, Will knew that programming specifically designed to engage young people was the next step to building a more inclusive future. Bionic’s education program launched in the fall of 2023. In our first year, we worked in 34 schools in Massachusetts and California. In 2024-25, we taught in 54 schools in five states, reaching 14,000 students.
Read our 2024-25 Impact Report here.
Our Core Values
Transformation: We create transformative experiences through education, story and sport.
Discovery: We encourage curiosity, discovery and understanding, helping people to learn about one another in memorable ways.
Connection: Our work builds meaningful connections that bring people and communities together.
Authenticity: We strive to make it possible for people in all kinds of bodies to be their authentic selves.
Bold & unexpected: Our approach to engaging people is bold and unexpected.
Teamwork & Trust: We run on teamwork and trust in everything we do.