invisaWear started off as an idea – at the time, there were no stylish, discreet safety devices on the market. Rajia Abdelaziz, ’16, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Ray Hamilton, ’16, Electrical Engineering, decided to take matters into their own hands and create one.
At the DifferenceMaker 2016 $50,000 Idea Challenge, invisaWear won the Innovative Technology Solution prize of $4,500. This was one of their first sources of funding for their project, which was part of their capstone as college students at UMass Lowell. They also won $500 from winning 3rd place at the Engineering Prototyping Competition in 2015.
Ever since their beginnings at UMass Lowell, invisaWear has came a long way! In 2019, one of their first ever life-saving stories was featured on WCVB. A woman got involved in a very bad car crash in Lowell, MA. Her phone was unable to be found among the ruckus, but she luckily had her invisaWear charm with her, a charm that she was gifted months prior. She double tapped her button and emergency crew & family immediately rushed to her and saved her life.
invisaWear was also selected as one of BostInno’s coolest companies to work for. They selected companies from all over Massachusetts. In addition, they have been featured on a variety of TV shows such as Rachael Ray, Good Morning America, ABC News, CBS News, and Fox News.
In 2021, invisaWear announced one of their most exciting partnerships – a collaboration with ADT, the #1 name in household security! This partnership provides customers with additional security. Not only does the double press of the button alerts loved ones & 911, but it also alerts ADT with their location. ADT will then notify the customer’s emergency contacts, alert authorities, share their location, and provide personally identifiable information to help emergency responders locate and identify them.
Rajia Abdelaziz, left, and Ray Hamilton, right, celebrating their collaboration with ADT!
On June 22, 2021, invisaWear was featured on QVC® and HSN’s® The Big Find® product search. This provided them with exposure on one of the world’s largest video commerce platforms. Watch their featured segment here.
In July, invisaWear donated $5,000 to the inspirational non-profit Strong City. Strong City is dedicated to educating at-risk and underprivileged youth from ever getting to that point—through education, project-based giving, gun violence research, and citizen support. A few years ago, invisaWear received a check from EforAll which helped them start their company, and now they are supporting others to do the same.
Overall, invisaWear is a DifferenceMaker team that has made a huge difference in the community and in people’s lives. Rajia and Ray occasionally come back to UMass Lowell to mentor the newer generation of DifferenceMaker students.
Yeaharne Hout, DifferenceMaker Social Media Intern, with her invisaWear necklace.
P.S. invisaWear is also having a back-to-school sale! Rajia got her inspiration for these charms while she was an undergraduate in college. Grab yours for the semester here!