Our Vision:
A society where recreation, sports and tourism are fully accessible to and inclusive of people with and without disabilities.
Our Mission:
To improve the health and wellness of people with disabilities by guiding communities to create a culture of physical accessibility, social inclusion and equitable open access in recreation, sports and tourism.
How Your Support Is Making Inclusion Happen:
Twin brothers, one with a disability and one without, finally being able to participate in community recreation spaces together.
Parents are able to sign up all of their children for the same summer programs.
Spouses are able to continue playing together even as one acquires a disability diagnosis like stroke, spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, or Parkinson's Disease.
Grandparents are able to stay active and healthy alongside their grandchildren even as the way they move changes over time.
Athletes find sports that give them the vital benefits of team, camaraderie, skill development and leadership even as traumatic events change their ability to move.
Children born with disabilities are welcomed into spaces of health and wellness every day, alongside their peers without disabilities.
HERE'S MORE! WXXI's Beth Adams reports on the growth of inclusion in recreation, sports and tourism - with local residents giving voice to the impacts on their lives!
https://www.wxxinews.org/the-road-to-inclusion
How RAA Provides the Solutions:
Our expertise in inclusion and accessibility shapes the model of our services and impact of our work. We provide a unique Inclusion Partner model of multi-year contractual consultation to assess, train, and provide ongoing support that empowers recreation businesses with strategies to build both physical accessibility and social inclusion to serve people with intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities.
Our services in Greater Rochester, Finger Lakes & WNY build the capacity of rural, urban, and suburban recreation entities to operate with full inclusion across all of their services and have connected 8000+ people to inclusive recreation opportunities.
Our Inclusion Specialists work with recreation and tourism businesses, municipal recreation centers and libraries, K-12 and higher education settings, and government entities and non-profit organizations. Our growing team of over 35 volunteers will provide over 1,000 hours of vital services by year's end.
Our work has resulted in:
a) tangible operational changes which promote a sustainable culture of inclusion,
b) removal of physical barriers, and
c) an increase in participation in active recreation by over 500 individuals with a variety of disabilities – alongside their family, friends, and peers without a disability.
Thank you so much for your support! Together, we can Make Inclusion Happen!
We focus on: Health, Human Services
Where we are: Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming, Yates
We have a matching grant!
Matching Dollars for Inclusion
Matching Dollars for Inclusion
ALL DONATIONS UP TO $10,000 are being matched RIGHT NOW! Susan Fox Shepard pays tribute to her late father, Tom Fox, in this dollar-for-dollar matching campaign for Inclusion! After Susan experienced a life-changing accident when she was a teenager that resulted in paralysis, her father, Tom, never stopped working on making her world work for her.
In order for Susan to come home from the hospital after the accident left her paralyzed, their house needed a ramp. Tom built that ramp. When Susan was ready to learn to drive, Tom installed hand controls in his vehicle and taught her to drive, enduring, as many parents do, those knuckle-whitening moments! Tom provided maintenance for Susan's vehicles and wheelchairs throughout his lifetime, ensuring she would have some of the most important tools for getting about because he was certain that there was MUCH life to live. Tom would do all he could to change the world around Susan so that she could participate in it. And now, Susan will MATCH DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR all donations made to RAA up to $10,000 so that RAA can continue to make recreation and sports accessible to and inclusive of people with and without disabilities!
A word from Susan
"Inclusion in recreation has the power to heal someone's self-image. After experiencing a life-changing event that left me permanently paralyzed at 15 years old it took time to rebuild my self-image and confidence. Being able to join others in recreational activities was a huge part of my healing process. I didn't have to sit on the sidelines watching everyone else embrace life while I felt like a bump on a log. Knowing there was the right type of equipment and people who were patient while we figured out how to make everything work for me to do an activity was a gift. I had to travel from the Southern Tier to enjoy these accessible opportunities and it was well worth it. I felt blessed to try a lot of different things. Now RAA is working to open communities up to include people of all ages and abilities into recreation so we can enjoy all its health benefits with family and friends."
$10,000
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