Disability Inclusion Grants
Introducing our Accelerating Disability Inclusion Grant awardees for 2024! We’re looking forward to the great work these organizations have planned!
The YMCA of Greater Brandywine is piloting a project to train direct care professionals and caregivers to help youths and adults in southern Chester County with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities (IDD) in their care to walk and hike regularly, with an added emphasis on time in nature.
PA Revs All Starz Field Hockey
PA Revs All Starz field hockey is an adaptive, disability-inclusive field hockey team for participants at least six years old. PA Revs is a club team with many different age groups, and All Starz is a team that operates under the club. In this rapidly growing program, all adaptive athletes are paired 1:1 with a high school club-field hockey player to spread the love of field hockey and provide a supportive team-sport environment.
Sportable – Richmond Adaptive Sports & Recreation
Sportable is expanding its Sportable Wellness Initiatives (WINS) program by adding monthly in-person and virtual fitness classes designed for individuals with disabilities. Their mission is to create entry-level opportunities and transform the lives of individuals with physical and visual disabilities through sport, recreation and wellness activities, all while becoming part of their rich social community.
City Growers is based in Brooklyn, NY, and works on a rooftop farm that is currently inaccessible to youth with mobility issues. They want to make their rooftop farms more welcoming, accessible and universal, with a long-term goal of creating a universally accessible rooftop farm.
BORP Adaptive Sports and Recreation
BORP is launching a Virtual Seated Tai Chi for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TCBVI) Pilot Project. These online classes are specifically designed for the blind and low-vision community. They plan to develop a long-term, sustainable class with techniques that can be taught to other Tai Chi instructors.
Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities
The New York Erie Canalway Trail provides ADA-compliant, accessible and inclusive recreation and leisure opportunities. This project will create virtual Peloton-style adaptive cycling and kayaking videos along the canal way to promote local awareness of adaptive cycling and virtual fitness opportunities and encourage in-person use of canal way trails.
Inclusive Health Grants
Advancing Partnership for Inclusive Health grants for 2024! We can’t wait to see the impact these organizations will have in their community for individuals with disabilities.
National Indian Council on Aging
Their community project includes outreach to the 574 federally recognized American Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages. They are working to increase the awareness of the AIAN people with disabilities and their stories. The project goals are to distribute surveys for tribal communities to review disability inclusion and to print and distribute their toolkit: Understanding Disabilities in American Indian & Alaska Native Communities.
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (“Academy”), Disabilities in Nutrition and Dietetics Member Interest Group (“Disabilities MIG”) This group aims to continue their Affiliate Speaker Grant Program annually, extending its scope to include other Academy groups to enhance disability inclusivity. Funding will also send a Disabilities MIG member to the Academy’s Leadership Institute annually, empowering them to serve as leaders and improve disability inclusivity. Funding will also allow a Disabilities MIG member to attend the Academy’s Nutrition and Dietetics Advocacy Summit annually, furthering advocacy knowledge to improve disability inclusivity in the profession and healthcare.
National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA)
NRPA will establish the Disability in Parks and Recreational Programming Certificate, a professional development initiative to integrate disability inclusion into professional recreational and health programming. This initiative aims to advance disability inclusion in local recreational programming by empowering professionals to design inclusive health policies, programs and strategies for individuals with physical and cognitive disabilities.
National Academy of Health and Physical Literacy (NAHPL)
NAHPL’s Promoting Inclusive Health and Physical Literacy Series (PIHPL) will feature workshops and webinars focusing on inclusive practices for general health and physical education/activity professionals. The goal is to provide professionals and paraprofessionals with much-needed curriculum, strategies and assessment tools to enhance their work with individuals with disabilities.