People with disabilities are marginalized and excluded all too often. We aim to improve the lives of people with disabilities by supporting efforts that promote inclusion and that empower people with disabilities towards self-sufficiency.

(View: The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center)
Capital
A capital support grant was awarded to The Carnegie Arts Center for an accessibility renovation of their historic building. The Connector Addition between the theater and art gallery includes an elevator, ramps and restrooms that make all parts of The Carnegie accessible.

Operating
The Child Advocacy Center helps families of children with disabilities become self-advocates as they seek appropriate child-centered services, especially educational services. A grant from the Foundation enabled the Center to hire additional staff including an early childhood specialist, a training coordinator and development personnel.

(View: Cincy Museum)
Capital / Program
A grant from the Foundation to the Children’s Museum made it possible to incorporate a variety of accommodations to include people with disabilities. The package includes: talking signs for the visually impaired, an accessibility guide audiocassette and Braille formats for the entire Museum Center, and a tactile (touchable) model to orient visitors. Ongoing consultation was also funded through the grant to help with staff training needs.

(View: Cincy Play)
Capital
The Foundation provided lead funding to make the Playhouse in the Park physically accessible to theatre-goers, performers and staff members. Additionally, performances are enhanced through use of audio description, sign language interpretation and assistive listening devices.

(View: Cincy Rec)
Capital
The Foundation provided lead funding for the first fully-accessible, custom designed public playground in the country to promote the play of children with special needs alongside typically-abled children rather than in a segregated space. "Every Child's Playground" one of four "1,000 Hands" Playgrounds supported by the Foundation, is located at Sawyer Point on Cincinnati's Central Riverfront and serves as a model for the inclusive design of playgrounds around the country.

(View: Cincy Zoo)
Capital / Program
A Foundation grant was used to enhance accessibility features in the Children’s Zoo, and to enable underwater viewing of the Walrus tank for people who cannot climb steps. Additional support from the Foundation helped establish a program that takes endangered Zoo animals out to visit thousands of children at area schools and distributes thousands of endangered species kits to teachers for their use in teaching conservation issues. The Foundation has also supported field study trips for Zoo interns.

(View: DREDF)
Operating
In the year 2000, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) celebrated ten years of safeguarding the civil and human rights for the forty-nine million people with disabilities in America. DREDF was a critical player in developing this landmark legislation, and is on the front lines to ensure that those rights are not weakened or struck down at the federal, state and local levels. The Foundation provided operating support and has created a fellowship at DREDF.

(View: Cincy ETC)
Capital
An inner-city professional theatre, the Foundation helped the Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati enhance accessibility aspects of its lobby, including power-assisted doors, to complement the Theatre’s commitment to inclusiveness on stage and in the audience.

Capital
Jewish Vocational Service provides a continuum of vocational, educational and related services to the entire community. The Foundation awarded a capital support grant for an expanded facility where community-based job development and job placement services help to empower individuals with disabilities to increase their self-sufficiency, independence and participation in the community.

(View: Legal Aid Society)
Capital
The Foundation awarded a capital support grant for the renovation of the Community Law Center, which serves as headquarters for Legal Aid and the Volunteer Lawyers Project. The renovation makes it possible to expand programs that focus on children and on employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities and families making the transition to economic self-sufficiency.

(View: Renegade Garage Players)
Operating
Renegade Garage Players uses community service projects, live theatre and interactive educational classes to bring people with and without disabilities together without drawing unnecessary attention to the differences between them. A grant from the Foundation helped to underwrite the first professional staff in this organization's ten year history.

(View: Taft Museum)
Capital
The historic facility which houses the Taft’s unique collection of European and American paintings, decorative arts and Chinese porcelains is also a model of accessibility for people with a wide range of disabilities. The Foundation funded accessibility enhancements for interpretive functions at the Taft including an assistive listening system, Braille and audio descriptions, and touch tours.

Capital
Support from the Foundation helped Tender Mercies to renovate and maintain seven buildings in Over-the-Rhine where 150 previously homeless mentally ill men and women find the care, support, safety and respect they need to establish themselves outside of hospitals, prisons and off the streets.

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