Getting community partners to work together effectively to improve access to sport and physical activities for persons with disabilities is the goal of OneAbility.
OneAbility is not an organization 鈥� it is instead a collaborative of community partners that facilitate athletic and recreational opportunities for people across the disability spectrum.
鈥淏efore we came along, organizations offering programs for the disabled were working in silos,鈥� said Andrea Carey, co-founder of OneAbility.
鈥淭hey had different pieces of the puzzle but no common vision to tie them together. We decided that we would become a connector 鈥� to bring more than 40聽organizations together to work collaboratively using a collective-impact approach to achieve collective goals.鈥�
Using this approach, OneAbility builds on the strengths of each community partner to create accessible programming, identify program gaps, attract new participants and deliver training.
鈥淲hen we first started, our goal was to get disparate groups to stop competing with each other and start collaborating,鈥� said Carey.
The common goal of all parties was the promotion of an active lifestyle for persons with disabilities. Staying active has been demonstrated to be a key determinant of overall health and well-being of people across the disability spectrum.
Carey said that before the creation of OneAbility, funders such as the Victoria Foundation would suggest community partners use a collaborative approach when applying for funds.
鈥淲hat we find is that organizations partnering on a project are generally more successful in obtaining grants. The different partners share leadership and bring different strengths to the table.鈥�
The collaboration to facilitate athletic and recreational opportunities can result in situations where one group would offer inclusive sports programming, another would come up with the needed sports equipment and yet another would step up to provide training for the participants.
鈥淎ll this action takes place seamlessly behind the scenes.鈥�
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