Sherlock Center on Disabilities Announces 2016 Grant Winners

PROVIDENCE, RI – The Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities at Rhode Island College, Rhode Island’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, announced the recipients of its 2016 Access for All Abilities Mini Grants, selecting five organizations around the state. Warren’s 2nd Story Theatre, the Exeter Public Library, the Jamestown Arts Center, the North Kingstown Free Library and Ocean Community YMCA, which serves South County and nearby Connecticut, will be awarded more than $11,000 combined for projects to increase accessibility.

The purpose of the Sherlock Center’s grant initiative is to fund projects that increase access for people with disabilities to social, leisure, recreational and cultural activities in the community, with the goal of increasing long-term accessibility and inclusion of people with disabilities alongside those without disabilities.

This year’s selected proposals are:

• 2nd Story Theatre provides plays accessible to both traditional theatre-goers and new audiences. The theatre has steadily worked to make its facility physically accessible since purchasing the building in 2003. 2nd Story Theatre will use its grant to purchase and install a commercial door-opening system. The change will allow for independent and barrier-free exterior access to the theatre.

• Exeter Public Library is a municipal public library serving the town of Exeter and surrounding communities. Their facilities include a full-service library and playground, Chelsea Park. The library will use its grant to purchase a two-bay ADA Combination Swing Set for Chelsea Park. The swing set will have a molded swing for children to be lifted into and a wheelchair swing that an adult or child in a wheelchair can use while remaining in their chair. The playground landscape is handicapped accessible, however, the equipment is not. The installation of the new swing set is the first step towards providing an inclusive space for families and children.

• Jamestown Arts Center (JAC) is a multi-disciplinary visual and performing arts space that hosts art exhibits, theatre and dance performances, film screenings and provides art and design educational programs for people of all ages. JAC will use its grant to host a series of trainings for its staff and instructor to better support individuals with disabilities within their typical programs. Funds will also be used to purchase adaptive equipment and art supplies. JAC will work closely with several partners in the disability community to encourage greater participation of individuals with disabilities in their programs.

• North Kingstown Free Library (NKFL) is a municipal library serving residents in the town of North Kingstown and statewide via the Ocean State Libraries consortium. In addition to offering physical and digital collections, their programs include lectures, workshops, concerts, movies, story-times, presentations, book discussions, etc. NKFL plans to use its grant to install an induction-hearing loop in it meeting room space. The meeting room is physically accessible, and now the hearing loop will allow better access to programming for those with hearing loss.

• Ocean Community YMCA offers a wide range of social and leisure programs and classes at its three branches in Wyoming, Westerly and Mystic, Connecticut, and at Camp Watchaug in Charlestown, as well as community events such as Healthy Kids Day, holiday gatherings and races. The YMCA will use its grant funds to train an employee to become certified as an Adaptive Sailing Instructor and to purchase equipment that will allow campers of all abilities to safely participate in sailing.

Since the Access for All Abilities Mini Grants Initiative’s 2009 inception, more than $78,000 has been granted to 35 businesses and organizations. The grant program is funded through the United States Department of Health and Human Services Administration on Developmental Disabilities. Past recipients include Slater Mill, the Providence Children’s Museum, the Providence Public Library and the Audubon Society of Rhode Island.

More information is available at www.sherlockcenter.org.

The Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities, founded at Rhode Island College in 1993, is a University Center on Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, & Service. Since 1963, University Centers on Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs) have worked towards a shared vision that individuals with disabilities participate fully in their communities. Independence, productivity, and community inclusion are key components of this vision. There are 67 UCEDDs with at least one in every U.S. state.

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