TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

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Wheel The World Donates $60,000 to TravelAbility Foundation to Support Accessible Travel

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Four men and two women holding an enlarged check made out to TravelAbility for $60,000. L-R. Camilo Navarro, Arturo Gaona, Andres Villagran, Wheel the World. Tricia Roth, Jake Steinman and Becka Gill, Travelability team.

Wheel The World, the leading solution for accessible travel, announced today that it has donated $60,000 to the TravelAbility Foundation in 2023, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that promotes inclusive travel and hospitality for people with diverse needs.

The donation was raised through an agreement whereby Wheel the World would donate a percentage of their income from the Destination Verified assessment program to the TravelAbility Foundation.  

The funds will be used by the TravelAbility Foundation to support its programs and initiatives, such as the Accessibility Playbook, a comprehensive guide for destinations, hotels, attractions, and dining to improve their accessibility and attract more travelers with disabilities. The Foundation also hosts the InnovateAble Challenge, an annual assistive pitch fest, held virtually to showcase the best of the best in assistive technology, innovation, and amenities that can ease the travel barriers for people with disabilities.  

“We are grateful for the support we received from Wheel the World and its community. This donation will help us continue our mission of connecting and educating the travel industry and the disability community to create more inclusive travel experiences for everyone,” said Jake Steinman, founder and CEO of the TravelAbility Foundation.

Wheel The World is a social startup with the purpose of making the world accessible for travelers with disabilities. The platform of the company allows users to book accessible hotels and experiences with all the accessibility details they need, such as wheelchair accessibility, hearing and visual aids, dietary options, and more. Wheel The World also offers multi-day trips and group tours to more than 250 destinations around the world, featuring accessible activities such as hiking, kayaking, scuba diving, and zip-lining.

In 2023, the foundation sponsored an end-to-end accessible adventure to Costa Rica for four disabled travelers, organized by Wheel the World. Additionally, it funded tuition for a blind documentary filmmaker who participated as a panelist at the TravelAbility Summit in Savannah’s accelerated film program, enabling them to take a film course in Los Angeles.

“Travel is a human right, and we believe that everyone should be able to explore the world without limits. We are proud to partner with the TravelAbility Foundation, an organization that shares our vision and values, and to support their work in making the travel industry more accessible and inclusive,” said Alvaro Silberstein, co-founder and CEO of Wheel The World. 

For more information about Wheel The World, visit wheeltheworld.com or follow them on [Facebook], [Instagram], [Twitter], and [YouTube].

For more information about the TravelAbility Foundation, visit travelability.org or follow them on [Facebook], [Instagram], [Twitter], and [LinkedIn].

TravelAbility Deepens Its Impact with Formation of the TravelAbility Foundation

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The New Nonprofit Arm Provides Additional Tools to Promote Inclusive Travel

TravelAbility Foundation logo on top of a screened image of a person in a wheelchair on a field of grass.

Sausalito, CA—TravelAbility, the leading organization working to improve the travel experience for people with disabilities, has announced the formation of the TravelAbility Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to removing barriers to accessible travel. 

“The Foundation gives us a new set of tools to expand our work within the travel industry and create additional pathways to support individuals with disabilities, families, and seniors,” said Jake Steinman, founder and CEO of TravelAbility. “It diversifies our business model and allows us to pursue new sources of funding in support of, and in partnership with, our network.”

TravelAbility has grown rapidly in five years primarily through the guidance and resources it provides to destination marketing organizations (DMOs) including a very successful annual conference, the Emerging Markets Summit. Other programs and initiatives include The Accessibility Playbook, Accessible Journeys Magazine, hospitality training courses, and the recently launched TravelAbility Trusted, a vetted list of vendors and service providers that meet TravelAbility’s standards for accessibility. 

“The for-profit and the non-profit complement each other,” said Steinman. “They will share some resources, but they are separate entities with different goals. The for-profit provides goods and services to our clients in the field. The nonprofit will focus more on advocacy and in identifying and scaling up promising practices from our network.”

The Foundation recently landed its first donation, a $60,000 gift from Wheel the World. See related story. It is also in the process of hiring grant writers to partner with leaders of DMOs seeking public funding for innovative solutions to improve access for travelers with disabilities. 

TravelAbililty’s reach is local, regional, and global. It is the official Accessibility Advisor/Partner for:

-Destinations International

-Visit Florida

-The American Pavilion at Cannes Film Festival

-Conference Direct

-Visit the Palm Beaches

Funders can also support the Foundation’s work by making donations on its website.

For more information contact info@travelability.net.

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