July News


Actress Ali StrokerAli Stroker Wins Tony

Actress Ali Stroker made history again this June when she became the first wheelchair user to win a Tony Award. “This award is for every kid who is watching tonight who has a disability, who has a limitation or a challenge, who has been waiting to see themselves represented in this arena — you are,” she said while accepting her Tony for playing Ado Annie in “Oklahoma!” Stroker was also the first wheeler to star in a Broadway play. For more, see new mobility.com/2019/06/ali-stroker-tony

Anti-Grabs Keep Away Pesky ‘Helpers’Anti-Grabs Keep Away Pesky ‘Helpers’

“Tired of people grabbing your wheelchair without asking? Frustrated by not having your autonomy respected? Worried when people walk behind your wheelchair because what if this is another one who thinks you exist for their emotional gratification?”

That’s the opening of the sales pitch for Anti- Grabs, the brilliant, if slightly macabre, solution for anyone who is tired of being pushed around. With 23 metal spikes on each Anti-Grab, tell the general public to keep their hands to themselves while accesorizing your chair in style.

Etsy seller HeckinWheels is open to making custom Anti-Grabs in different colors or for different parts of wheelchairs, and encourages interested parties to get in touch via the Etsy shop. If the web¬site can be believed, people are grabbing up Anti-Grabs as fast as HeckinWheels can make them, but unfortunately, Anti-Grabs can’t be shipped from the U.K. to the United States as of yet. Let HeckinWheels know there is demand stateside, or send some to your European friends: etsy.me/2wKDsdi.

Restaurant Reviewer Adds Access Info

Washington Post food critic Todd Sietsma struck a blow for all food-lovers May 22 when he dedicated a column to explaining his decision to start regularly including accessibility as a factor in his reviews. Sietsma explained that an outpouring of reader mail, combined with the reality that more than 70,000 Washingtonians live with a disability, convinced him that sacrificing some of his anonymity to investigate access made sense. “Ultimately, the facts outweigh the cons,” he wrote, hopefully sparking a trend in food journalism. Read his column here: wapo.st/2QXUT3w

Restaurant Reviewer Adds Access Info

Magnetic Buttons to the Rescue

Buttons don’t have be a bother anymore, thanks to Buttons 2 Button, a new, easy-to-use product that allows you to turn almost any button into a simple magnetic clasp. Gina Adams was inspired to invent Buttons 2 Button by watching her father’s struggles with dexterity as he lived with Parkinson’s. Adams, a mom and entrepreneur, developed the idea while finishing her MBA and is launching it as the first product of her new company, Wareologie. The adapters are available in sets of 10 for $30.

Adams ran a crowdfunding campaign to fund the venture in May and June, and the sets are now available for preorder at buttons2button.com. James Murtha, a C4 quad serving as the company’s chief innovation officer, can’t wait for people to try them. “I want this product to be on shelves so badly,” he says. “Honestly, I want it for myself!”

Wine on Wheels

‘Wine on Wheels’ Rolls into Portland

To celebrate 30 years of New Mobility, the NM staff is busy planning a wine tasting event in partnership with the authoritative voice on wine from our community, New York City sommelier and para Yannick Benjamin. His Wine on Wheels organization has raised awareness and more than $750K for various nonprofits in different cities, and now he’s bringing his franchise to Portland, Oregon, on August 1.
Wine on Wheels
Wine on Wheels Portland will tap into the Pacific Northwest’s growing reputation as one of the premier regions for wine, offering ticket-holders a chance to sample a wide variety of wines from a handpicked selection of some of the area’s best wineries. Attendees will also enjoy delicious appetizers, a silent auction and other festivities.

The funds raised will help bring NM’s brand of disability journalism into the 21st century by supporting a redesign of newmobility.com that allows us to share impactful articles with contemporary web-based storytelling. The redesign will also focus on making our site more attractive to digital advertisers, so we can ensure we have the revenue to keep hiring the writers from our community who make New Mobility what it is.


To find out more about Wine on Wheels Portland, or to purchase tickets, visit bit.ly/2KqGCMr.

Watch

When We Walk

2014 New Mobility Person of the Year Hason DaSilva is back on the big screen with When We Walk, the follow-up to his Emmy award-winning documentary, When I Walk. DaSilva, who has MS, chronicles his battle against a broken health care system and his weakening body to stay close to his young son. Check whenwewalk.com for screenings near you.

Listen

Don’t miss two special episodes of United on Wheels recorded for mental health awareness month. Download both, or any previous episodes of United Spinal’s wheelchair lifestyle podcast at unitedonwheels.blubrry.net.

United on Wheels

WAGS of SCI

With over 5,000 Instagram followers, a thriving website and a bustling forum on Reeve Connect, Brooke Pagé and Elena Pauly have built WAGS of SCI — Wives and Girlfriends of SCI, for those not hip to the lingo — into one of the fastest growing SCI-related online communities on the net. Pagé, the wife of a C4 quad, and Pauly, the girlfriend of a C5 quad, launched WAGS of SCI on Instagram in November 2017, months after the social media app helped connect them.

Pagé and Pauly live in Vancouver, British Columbia, mere blocks apart, but didn’t meet until Pagé’s mom tagged her in one of Pauly’s Instagram pictures. When they finally met, they immediately realized the value in connecting and discussing their experiences and emotions. “Just being able to relate to somebody in your shoes is really hard to find,” Pagé said. “We never wanted a woman whose partner has a spinal cord injury to ever feel alone again.”

Illustration by Serena Siu Johnston (a WAGS of SCI) of her and her husband Simon Johnston; Instagram: @the_miss_s

Their Instagram page quickly found a devoted audience, and they have continued expanding the resources they offer, including regional ambassadors, a forum they moderate for the Christopher Reeve Foundation and, as of earlier this year, a new website. “It has really blown up,” said Pagé. “We didn’t realize there was this number of women all around the world who had such a big need for this.”

The passion project has grown into a full-time — though still volunteer — job. They are currently considering launching a foundation. “We really love it,” says Pauly. “We’re always looking for new content and new ways to interact with our audience.”

To connect with the WAGS, or simply to see what they’re up to next, visit wagsofsci.com or follow them on Instagram @ wagsofsci.


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