With our 255th issue of NEW MOBILITY, we have much to celebrate. Twenty-five years of history is no small accomplishment for a modest-circulation niche magazine, especially in a difficult economy. Our largest source of revenue comes from advertising, and our advertisers come from a narrow bandwidth of dedicated companies whose products are vitally important to our readers. We are a tight community, yet we are spread out all over the United States and beyond.

As a publishing entity, we began in Boulder, Colo., the geographic center of the United States, then moved to Malibu, Calif., in 1994. Four years later we moved again, this time to the historic heart of the nation, near Philadelphia. We almost closed up shop before each move, but both times we were rescued by family-run companies with big hearts and modest wallets. We enjoyed a relatively prosperous run under Jeff Leonard’s guidance until economic chaos rattled the nation in 2007-2008. Fortunately we stayed afloat and were purchased by United Spinal Association, headquartered in New York, in 2010. Our operating base has covered the map.

With 80,000 readers, we are small but mighty, and our influence is growing, not only nationally, but globally. Two things make us strong — our reason for existing and the character of our readership.

When Sam Maddox, a journalism instructor at the University of Colorado, came up with the idea for the magazine, he recognized an evolving culture centered around active lifestyle wheelchair users and others with mobility impairments. NM took on the role of connecting a largely disconnected community. But our reason for existing is not just about  building a reader base and bringing together a community. In case you haven’t noticed, we are on a mission.

You can read our mission statement on newmobility.com, but that statement stems from something deeper, a commitment to correcting a longstanding cultural bias I like to call “handicrap.” My wife started using that word decades ago, but only recently have I seen it defined: “handicrap: a limiting belief, adopted as reality.”

NEW MOBILITY has been exposing handicrap for the past 25 years, no matter where it comes from. It is easy to spot when it is outright discrimination, as when potential employers refuse to provide an accessible workplace because they are blind to our abilities or think our physical presence might cause problems. It is harder to see when hidden within an institution: For instance, I just learned my 2015 Medicare Advantage plan includes a free membership to certain health clubs, but none of the health clubs have pool lifts or other ways of accessing their swimming pools. For NM readers, it is easy to see such an inequity, but the company providing the plan is oblivious to it.

Looking forward, I feel a class action lawsuit may be the best way to get the insurance provider to see their own bias, and to uphold the principle of equality that the ADA embodies.

After all, a victory for one of us is a victory for all of us — and that’s worth celebrating.