A Picture Worth 1,000 Words of Thanks

A large white banner hangs outside, a green and orange circular log in the middle. "Rochester Accessible Adventures" on the outside green ring and "Make Inclusion Happen" on the inside orange ring

A Night To Be Remembered…literally, remembered

A perfect summer’s eve. Blue sky and sun, low humidity. A cooling breeze under the outdoor tent. Fresh brews and cool beverages emanate from within the hallowed halls of Three Heads Brewing. Cheesy delights and aromas waft over from Melt Truck Roc, parked conveniently steps away from the gathering place.

A Welcome Table with greeters, where smiles and hugs were given freely, along with introductions, spontaneous cheers of greeting, and instructions for the night’s event.

Under the tent, tables begin filling with guests, mixing and mingling began. Rounds of cornhole will begin soon, too, as families and friends take aim across the patio at the small holes and launch bean bags into the air.

As the evening continues….

WAIT! Why this rich, descriptive retelling of July 29th’s RAA-ising the Bar event??

Well, it seems we all took a page from Mark Radetic PGA Tour Spectator and His Beer Go Viral, Land Michelob Ultra Contract | Food & Wine (foodandwine.com), who notoriously watched Tiger Woods with his own eyes, rather than through his cell phone screen.

Yes, we were there, in person. And we didn’t take pictures!!

So then, we will HAVE to remember “that night” when 70-ish people dropped by Three Heads Brewing, the fabulous host of our RAA-ising the Bar event, and

  • laughed together, listened to each other’s stories, and leaned in to learn,
  • cheered for the advancement of inclusion as 18 lights were turned on,
  • greeted long-time friends and associates,
  • made new friends, and
  • stayed way past the end of the event…because it felt good to be in great company.

This was truly a couple of Happy Hours for inclusion — community allies gathered around a common interest: how we can Make Inclusion Happen.

That is Rochester Accessible Adventures’ new logo, by the way. The new banner was hanging up at the event…(no, this picture was not even taken that night!) RAA’s green and orange circle logo now has “Make Inclusion Happen” in the inner circle. While we know that our work will continue to “Inspire Hope and Improve Ability” as our previous logo says, Inclusion is a community value.

And as RAA’s impact continues to expand, communities are sharing this value of inclusion.

We WILL become a society where recreation, sports and tourism are fully accessible to and inclusive of people with and without disabilities. We will Make Inclusion Happen.

A Huge Success

Our RAA-ising the Bar event was a huge success

  • because of the gracious provision of space and generous donation by our host, Three Heads Brewing,
  • because of the deliciousness dished out by Melt staff – their time so wonderfully donated to RAA,
  • because of the wonderful items curated by our event team for our raffle drawings, including Ravenwood Golf and local artist David Corbin,
  • and because each of YOU who dropped by and shared of yourself through conversation, connection, and donations!
Three Heads Brewing logo, green circle with white letteringopens IMAGE file
Yellow circle with Green scripted "Melt"

 

Celebrating Making Inclusion Happen

Rochester Accessible Adventures is committed to removing barriers that have historically kept people with disabilities from equitable access to recreation, sports, and tourism. Our unique, specialized approach to systems change — mentored training and support of businesses in these industries as they begin and continue a long-term, sustainable process of inclusion — provides tailored consultation that leads to tangible change.

Here are a few expressions of the impact of our work:

  • “We never realized how many things we needed to be doing to help remove barriers so more of our community members can participate. We are ready to do this!”
  • “My brother and I are finally able to do things together — something we rarely have been able to do in community creation spaces. I never thought it was fair we couldn’t just because he has a disability and I don’t.”
  • “It’s just so easy for our good intentions to get set aside by having to respond to daily program operations. Actually implementing inclusion practices is so much easier when we have RAA helping us stay on track all the time — it really becomes just a way of everyday business.”
  • “Signing up all 3 of my kids for the same program makes so much sense for them! They get to play together at home, so why can’t they play together in the community? Inclusion really works for us!”
  • “We just assumed that since the building was relatively new it would be accessible – but we’ve discovered through RAA’s mentored assessments that not everything is actually functional for everyone the way it is. So we are going to fix that.”

We continue to expand our work and are encouraged to see the work our Community Health Inclusion partners are doing to create cultures of inclusion. These images show just a few of the places and spaces RAA is working in:

Clockwise from top left: RAA staff with DEC Region 8 staff and state ADA accessibility coordinator after assessing a site in Montezuma; kayakers approach the adaptive kayak launch at Erie Canal Boat Company in Fairport after our First Mile/Next Mile kickoff; RAA’s executive director presents the keynote at the OWWL Small Libraries Symposium; Two participants in our Pickleball for Families Living with Parkinsons’ return volleys during a workshop; RAA’s exec director stands with Perinton Recreation and Parks’ Summer Camp Staff after inclusion training, with mobile sensory station.

 

Five people smile for camera, trees and open marsh in background
A person enters the kayak launch from the water in the foreground; five or six kayakers float in the Erie Canal; buildings across the canal in the background
View from the back of a conference room; woman stands at the front as presenter
Large group of people standing outside on the grass under trees; a mobile sensory kit with popup tent and sensory toys open in front of them
Person steps in to return a pickleball volley as classmate waits for their turn

That’s why we thank YOU for your ongoing support!

Without YOU, this kind of inclusion work would not be happening! YOU are the key to the whole community making tremendous, critical changes — changes in values, changes in how things operate, changes in expectations of who should be participating in recreation, sports and tourism.

We are so grateful for those who came on July 29th– for making it the fantastic, memorable event it was. And we so appreciate all of you who know our mission and support the work that we do. Your support as volunteers, community allies, and financial investors is what helps Rochester Accessible Adventures

Make Inclusion Happen!

 

(And, yes, these are our 1,000 words of thanks for a fabulous RAA-ising the Bar event!)

 

 

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