Florida Disabled Outdoors Association / SportsAbility

Florida Disabled Outdoors Association / SportsAbility

Mission
Florida Disabled Outdoors Association enriches lives through accessible inclusive recreation and active leisure for all. 
 
Contact Information
Florida Disabled Outdoors Association
2475 Apalachee Parkway, Suite 205
Tallahassee, FL 32301
info@fdoa.org
www.fdoa.org
David Jones, President (850) 201-2944 x2
Laurie LoRe-Gussak, Executive Director (850) 201-2944 x1
Kristy Carter, Inclusion Specialist (850) 201-2944 x3

History
David Jones, a head injury survivor from an accident in 1988, was motivated by his rehabilitation experience to start the Florida Disabled Outdoors Association (FDOA). The FDOA promotes the benefits of active leisure for all including people with disabilities. This organization came out of the positive experience that recreation played in the rehabilitation process. The FDOA helps fill the gap in therapeutic recreation services between the healthcare setting and community living. The FDOA has grown to benefit thousands of people statewide with disabilities since its founding in 1990. 
 
Programs
 
FDOA promotes health and wellness and enhances the lives of people with disabilities through activities such as: 
 
SportsAbility - This program is for people of all ages with any type of disability and their families or friends, and providers of products, programs and services. It features a resource expo and indoor and outdoor sports and leisure activities and clinics. Activities include shooting sports, wheelchair and adaptive golf, tennis, martial arts, basketball, pontoon boat rides, sit-down water skiing, sailing, canoeing, kayaking, jet skiing and fishing, and many more! SportsAbility has been held in five cities across the State of Florida (Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Ocala, Sarasota and Ft. Lauderdale). SportsAbility Sampler Programs have been held in many other locations.
 
Recreation Assistive Services and Technologies Alliance (RASTA) – Through a collaborative partnership with Florida Department of Health Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program and FAAST, RASTA provides an education and resource referral program to assist people with brain and spinal cord injuries in pursuing current recreation and leisure providers and available associated assistive services and technologies. 
 
Recreational Activity Program for Adults with Disabilities (RAPAD) – Through a partnership with Florida Department of Education Vocational Rehabilitation Program, participants enrolled in the RAPAD program respond to a needs-assessment designed to elicit information on personal interests about recreation and active leisure activities. Assistance is provided to the individual to reach their personal active leisure goals.
 
ALLOUT – An outdoor adventure program for people with disabilities that includes the mobility impaired hunting program, which is the benchmark for mobility-impaired hunts throughout the United States, and a variety of other outdoor adventure trips.
 
Inclusion Program - The FDOA provides a training program for recreation staff and administrators to help them implement inclusive recreation practices into the established recreation programs in which they work. This pilot program serves as a prototype and will be replicated in other areas through out the state. 
 
Miracle Sports – Program organized to provide an opportunity for people with disabilities to play sports. The FDOA is constructing a multi-purpose Miracle Field in Tallahassee that will provide recreation opportunities for adults as well as children. Miracle Leagues exist throughout the US and provide opportunities for people of all ages and all abilities.
 
Outreach
FDOA has worked with organizations throughout Florida on ADA compliance and on adaptive, therapeutic, and accessible recreation. These organizations include rehabilitation hospitals, civic clubs, government agencies, non-profit groups and corporations. FDOA has been represented on several boards including United Cerebral Palsy, HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital, Tallahassee Alliance for the Disabled (TAD), National Coalition to Promote Accessible Outdoor Recreation, the Florida Governors Alliance to promote Employment for people with Disabilities under the Able Trust, and the National Park and Recreation Association’s National Therapeutic Recreation Society Board.
Partnerships throughout the State of Florida
Partnerships have been developed with disability organizations throughout the State of Florida. Partnerships include:
The Florida Department of Health Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program
Centers for Independent Living throughout Florida
The Florida Developmental Disabilities Council (FDDC)
The Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technologies (FAAST)
The Able Trust
The Family Café
The Florida Department of Education Vocational Rehabilitation Program
Heath Care and Rehabilitation Providers
others
 
Partnerships with recreation-based organizations have also been developed. Partnerships include:
Florida Park Service
Florida Greenways and Trails
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
City and County Recreation Departments
Commercial Recreation and Tourism entities
Not-for-Profit and Volunteer-based Recreation Resource Providers
others
 
Long Range Objectives
 
1. To educate the public and disseminate information pertaining to recreational areas, facilities, programs, events, and opportunities that include persons with disabilities.
 
2. To promote and provide recreational activities and programs for people of all abilities and all ages.
 
3. To forward the advancement and development of the appropriate use of public and private lands on which people with disabilities may participate in recreation.
 
4. To advocate for accessible and inclusive recreation while networking with recreation program providers as well as organizations that serve persons with disabilities.
 
5. To assist designers, planners, and managers in making recreational programs, areas, and facilities universally accessible.
 
6. To work with civic groups and organizations in promoting special recreational opportunities to include people with disabilities.
 
7. To provide community resource information to the public emphasizing efforts to reach persons with disabilities.
 
8. To promote the wise use of our natural resources in the best interest of all, both present and future.
 
9. To advance understanding of the importance of active leisure activities on the health and well being of everyone and the therapeutic value of recreation.
 
10. To promote high standards of sportsmanship and ethics.