Florida Disabled Outdoors Association Shares Facilities to Meet Community’s Needs
Multiple programs, partnerships and accessible places ensure more activity for youth and adults alike. Ensuring all individuals have every opportunity to live an active, healthy life is no small task. Individuals with disabilities are at high risk for becoming overweight and obese and strategic efforts should include physical activity at every opportunity for all participants. Strategic partnerships have been the foundation for the Florida Disabled Outdoors Association’s (FDOA) success. FDOA believes that natural resources are for all people to enjoy regardless of ability and that much can be done to provide improved accessibility and promotion of these resources to persons with disabilities.
The FDOA has formed a partnership with the Florida Department of Health, Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program. The initial project is the development of a database that includes accessible recreation in an information resource. This database will certainly assist people with disabilities to engage in active recreation by providing information on what opportunities are available. This partnership is expected to be expanded to include additional items in 2007.
FDOA recently formed a partnership with the Tallahassee Orthopedic Clinic (TOC). TOC has decades of experience providing an innovative approach to orthopedic care. TOC and FDOA share the same mission and goals and both organizations strive to promote active leisure for life. The TOC has pledged not only financial support to FDOA, but more importantly a commitment of the involvement of staff, doctors and patients in FDOA activities throughout the year integrating the two organizations for a true partnership.
While partnerships can be beneficial to expand services, they can also be instrumental in developing and securing places and spaces for active recreation. A new accessible field is being built in Tallahassee through the efforts of the Florida Disabled Outdoors Association and Miracle League. The field will enable people with disabilities to engage in baseball, power soccer, and a variety of other accessible sports. John Pennecamp State Park in the Florida Keys has enhanced available resources for people with disabilities to Scuba dive through the efforts of FDOA. This effort has been in the works for years and organizers are pleased with the result. Now Scuba divers in wheelchairs and Scuba divers with other disabilities will have a new opportunity open to them. This will certainly encourage more people to participate in the sport.
For more information, contact:
Heidi Melancon, M.P.H.
Senior Manager, Health & Wellness
National Recreation and Park Association
hmelancon@nrpa.org
David Jones
President
Florida Disabled Outdoors Association
info@fdoa.org
(850)201-2944