Overview

With so many organizations that help people with disabilities,
which is most deserving of a contribution?

Given there are so many excellent organizations, when someone wants to make a contribution that will benefit people with a disability, there is something of a dilemma.  Which organization is most deserving?

When you consider the outcomes of the dollars invested, you are faced with a need to compare the relative benefits of one program over another.  Hopefully, you are able to compare similar programs, but most likely, with all the differences, you will not be comparing apples to apples.  More frequently, you will be comparing dissimilar and sometimes confusing programs.  Instead of apples to apples, it is like comparing apples to oranges.  Someone once said that if there were fifty-seven million Americans with disabilities, there must be fifty-eight million organizations reaching out to them.  While it may not be quite that confusing, it is not an easy task.  Where can we invest our resources so that we know the most good might be realized?  This has always been a difficult consideration.  Until now.

Walt Disney was inspired to create Mickey Mouse after he discovered a small mouse in a makeshift garage-workshop in the spring of 1928.  Walt Disney was fond of saying that the entire multi-billion dollar 'World of Disney' all started with a mouse.  Actually, it started with a struggling artist who invested his last dollar for the supplies needed for his craft.  When he ran out of money of his own, it might have ended then.  Luckily, he received money from a few investors.  The rest, as they say, is history. 

What if Walt hadn't received the money to continue and had run out of money before Mickey was born?  That was actually more likely than not as at that time, investors favored the established art studios.  Walt got lucky, and so did everyone who has enjoyed the outcomes of that creative genius.  Throughout the world, people give thanks for those who invested in that poor starving artist because the world is a richer place because of Walt Disney's lifetime of contributions.  His life's work has inspired thousands to greatness and his family-oriented amusement parks are a delight worldwide.  While it all may have started with a mouse, Walt surely would have agreed that it was made possible due to the generosity of his investors.

The search for funding is the very same struggle facing all those who hope to help people with disabilities today.  Think of the outcomes past benefactors have helped create when they supported those extraordinary individuals whose work has helped millions.

• At the age of 12, Louis Braille invented "Braille," the world-wide system of embossed type used by blind and partially sighted people for reading and writing. It has been adapted to almost every known language, from Albanian to Zulu and has helped countless millions.  Within two years from his invention, investors helped him publish the very first Braille book.
  
• Adam Kissiah, Jr. was a real-world 'rocket scientist.'  He worked for NASA on many important missions including the important lunar landing project when he learned he was losing his hearing.  Learning that there was no existing cure for his condition and that it would ultimately lead to deafness, Adam chose to invest his energies and resources to create another possibility-a life where he wouldn't become deaf.  The result was that Adam invented the Cochlear Implant.  His invention has helped tens of thousands of deaf people to hear.  While there are many organizations that have dedicated themselves to the Cochlear Implant, there is only one Adam Kissiah, Jr.
  
• James L. Sorenson invented a remarkable new technology that could compress video images sent over the internet.  He applied his results to create a Video Relay Service that now enables tens of thousands of deaf people to communicate vis-à-vis American Sign Language, not only to other deaf people, but to hearing people as well.  Because of Mr. Sorenson's contribution, and those who supported his efforts, deaf people now have the ability to hold normal telephone conversations.

There are literally hundreds of these stories.  Each one is a testament to the inventive and entrepreneurial spirit of a single individual whose creative abilities have improved the lives of millions upon millions of people who happen to have a disability.  Sadly, there would have been other extraordinary inventions, but the would-be inventor ran out of capital or lacked the expertise to complete the project.

So where do we make a contribution to ensure the greatest outcome?  What organization will best utilize the financial support we give? 

From experience we know that it is impractical to give meaningful financial support to all the worthwhile organizations and agencies working in the ability industry.  So how can we determine where best to give our donations?  There is an ancient proverb that says you must 'water the root to enjoy the fruit.'  If there is a root at the basis of all of the great and worthwhile programs, it is the people who create the innovative programs, inventions and medical breakthroughs.  The true heroes of the Ability Industry are those whose individual contributions directly and dramatically improve the lives of thousands or even millions of people who happen to have a special need. 

This perspective suggests an exciting alternative to how we might otherwise have made our donations.  The concept behind the World Ability Federation's Ability Through Education Scholarship Program is to help the people that create theses new possibilities by providing funding in the form of scholarships.  Contributing to education waters the root.  It's like being there for Walt Disney when he was at the helm of a great enterprise, but without the capital to get it started.

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