Check out the Global News segment on StopGap and the Rebuilding Lives 2013 event!!

Hot off the press! Susan Hay from Global News met up with us at The Mill Centre recently to ask us about our involvement with Dixon Hall and the upcoming Rebuilding Lives 2013 event on May 29! Click here to watch!

Barriers can be digital as well and Sara at Sara C Designs knows what to do with them!

Barriers aren't just limited to those found in the built environment, barriers present themselves in the digital world as well and Sara at Sara C Designs knows how to tackle them. We had the fortunate opportunity to meet with Sara last week and she introduced us to her craft - you can find her on the web at www.creativesaracdesigns.com. Sara is very well-versed at making websites and documents accessible for those with vision impairments. By implementing her programming prowess she is able to outfit digital spaces so that they can be read with a screen reader or adjusted so that text becomes larger and higher contrast. She brought us up to speed on the information and communication standard of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act which will come into place by 2025. Like us she is an advocate of trying to convince people to take the initiative and make spaces accessible to all before the mandatory due date. Sara is super passionate about her work and we congratulate her on her efforts!

May 28th - Rebuilding Lives Fundraiser!

We are incredibly excited to officially announce our partnership with Dixon Hall's The Mill Centre. The Mill Centre's woodworking program teaches woodworking skills to at-risk youth, they will begin taking on the fabrication of our community project ramps in the coming months! They are almost 100% privately funded and each year they have a huge fundraising event to help keep their organization afloat. As in previous years they will be auctioning off items built in part by students of the woodworking program. This year 12 StopGap ramps will be given a custom paint job by a group of renowned artists and will be auctioned off along with a whole bunch of other great items. It's going to be a fantastic evening at a really cool venue on Toronto's Queen Street East, the Berkeley Fieldhouse. Please click here and download your own event brochure and consider participating in what is to be a really amazing evening. More details to follow - stay tuned!

"Access Ramp Available" Signage

Ever since we began our Community Ramp Project we have understood the need for informative signage in order to communicate to a potential customer that a business has an access ramp available if needed. We have finally put together a sign that businesses can display in their storefront window to let people know that they have a ramp for whoever needs it. From this point forward each business that participates in a Community Ramp Project or purchases a ramp through our Ramps on Request program will receive a sign - click here to check it out!

We have had many discussions about how someone interested in using a businesses ramp might be able to independently get the attention of a store manager inside. Our solution to this issue is the installation of a very simple wireless door chime. These inexpensive battery powered devices are available in many hardware stores for $20-$30 and take minutes to install, click here for an example. Along with our newly developed signage we will now be recommending door chimes to all of our Community Ramp Project and Ramps on Request participants!

Exciting long overdue update!

Our apologies for not posting any news for a little while, we have been busy creating relationships with some fantastic people and organizations. Let us explain just some of the fantastic things that have been going on.

We are very excited to soon be working with Toronto's Dixon Hall and their Mill Centre training program for at-risk youth. The Mill Centre (http://www.themillcentre.com/) will be adopting our ramps as a way to teach woodworking skills! This will mean that the communities interested in adopting their own Community Ramp Project can now choose to have the often complicated fabrication element of the project taken care of by the students at The Mill Centre. This option will greatly simplify the implementation of a Community Ramp Project and allow the initiative to reach even further. Stay tuned for information about a big fundraiser being organized by Dixon Hall towards the end of this coming May to benefit its Mill Centre training program.

We are actively working on our charitable status application. Anna Flisfeder and fellow lawyers at Osler Hoskin and Harcourt have generously agreed to take on our application on a pro bono basis. We are super excited at the opportunities that a charitable status might introduce us to, we've got our fingers crossed for a positive outcome!

Help us welcome Carlo Cassano. Carlo is an incredibly experienced builder with a genuine interest in removing barriers in our built environment. Carlo will be taking care of our Ramps on Request as an independent contractor and has already helped us improve our ramp design by introducing an adjustable base to accommodate typical uneven surfaces. Carlo's attention to detail and insight will allow us to expand our capacity to take on more than just single stepped storefronts. Stay tuned for news on the development of our modular ramp that will service a three-stepped storefront. We are very proud to have Carlo on our team!

We are partnering with the Rick Hansen Institute and their Planat program (http://www.planat.com/)! Planat allows users to submit information regarding accessibility about venues throughout the world. This is an incredible resource for anyone interested in knowing details about a restaurant, a retail store, a concert venue or any other type of building where access could be an issue. StopGap will be featured on the website and be listed as a resource for those interested in our Community Projects Program, Ramps on Request or School Presentations. Check out the site, it's really really fantastic.

We've got a very busy spring ahead of us and urge you to keep checking back on updates relating to all of these items and more!

Ramps Built On Request!

We have been getting lots of requests for ramps from businesses that may not have been a part of a Community Ramp Project. In order to maintain our goal of raising awareness about barriers in our built environment we have aligned ourselves with a number of inspired contractors that allow us to follow through with these requests! The pictures below show a couple of ramps that we have recently completed outside of a Community Ramp Project. If you are a business owner that would like a custom ramp built for your storefront please send us the following:

• a picture showing the entire storefront
• a close up picture showing a tape measure in front of the left and right side of the step so that we can determine the exact step height and the proper measurement for the ramp design
• your choice of our standard colours of vibrant red, green or yellow or if you would like a custom colour

With this information we are able to give an accurate quote. We look forward to hearing from you!

Thumbs-up to Bowmore Grade 8 Students!

Click here to check out how an amazing group of grade 8 students at Bowmore P.S. are raising awareness about barriers in their community!