Freedom of Mobility Foundation Selects Recipients for Travel Training Grants

Freedom of Mobility Foundation, Inc., the charitable branch of United States-based transportation contracting firm and paratransit service provider, MV Transportation, Inc., selected Chicago based, Access Living (AL) and Miami based, Center for Independent Living of South Florida as 2010 recipients of $7,500 Travel Training Initiative Grants.

Both organizations will use the travel training grants to expand current programs providing one-on-one training to people with disabilities, teaching them the skills required to travel safely on fixed-route public transportation. Access Living has committed its grant to specifically assist Chicago youth with disabilities.

"With this grant, we will enable a greater number of youth with disabilities not just to benefit from our programming, but also to increase their independence by learning to navigate the public transportation system," said Denis Test, Development Associate for Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago. "As we celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the occasion serves as a poignant reminder not just of all that we have accomplished over the course of the last two decades, but also of all the work that remains to be done in our fight for equal opportunity, access and inclusion of people with disabilities."

"The Center for Independent Living of South Florida, Inc. is excited to be able to provide mobility training on using the fixed route bus system for 50 individuals with disabilities due to the generous funding from the Freedom of Mobility Foundation," says Shelley Gottsagen, Development and Community Relations, Center for Independent Living of South Florida. "This travel training will open up new experiences and promote community inclusion."

The Freedom of Mobility Foundation's Board of Directors works with non-profit organizations with goals to assist the transportation disadvantaged community across the globe. Most recently, the Foundation made donations to Soles4Souls, Inc. to provide shoes for children in Tanzania and Handicap International to provide mobility devices for newly disabled people in Haiti in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake.

"Travel training will greatly enhance the quality of life for these individuals, allowing them to safely and confidently use public transportation and achieve greater independence, which fits perfectly in line with the mission of our foundation," said Quisa Foster, project manager for Freedom of Mobility Foundation.

About Freedom of Mobility Foundation, Inc.
Freedom of Mobility Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)3 organization with the primary goal to increase access to transportation for persons with disabilities and senior citizens in an effort to improve their quality of life. FMFI gives funding priority to transportation projects, specifically those programs that seek to promote independent living for people with disabilities.