by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Joni Eareckson Tada

Long before Christopher Reeve became injured, Joni Eareckson Tada was the well-known quadriplegic everyone knew about (especially in the Christian world). Injured in 1967 in a diving accident at the age of 17, Joni (the last of four girls, they wanted a boy so she was named after her Dad) well, let’s just say she’s has managed to like a remarkable life.

From starring in a movie about her life, serving under two US presidents on the Disability Advisory Commitee (GW Bush and Obama), to founding the Joni & Friends International Network (they do so much good), read my post on this very awesome lady on another site I blog for (SPINALpedia; a disability video archive). Read this entry

Man pushing his racing wheelchair at a triathalon.
by Tiff -

Your disability photos can make you money

Why let your photos sit on your hard drive when they can make you money? A new photo site is aiming to do just that. PhotoAbility is a stock imagery site searching for the best in disability images, and there’s no other site like it out there. It’s founded by Deborah Davis (a really nice gal), an incomplete C7 quad from Florida.

The concept behind how the site works is simple: Submit a photo (they’re looking for all kinds of disability images), if it’s approved, they’ll add it to their archive. Once a reputable business or advertiser is interested in using your image (for advertising or marketing materials), they’ll buy the rights from PhotoAbility, and you receive a 30% cut. Not too shabby for something that would otherwise not be sitting there collecting dust, right?

I really think this concept is cool. I have a handful of images from my 19+ years of being paralyzed that could definitely have a higher purpose, and I love the site’s goal, which is to put positive imagery into the world (vs the negative stuff we see so often). How many times have you seen a sad picture of a so-called disabled person used in some mainstream ad? This definitely needs to change. Read the rest of my entry for my blog Spin 2.0 for New Mobility magazine

Photo courtesy of _rickola