Easter Seals Launches Ground-Breaking Accessible Online Network

(CHICAGO, Oct. 8, 2002) -- Easter Seals -- one of the nation's leading champions for access to employment and education opportunities, public transportation and other community resources -- today announced another milestone in breaking down barriers to provide improved access for people with disabilities: the launch of Easter Seals Online Network, an innovative, accessible online resource for clients, donors, referrers and educators.

Easter Seals Online Network currently includes Easter Seals' national Web site, http://www.easter-seals.org/, and 10 Web sites representing affiliates across the country, and will expand to include more than half of the organization's 90-plus affiliates by August 2003.

As the Internet replaces traditional sources of information and interaction, accessible Web sites will offer unprecedented access to information for the 20 percent of Americans with disabilities. "We are committed to ensuring that our many publics, including clients, donors and volunteers, can access Easter Seals resources online," said Easter Seals President and CEO James E. Williams, Jr.  "Removing barriers is part of Easter Seals' legacy - we are excited and honored to lead this new technical era for people with disabilities, and hope that other organizations and corporations will follow suit."

Online accessibility issues affect millions of Americans who have disabilities, particularly those whose disabilities affect their ability to see, hear, move or process information. All Web sites within Easter Seals Online Network are highly accessible, making it possible to share information about Easter Seals services and resources, despite differences in ability among Internet users worldwide. Accessibility issues may include the ability to use a keyboard or mouse, or use of a text-only screen, a small screen (handheld computers and wireless telephones) or a slow Internet connection.

Network Web sites feature a full range of new functionality; Internet users are able to personalize their experience, accessing information prioritized by the user's location and interests. Users also can register for Easter Seals' e-newsletter, make secure donations, apply for job and volunteer opportunities, register for events and participate in advocacy campaigns.

Content throughout Easter Seals Online Network includes in-depth information about Easter Seals services and their locations; job opportunities across the country; and resources, from developmental milestones for infants to tips (for children and adults) when meeting a person with a disability to how to create an evacuation plan for anyone who might have difficulty in an emergency.

Easter Seals Online Network's accessibility standards meet the requirements of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which has developed common protocols that promote the evolution of the World Wide Web and ensure its interoperability. Network sites also meet or exceed federal accessibility guidelines set forth by Section 508, the 1998 Congressional amendment to the Rehabilitation Act requiring Federal agencies to: eliminate barriers in information technology; make available new opportunities for people with disabilities; and encourage development of technologies that will help achieve these goals.

Easter Seals began planning for its online network in the fall of 2001 with Falls Church, Virginia-based Beaconfire Consulting.  With a substantial investment in technology and expertise, Easter Seals solidified its commitment to building relationships through integrated online and offline marketing. Convio - an Austin, Texas, company that provides Internet software and services exclusively for nonprofits - helped the organization create an integrated platform allowing Easter Seals to consistently communicate with its supporters, whether they actively participate online or through traditional channels such as direct mail.

For more than 80 years, Easter Seals has been providing services that help children and adults with disabilities gain greater independence. Easter Seals' primary services are medical rehabilitation, job training and employment, inclusive child care, adult day services, and camping and recreation - benefiting more than one million individuals and their families each year through 450 centers nationwide. For more information about Easter Seals or to locate an Easter Seals service site near you, visit http://www.easter-seals.org/.