#AdvocacyMatters: Small Steps, Monumental Shifts

December 12, 2025 / #AdvocacyMatters

Our work is at its best when it’s informed by the real, lived experiences of people with disabilities.

Our Board of Directors is made up of active and experienced advocates—including individuals with disabilities, family members of individuals with disabilities, and professionals. Over half of the Board’s current members are individuals with disabilities, and the remaining individuals are family members, advocates, or industry professionals.

The Access Center for Independent Living (ACIL) recently published an article on one of these individual’s advocacy journey.

After attending an art and poetry-focused workshop hosted by DRO, Georgie Elson wanted to get more involved in advocacy.

“Since attending that workshop, I’ve become much more involved in advocacy, attending meetings and learning how to advocate effectively,” Georgie told ACIL. “I’ve made so many new friends along the way, and I feel more connected to my community than ever before.”

In the spring of 2024 Georgie joined DRO’s Board of Directors, and now chairs the organization’s Outreach Committee. Georgie recently joined a group of advocates on a trip to Washington, D.C., where they were able to share directly with congressional offices the barriers people with disabilities still encounter.

“While change may not happen overnight,” Georgie shared. “The small steps we take together can lead to monumental shifts in our society.”

This kind of collaboration and partnership helps to expand our reach and grow our work, which helps us move closer to our ultimate goal. Another way to maximize our impact is by helping to shore up funding in these uncertain times.

We work throughout the year to raise funding beyond our core federal grants to help us grow our reach, expand our work, and react in real-time to the barriers facing people with disabilities in Ohio. More and more often, we’re finding opportunities to earn increased funding through matching dollars. We need you to help us secure a share of these funds.

Everyone’s advocacy journey is unique, and each experience can help us refine our work and better meet the needs of folks with disabilities throughout Ohio. Your support in helping us to capture some of this additional funding is a direct investment in our vision: Voices Elevated. People Empowered. Equity Achieved.

Please visit www.disabilityrightsohio.org/stronger-together to support us today.

#AdvocacyMatters