Nikki Zimmerman from Out of Step shares how their free online marketplace empowers people with disabilities to gain greater financial independence.Quoted From: https://www.autismempowerment.org/2014/01/08/turning-disabilities-opportunities/
""I feel like the Out of Step tool has had this tremendous positive effect on my life, and on me. I feel motivated, I am happier, I feel more confident and worry a lot less." Christy Lloyd, Portrait Artist and a Member of Out of Step.
As the founder of Out of Step, a new, free website where people with disabilities can offer services or sell products, I get inspiring emails like this almost daily. When I dreamt of a marketplace for those with disabilities, I knew it would be an amazing place for people to showcase their skills and earn money. But it"s proved way more valuable we"re motivating individuals to move forward and believe in possibilities againor in some cases for the first time.
Our team launched the Out of Step tool because we believe people with disabilities can and do want to work. We"re proudly "out of step" with the notion that people with disabilities have to continue within a nearly 15 percent unemployment rate. On our website, members with a disability show their industriousness every time they create a profile to sell a product or service.
outofstepThrough the Out of Step tool, consumers can now find all sorts of great things, from books to industrial tools and dating services to computer helpall by people who happen to have a disability.
We have a seller in Tennessee providing rental dirt track karts to the general public. The karts can be used on a half mile contoured dirt track. There is nothing like it in the US. 15 minutes of absolute fun. Oh yeah and he is blind.
Another member created a company called Wheel New York, which is creating a mobile accessibility app. As a person in a wheelchair, he knows firsthand the challenges of getting around the city.
The inspiration for Out of Step came from my daughter Riley, who was disabled but still wanted to have purpose. Her passion was folding laundry, and our family dreamed of helping her open Riley"s Laundry Service. While her illness didn"t allow that to come to fruition, my goal is to provide a solution for others with a disability."
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