The AbleGamers Foundation
| Founded | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Founders | Mark Barlet and Stephanie Walker |
| Type | Public Charity |
| Focus | Gamers with Disabilities |
| Location |
|
|
Area served
|
Internationally |
|
Members
|
2000 |
|
Founder and Executive Director
|
Mark C. Barlet |
|
Key people
|
Mark Barlet, Steve Spohn, Craig Kaufman |
|
Revenue
|
~$495,000 in 2015 |
|
Employees
|
2 |
|
Volunteers
|
300 |
| Slogan | AbleGamers charity wields the power of gaming to break down the barriers of economic and social isolation for people with disabilities. |
| Website | http://www.ablegamers.org |
The AbleGamers Foundation (also known as The AbleGamers Charity) is a leading nonprofit organization and foundation dedicated to bringing greater accessibility in the video game space so people with disabilities can gain a greater quality of life through developing a rich social life that gaming can bring. The AbleGamers Foundation promotes open dialog, education, research and funding grants in the area of accessibility. Ablegamers.com is a website run by the AbleGamers Foundation that specifically caters to the game accessibility community.
In 2012, The AbleGamers Foundation opened "The AbleGamers Center on Game Accessibility and Inclusive Play" in Harpers Ferry, WV. The center offers a place for people with disabilities to come and experience cutting-edge accessible technology. It also has a makers space for custom controller design, and prototyping. The AbleGamers Songbird Studo, named after the lifesize Songbird from BioShock Infinite donated to the charity by Irrational Games in 2014.
January 2016 the charity announced that it was extending its mission to include a new program entitled "Expansion Packs". Partnering with sponsors, AbleGamers is building accessible game rooms for activity centers that support people with disabilities, the first being at the Pediatric Specialty Care in Hopewell PA
The AbleGamers Foundation is working with Evil Controllers to design accessible peripherals for disabled gamers.
The AbleGamers Foundation was granted 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity status in 2009.
Mark Barlet, president AbleGamers received the 2012 American Association of People with Disabilities Hearne Leadership Award for his work at AbleGamers.
In 2013, AbleGamers won an MS Society Da Vinci Award for the "Includification: A Practical Guide to Game Accessibility", the first time the award had been given to a document and concept, not a product. AbleGamers also won the LEO Award, the "People's Choice".
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