History
Club Accessible, formerly known as Wheelies, was the first club devoted to providing assistance and a social atmosphere dedicated to persons with disabilities. The club was founded to serve as a meeting place for friends, a dance club, an educational venue, a site for social interaction, a place of employment for DJs, and a home-base for many Second Life residents. Wheelies was founded by Simon Walsh in 2006 and fell into financial difficulties in March 2008. Seeing first hand the challenges that are faced by persons with disabilities coming into Second Life, Polgara Paine and Chade Villota undertook the charge of giving the club a new home.
Polgara, Chade and the Virtual Helping Hands team are committed to the benefits the club provides to Second Life residents from around the world, and they want to see the club continue. In the spirit of looking forward to assisting Second Life residents who are disabled, Wheelies was renamed Club Accessible on December 30, 2009. Club Accessible continues to be a place in which residents with real-life disabilities can feel safe and comfortable while enjoy the social atmosphere in Second Life.
Current Activities
Club Accessible has several events each week featuring some of Second Life's best DJs including Draxx Vanbeeck, Monica Shilling, Carl Bonham, and Sodapop Heron. On Tuesdays, we tune into KFPK and listen to Jolie Mason, the first completely blind member of Second Life who, as Jolie1 Magic in Second Life, co-hosts a real-life radio program called Access Unlimited. We also sponsor a game day every Thursday enjoyed by many Second Life residents. Club Accessible is never closed and even if a DJ is not playing, people are welcome to come dance, hang out and enjoy the social atmosphere. Our 'regulars' will enjoy you stopping by for a chat and some fun!
Future Vision
Currently, DJs donate their time and work only for tips. We believe that our employees should be paid at a level comparable to real life minimum wage. We would like to be able to pay the club manager to help organize events and foster the community and we are working hard to make that a future reality.
For some of the DJs, in-world jobs provide them with the ability to earn an income which is often difficult for people with disabilities who are home bound. We would like to continue to provide the service of training DJs with real life disabilities to gain the skills to play at Club Accessible and other clubs throughout Second Life. Because many of the members who want to DJ are not often able to buy the software and hardware needed (a headset, etc.), we hope in the future to be able to help provide them with needed equipment.
We believe it is important for everyone to have the satisfaction of earning in income. Seeking grants, in cooperation with other projects of Virtual Helping Hands, are among future activities planned to help support our mission of providing employment for individuals with disabilities.
Second Life link: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Taupo/168/94/24