The Oklahoma Assistive Technology Foundation (OkAT) is pleased to announce it has received a $20,000 grant from the Oklahoma City Community Foundation and its Services for the Elderly iFund grant program. The grant will be used to assist in funding the Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Donation project. In partnership with the Oklahoma ABLE Tech Device Reutilization Program, this $20,000 grant will help serve individuals 65 and older in the Oklahoma City metro area that need DME. This project will provide people with equipment that specifically assists individuals in being more independent with functional mobility and daily living activities. In addition to helping seniors gain and maintain independence, accessing and using DME can improve safety, decrease the need for caregiver assistance, and improve their overall quality of life.
“We are so excited to have received this grant,” says OkAT Director of Lending, Natalie Rohwer. “Our DME Donation project will help us to serve more individuals in need. We tremendously appreciate the support of the Oklahoma City Community Foundation.”
Since its inception in 2001, OkAT has partnered with Oklahoma ABLE Tech to assist Oklahomans with disabilities in getting the assistive technology (AT) and DME they need. OkAT's primary mission is to promote community development through assisting Oklahomans with disabilities of all ages and their family members, advocates, and authorized representatives or entities to increase understanding, access to, and acquisition of needed assistive technology through financial loans, financial education, and other identified resources.
Oklahoma ABLE Tech is the state’s Assistive Technology Act Program, whose mission compliments the OkAT and the iFund grant goals, as ABLE Tech staff work to support individuals with disabilities – including those who are aging – and help them function as independently as possible in all daily living activities and environments. ABLE Tech provides AT and DME through comprehensive statewide programs and services, which include device demonstrations, device short-term loans, device reutilization, digital accessibility, and financial loans for the purchase of assistive technology, home modifications for accessibility, and DME.
Founded in 1969, the Oklahoma City Community Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity that works with donors to create charitable funds that will benefit our community both now and in the future. An initiative of the Oklahoma City Community Foundation Trustees, the iFund grant program utilizes gifts from donors to support services for children and the elderly, as well as provide access to health care. To learn more about the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, visit www.occf.org.
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Oklahoma ABLE Tech is the state’s Assistive Technology Act Program, located within the Department of Wellness Sponsored Programs at Oklahoma State University. ABLE Tech is funded through the Administration for Community Living of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, made possible through the Assistive Technology (AT) Act of 1998, as amended in 2004 (ATA 2004). Our mission is to improve the lives of all Oklahomans by providing assistive technology (AT) devices and services, financing opportunities, digital accessibility services, advocacy, and education
For media inquiries, contact Peyton Haley, Accessible Communications Coordinator, at abt.marketing@okstate.edu.