🌱 SAND Grassroots Launch Fund
The SAND Grassroots Launch Fund powers the early development of the Social Advocacy Network of Disabilities (SAND), a 501(c)(3) disability-led nonprofit founded by a group of Oregon State University students, alumni, and local disabled community members who recognized a critical need for accessible community spaces, disability advocacy, and meaningful peer support for adults with disabilities.
SAND grew from lived experience from the shared understanding that disabled adults deserve more than survival; they deserve connection, belonging, and opportunities to participate fully in community life. Our founders experienced firsthand how difficult it can be to navigate services alone, build friendships as a disabled adult, or locate programs designed with accessibility at the center. We witnessed isolation, confusion around benefits, inaccessible outdoor spaces, and the lack of disability-led leadership in community life.
While Oregon has many excellent disability resources, most are concentrated in larger metropolitan areas like Portland, Gresham, Beaverton, Clackamas, Salem, and Eugene. These cities offer more established networks, transportation options, and inclusive programming. But in smaller or rural regions, including Corvallis, Albany, Philomath, Lebanon, and communities throughout Benton and Linn Counties; many disabled adults still struggle to access support, find social opportunities, or participate fully in community life.
Transportation barriers, limited program availability, fewer disability-led spaces, and a lack of local advocacy create isolation that hits rural disabled adults especially hard. SAND was created to help bridge this gap—bringing the same level of inclusion, advocacy, and disabled-led programming found in major cities directly to underserved communities.
Our founders have lived across both rural and urban parts of Oregon and know the difference in access firsthand. That’s why SAND collaborates with partners in Portland, Eugene, Salem, and other regions, working to bring programs into rural towns and ensure no disabled adult is left behind. SAND’s grassroots approach means meeting people exactly where they are, literally and figuratively, to create community, opportunity, and belonging.
What SAND Stands For
SAND represents unity, community, resilience, and the belief that every individual matters. Our name symbolizes how disabled adults are often overlooked like grains of sand—small, unseen, or underestimated—yet when gathered together, we create something powerful, supportive, and transformative.
Our Programs (Current & Upcoming)
SAND is proud to offer several cornerstone programs that were built directly from the needs, voices, and lived experiences of disabled adults in our community.
1. Access Together – Monthly Social Meetups
Many disabled adults feel isolated or disconnected due to transportation barriers, mobility limitations, sensory needs, or simply the difficulty of finding welcoming social spaces. Access Together is our monthly disability meetup designed to build friendships, connection, and belonging in a fully inclusive environment.
Programs include:
• themed social activities
• adaptive and accessible games
• peer support and resource sharing
• holiday gatherings
• educational workshops
• community outings
• service-dog friendly events
Access Together ensures disabled adults have a consistent, accessible place to build real connections.
2. Oregon Wheelchair Hiking Group
Nature belongs to everyone. But accessible trails and outdoor programs are often limited or nonexistent, especially in rural areas.
SAND’s Oregon Wheelchair Hiking Group creates safe, inclusive outdoor experiences for wheelchair users and adults with mobility disabilities. Each event features:
• trail scouting
• transportation coordination
• safety planning
• peer mentors
• rest stops and pacing
• service dog accommodation
• nature education
• community bonding
This program is one of our proudest achievements—helping disabled adults experience Oregon’s beauty with freedom, support, and confidence.
3. Wheelchair Maintenance Workshops (Upcoming)
Wheelchairs are not simply equipment; they’re mobility, independence, and freedom. But many disabled adults lack access to affordable repair support or the knowledge to maintain their own equipment.
SAND’s upcoming workshops will teach:
• basic maintenance
• caster care
• wheel and bearing checks
• DIY adjustments
• cushion care
• safety inspection skills
• when to seek professional repair
This program aims to reduce emergencies, prevent breakdowns, and empower wheelchair users with essential mobility knowledge.
4. Advocacy & Resource Navigation
Navigating disability systems is confusing, overwhelming, and often exhausting.Â
SAND offers compassionate advocacy and guidance in areas such as:
• SSI/SSDI questions and work incentives
• earned work credits and SSDI transition support
• housing programs
• ADA accommodations
• healthcare and provider navigation
• transportation support
• service dog rights
• academic accommodations
• state and county resources
• crisis-prevention strategies
• self-advocacy development
Our approach is disability-led, person-centered, trauma-informed, and rooted in respecting lived experience.
5. ADA Advocacy, Policy Work, and Community Accessibility Partnerships
SAND plays a vital role in strengthening disability access across Oregon. We partner with cities, counties, state agencies, transit authorities, and event organizers to ensure that public spaces and community events are equitable, inclusive, and ADA-compliant.
Our work includes:
• helping cities improve accessibility for parades, festivals, fairs, and community events
• advising event planners on accessible layouts, signage, seating, and sensory considerations
• reviewing public spaces for ADA barriers
• partnering with transit services to improve access, stops, route communication, and rider experience
• supporting individuals in filing ADA complaints
• helping agencies revise policies to better serve disabled adults
• bridging accessibility gaps between rural and urban regions
• addressing community reports of barriers, blockages, and accessibility violations
• empowering disabled adults to advocate for their rights with confidence
While SAND does not provide formal legal representation, we engage in community-level advocacy and systems change. Our goal is not special treatment, but equitable access—ensuring disabled adults can safely and fully participate in community life.
This work strengthens public spaces, improves policy, and makes Oregon more accessible for everyone.
Employment, Leadership, and Economic Empowerment
SAND is proudly disability-led. We believe disabled adults should not only benefit from resources, they should lead them. Disabled adults face systemic discrimination in employment, from biased hiring practices to limited accommodations and fear of losing benefits. SAND actively hires disabled staff and creates flexible, supportive employment pathways.
One of our core goals is to help disabled adults earn the work credits needed to transition from SSI to SSDI, which offers:
• higher long-term financial stability
• access to retirement benefits
• increased employment opportunities
• better protection from sudden income loss
Your donation supports a part-time disabled Community Health Navigator, who provides resource navigation, peer support, advocacy, and program coordination while earning valuable work credits.
Our Mission
The Social Advocacy Network of Disabilities (SAND) empowers adults with disabilities through community connection, advocacy, resource navigation, and inclusive social opportunities. We work to eliminate barriers, uplift lived experience, and create spaces where every person is seen, valued, and supported.
Like grains of sand shaped by wind and tide, we honor the strength, story, and resilience within each of us. By gathering these grains together, SAND builds a shoreline of belonging, compassion, and hope—where no one is overlooked and everyone has the chance to rise, thrive, and shine.
Tagline: Creating access. Building community. Uplifting lives.
How Your Donation Helps
Your contribution to the SAND Grassroots Launch Fund directly supports:
• payroll for a disabled Community Health Navigator
• essential administrative tools (website, phone line, software)
• accessibility materials and supplies
• monthly Access Together events
• Oregon Wheelchair Hiking support
• wheelchair maintenance workshop development
• advocacy and resource navigation services
• community outreach and grassroots organizing
Every donation builds the foundation of a disability-led nonprofit that will serve Oregon for years to come.
Together, We Build Something Strong...
Disabled adults deserve joy, connection, community, and independence. They deserve safe outdoor spaces, meaningful friendships, equitable access to resources, and leadership opportunities within their own communities.
SAND is grassroots.
SAND is community-powered.
SAND is disability-led.
SAND is built from real stories, real needs, and real people.
Together, we build something strong—one grain at a time.
The Social Advocacy Network of Disabilities (SAND) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN: 39-3858812). All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.