UPDATE Article
Observer Reporter

8/29/2011 3:33 AM

Money talks
By Michael Bradwell Business editor

A local group that represents physically disabled people wants businesses to know that its members have some serious spending power.

To prove that people with disabilities have money to spend in the community, Travis Gongaware, an independent living specialist with Tri-County Patriots for Independent Living, launched a three-month campaign called "Our Money is Green."

The initiative asked both TRIPIL staff members and their independent living clients to submit their receipts from each time they visited an area restaurant between May 1 and July 31. He said TRIPIL has between 300 and 400 members in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties.

"The majority of our membership is in Washington County," he said.

Last week, Gongaware displayed more than 1,000 receipts from fast-food and family-style restaurants in the area that totaled $12,487 for the three months.

TRIPIL is a center for independent living that helps consumers with disabilities with skills and services to live independently in their communities. One of its goals is to ensure that businesses provide access to entrances that comply with accessibility guidelines cited by the Americans With Disabilities Act.

"The idea was to educate the business community that people with disabilities do have spending power," Gongaware said.

"We wanted to say to businesses, 'If you don't provide us access, you're missing a good portion of our dollars.' What some businesses don't realize is that people with disabilities are loyal people."

As for demonstrating the spending power of the disabled, Gongaware said the receipt-collection project grew in popularity from the time it was launched.

"As the word got out, the amount got bigger and bigger," he said, adding that eventually, he was collecting between 80 and 100 receipts a week.