Join AIR-San Antonio: ensuring access to the Web for San Antonians with disabilities.

Sponsored by financial services leader USAA, Rackspace Managed Hosting, and the University of Texas at San Antonio to bring web accessibility awareness and training to the San Antonio community, the second annual Accessibility Internet Rally for San Antonio (AIR-San Antonio) was held on October 4th 2008.

Led by community chair Robert Leavitt of USAA, teams of talented technology professionals from local companies created accessible web sites to benefit area nonprofit organizations. The results are in and winners will be announced on Wednesday October 22. Join us for the awards party as we see which of these talented teams takes home the trophies and recognize the efforts of each of the teams who volunteered in such a meaningful way. Party details and a map to the Rialto.

Team Name	Company Name(s)	NPO MATCH
Going Above	USAA	Autism Society
Firecat Studios	Firecat Studios	Terrell Heights Neighborhood Assn
The Squadron	Freelance Team	International School of the Americas Amigos
Rackers	Rackspace	Easter Seals
Drew/Walker	Freelance Team	Dreams Fulfilled Through Music
EnerCHI	Freelance team	Panhellenic Association of San Antonio
Going Beyond	USAA	MS & Beyond

Questions? Here are some of the most frequently asked and please contact us to talk more about the program and how you can participate!

What is AIR?

AIR stands for "Accessibility Internet Rally". AIR-San Antonio is a friendly, one-day web design competition in which teams of web developers create web sites for local non-profit organizations, sites that are accessible to everyone – including people with disabilities, wounded returning soldiers, and senior citizens as they age.

San Antonio 's best web designers will compete for prizes and recognition as they learn the latest accessible web design techniques and showcase their skills for community service organizations in a fun, high-energy web development contest. The "web-raisings" take place in one day, with a two-week planning period between web teams and their non-profit partners just prior to Rally Day. Everyone receives training in web accessibility in the months before the competition.

Why is this important?

We all increasingly depend on technology to connect us to what we need, and this is particularly true for people with disabilities. There are 55 million Americans with disabilities and the numbers are increasing as our populatin ages and as wounded heros return from war. However, many sites are not designed with disability access needs in mind. The AIR program raises awareness and skills so that everyone - regardless of disability - can access opportunites to learn, to work, to shop and to communicate online. As an AIR-San Antonio participant, you support programs and services that directly help the blind visualize the world around them, help the deaf communicate with the hearing world, and help those with mobility impairments "travel" via the Internet.

What's it like to participate in the AIR program?

Letters from three NPOs (PDF Format)
Download Adobe Reader

Be sure to visit Best of AIR to see previous winning sites from other AIR programs.

More About AIR-San Antonio

AIR-San Antonio is an exciting community development opportunity in which everyone benefits:

Teams of San Antonio's web developers receive free training in accessible web design techniques and then use their design skills to create accessible web sites for local non-profit organizations and community groups.
Non-profit, community, and educational groups that serve the needs of greater San Antonio receive donated, professionally designed web sites that support their missions.
People with disabilities gain increased access to web-based information that can help them live more independent lives.
Everyone benefits by having dozens of new, accessible web sites on the Internet that set an example for high-quality accessible design that welcomes everyone and removes the barriers that shut people out.

AIR activities include:

Hands-on web developer training in accessible web design tools and techniques.
Non-profit training in internet marketing and how to prepare communications for the Web.
A kickoff party to match each web development team with its non-profit partner.
Two weeks for non-profit representatives and their assigned web development team to plan the web site.
Accessibility consulting during the planning phase with nationally recognized accessibility experts.
One high-energy Rally Day during which the web sites for dozens of non-profit groups are created.
Judging by accessibility experts at two levels—basic and advanced.
An awards celebration to recognize all participants and present trophies to the most accessible web designs.

The AIR program, which originated in Austin, Texas in 1998, is held annually in cities around the country and is described in the book, Maximum Accessibility: Making Your Web Site More Usable for Everyone, by John D. Slatin, Ph.D., and Knowbility's Sharron Rush.

This exciting program has been recognized for excellence and innovation by business and political leaders, and has received local and national media coverage for its innovative methods and unequaled results. For over seven years, Knowbility has led national AIR programs to improve technology access for people with disabilities.

Contact AIR-San Antonio

To learn more about AIR-San Antonio, contact us by email at mrush @ knowbility.org or by phone at 210-365-5074.

To learn more about how to participate, visit AIR-San Antonio Participation.

Join AIR in bringing the internet accessibility to San Antonio!