Marathon to Empower People with Disabilities
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Despite being born without the ability to speak, control his muscles, feed himself, or do most routine daily activities autonomously; Brad’s positivity and “no limits” mindset allows him to live his life to the fullest. Brad never fails to constantly amaze and inspire everyone around him. He has an uncanny ability to find ways to overcome obstacles - to persevere and break down unimaginable barriers, regardless of what life throws his way. His powerful mindset; consisting of strong mental resilience and a positive attitude, leaves a lasting impression on anyone who has the pleasure of meeting this remarkable man.
*Photo of young Bradley Heaven*
When Brad began attending public high school at the age of 13, he needed a permanent aide by his side to provide all-day assistance when he needed it, and to help him physically navigate a world that lacked consistent accessibility adaptations.
The universe works in mysterious ways, people can appear in our lives when we need it most. In January 2010, the universe worked its magic. Dan was hired as Brad’s full-time aide. At the time, aged 19, Dan was going through a particularly low point in his life. Having recently dropped out of college without the faintest clue on what to do next. He had zero experience as an aide and was initially fearful of such an enormous responsibility. Finally, he decided to gather his courage and step out of his shell. It was time to try something new, even if he was afraid. Little did either of them know their lives would forever change from that day forth.
Brad uses assistive technology to give him a voice and interact with his environment, and it wasn’t long before Dan became fascinated with seeking out new adaptive products and technologies that could improve Brad’s quality of life. He even began fabricating his own makeshift “diy adaptive products” whenever he couldn’t find a product that existed. One of his most notable creations was a stylus pen, made from local dollar-store items, that Brad wore as a headband. This device enabled Brad to draw on his iPad!
*Photo of Dan and Brad wearing Dan's custom built head strap iPad Stylus*
As the years went by, they quickly realized how difficult it was to keep up with the abundance of adaptive resources hitting the market. Their strong bond that developed over the course of their decade-long journey and their experience with adaptive products/assistive technologies are what gave them the motivation to launch their Nonprofit, All Access Life. They created the first ever one-stop-shop website that empowers people with disabilities through adaptive resources: www.allaccesslife.org. They update the site regularly with all the latest adaptive products, technologies, apps, software and more.
*Photo of Brad and Dan proudly holding up All Access Life's Certificate of Incorporation*
They've been working on All Access Life over the past 5 years while Brad attended college and Dan remained Brad’s full time aide. They've already achieved several notable accomplishments during these last 5 years, winning entrepreneurial competitions, creating viral videos, delivering keynote presentations, winning distinguished awards, being featured on national news to name a few! List of Accomplishments
The next logical step for the two enthusiastic entrepreneurs is to focus the entirety of their efforts on All Access Life, working on the company full-time! This is where you, the person reading this, can help Brad and Dan realize their altruistic vision for the world of accessibility. With the ability to intensely focus on their goals, free of financial burden for a year, they will be able to give their company the final push it needs. They would be in a position to one day profoundly impact the lives of people with disabilities on a much larger scale than they can today.
Brad and Dan brainstormed all kinds of ways to make this full time goal a reality. Suddenly, one day it hit them like a ton of bricks. They recalled hearing about a father and son named Dick and Rick Hoyt, who used to run marathons together. Rick was born with cerebral palsy and his father, Dick, always went above and beyond the call of duty to give Rick the best life possible. He would always say that it was his son running the marathon, he was simply lending him his legs. Dick was the motor and Rick was the heart. Their story resonated with Brad and Dan deeply. To the point that when Bradley was in high school, Dan made him a promise that one day he would lend him his legs, and that Brad would run a marathon of his own.
*Photo of Dick Hoyt pushing his son Rick up a hill*
That brings us to today. Dan kept that promise and the duo will run their first marathon on October 17th, 2021. The goal of the marathon is to raise enough funds to work on their Nonprofit, All Access Life, full-time for one year. During this year, they will tirelessly strive to turn All Access Life into a sustainable business. This will give them the opportunity to continue empowering people with disabilities on the long-term!
*Photo of Brad and Dan taken after a long training session. Brad is seated in his adaptive jogging stroller called Josi*
However, there’s a unique plot-twist to the way Brad and Dan plan on running this marathon. Keeping consistent with his “no limits” mindset; Brad will only be making use of Dan’s legs for the first 40km, and plans to complete the remainder of the marathon on his own. That’s right, Brad will be completing the last 2.2km with his adaptive walker to demonstrate to the world that anything is possible when equipped with a positive and determined mentality.
*Photo of Bradley in his adaptive walker midway through a 2km training session*
Hitting their target GoFundMe goal would allow them to:
- Continue researching and updating their website on a regular basis with new adaptive resources: www.allaccesslife.org
- Continue creating their adaptive product review videos: https://www.allaccesslife.org/post/adaptive-product-reviews
- Continue writing and publishing their book *Heaven Casts Light on a Shadow*
- Carry on breaking the stigma associated with disabilities and to showcase anything is possible with a “no limits” attitude
Your donations will go directly to their Nonprofit and will be used to operate All Access Life for one entire year:
- Funding new equipment
- Marketing/Promotion
- Salaries
- Website fees
- Publishing book fees
- Location rental to shoot their videos
Brad and Dan are a testament to how anything in life is achievable with the right mindset. They believe you should always dream BIG.
They intend to move mountains in this lifetime with All Access Life. With your support they will be able to change many lives for the better and have an everlasting impact in the world of accessibility and inclusion! Should you have further questions, or need additional information about their story, visit www.allaccesslife.org to learn more.
Your donations are truly appreciated and allow this dynamic duo to continue living out their passion of empowering others with disabilities!
Sharing this GoFundMe Campaign by simply pressing the "Share" button, is also a great way to support Brad and Dan. It will help their Campaign get more exposer!
“You have been assigned this mountain so that you can show others it can be moved”
- Mel Robbins
*Photo of young Bradley Heaven*When Brad began attending public high school at the age of 13, he needed a permanent aide by his side to provide all-day assistance when he needed it, and to help him physically navigate a world that lacked consistent accessibility adaptations.
The universe works in mysterious ways, people can appear in our lives when we need it most. In January 2010, the universe worked its magic. Dan was hired as Brad’s full-time aide. At the time, aged 19, Dan was going through a particularly low point in his life. Having recently dropped out of college without the faintest clue on what to do next. He had zero experience as an aide and was initially fearful of such an enormous responsibility. Finally, he decided to gather his courage and step out of his shell. It was time to try something new, even if he was afraid. Little did either of them know their lives would forever change from that day forth.
Brad uses assistive technology to give him a voice and interact with his environment, and it wasn’t long before Dan became fascinated with seeking out new adaptive products and technologies that could improve Brad’s quality of life. He even began fabricating his own makeshift “diy adaptive products” whenever he couldn’t find a product that existed. One of his most notable creations was a stylus pen, made from local dollar-store items, that Brad wore as a headband. This device enabled Brad to draw on his iPad!
*Photo of Dan and Brad wearing Dan's custom built head strap iPad Stylus*As the years went by, they quickly realized how difficult it was to keep up with the abundance of adaptive resources hitting the market. Their strong bond that developed over the course of their decade-long journey and their experience with adaptive products/assistive technologies are what gave them the motivation to launch their Nonprofit, All Access Life. They created the first ever one-stop-shop website that empowers people with disabilities through adaptive resources: www.allaccesslife.org. They update the site regularly with all the latest adaptive products, technologies, apps, software and more.
*Photo of Brad and Dan proudly holding up All Access Life's Certificate of Incorporation*They've been working on All Access Life over the past 5 years while Brad attended college and Dan remained Brad’s full time aide. They've already achieved several notable accomplishments during these last 5 years, winning entrepreneurial competitions, creating viral videos, delivering keynote presentations, winning distinguished awards, being featured on national news to name a few! List of Accomplishments
The next logical step for the two enthusiastic entrepreneurs is to focus the entirety of their efforts on All Access Life, working on the company full-time! This is where you, the person reading this, can help Brad and Dan realize their altruistic vision for the world of accessibility. With the ability to intensely focus on their goals, free of financial burden for a year, they will be able to give their company the final push it needs. They would be in a position to one day profoundly impact the lives of people with disabilities on a much larger scale than they can today.
Brad and Dan brainstormed all kinds of ways to make this full time goal a reality. Suddenly, one day it hit them like a ton of bricks. They recalled hearing about a father and son named Dick and Rick Hoyt, who used to run marathons together. Rick was born with cerebral palsy and his father, Dick, always went above and beyond the call of duty to give Rick the best life possible. He would always say that it was his son running the marathon, he was simply lending him his legs. Dick was the motor and Rick was the heart. Their story resonated with Brad and Dan deeply. To the point that when Bradley was in high school, Dan made him a promise that one day he would lend him his legs, and that Brad would run a marathon of his own.
*Photo of Dick Hoyt pushing his son Rick up a hill*That brings us to today. Dan kept that promise and the duo will run their first marathon on October 17th, 2021. The goal of the marathon is to raise enough funds to work on their Nonprofit, All Access Life, full-time for one year. During this year, they will tirelessly strive to turn All Access Life into a sustainable business. This will give them the opportunity to continue empowering people with disabilities on the long-term!
*Photo of Brad and Dan taken after a long training session. Brad is seated in his adaptive jogging stroller called Josi*However, there’s a unique plot-twist to the way Brad and Dan plan on running this marathon. Keeping consistent with his “no limits” mindset; Brad will only be making use of Dan’s legs for the first 40km, and plans to complete the remainder of the marathon on his own. That’s right, Brad will be completing the last 2.2km with his adaptive walker to demonstrate to the world that anything is possible when equipped with a positive and determined mentality.
*Photo of Bradley in his adaptive walker midway through a 2km training session*Hitting their target GoFundMe goal would allow them to:
- Continue researching and updating their website on a regular basis with new adaptive resources: www.allaccesslife.org
- Continue creating their adaptive product review videos: https://www.allaccesslife.org/post/adaptive-product-reviews
- Continue writing and publishing their book *Heaven Casts Light on a Shadow*
- Carry on breaking the stigma associated with disabilities and to showcase anything is possible with a “no limits” attitude
Your donations will go directly to their Nonprofit and will be used to operate All Access Life for one entire year:
- Funding new equipment
- Marketing/Promotion
- Salaries
- Website fees
- Publishing book fees
- Location rental to shoot their videos
Brad and Dan are a testament to how anything in life is achievable with the right mindset. They believe you should always dream BIG.
They intend to move mountains in this lifetime with All Access Life. With your support they will be able to change many lives for the better and have an everlasting impact in the world of accessibility and inclusion! Should you have further questions, or need additional information about their story, visit www.allaccesslife.org to learn more.
Your donations are truly appreciated and allow this dynamic duo to continue living out their passion of empowering others with disabilities!
Sharing this GoFundMe Campaign by simply pressing the "Share" button, is also a great way to support Brad and Dan. It will help their Campaign get more exposer!
“You have been assigned this mountain so that you can show others it can be moved”
- Mel Robbins
Organizer
Danny O
Organizer
Pointe-Claire, QC
