Disabled Dating through D.A.W.N.
WHAT IS D.A.W.N.?
D.A.W.N. is an anachronym that stands for Differently Abled Winner's Network. More than an internet dating service, it is a true introduction or matchmaking service that uses an extensive questionnaire and a personal or telephone interview to achieve a high success rate in matching people. D.A.W.N. was designed primarily for people with disabilities, but welcomes people without disabilities as long as they are receptive to meeting someone who happens to have a disability. D.A..W.N. is not restricted to any one disability, but accepts all physically and mentally challenged individuals, providing disabled dating or, as D.A.W.N. Director Wendy Wolf likes to say, a differently abled dating service.
WHY D.A.W.N.?
D.A.W.N. was created May 10, 1993, by a woman who contracted polio at the age of four and knew from experience the social and romantic challenges faced by people with disabilities. Traditional dating services, with substantial fees, may ask the question on their questionnaire,"Do you have a disability?" If the answer is yes, there may be no further discussion, no refunds, and no referrals. Certainly not viable referrals. Wendy knew from first hand experience that the need was there. Taking money out of her own pocket, she volunteers her services as Director without pay, and has gratefully accepted the volunteer services and financial assistance of family and friends in order to keep the service alive. D.A.W.N's fee structure is based on the barest expenses of minimal printing, advertising, and website maintenance. Why D.A.W.N.? Because this lady knows there is an essential and valid need for all to have friendship, companionship, and love in their life. As Wendy says, it is her passion and her mission to help bring love into the lives of others.
A WORD ABOUT DISABILITY?
On the left hand menu you can access articles about disability and dating authored by D.A.W.N's volunteer Director and by D.A.W.N.'s volunteer staff. One is titled A Rose By Any Other Name, and it discusses the reality that, in order for a person with a disability to find D.A.W.N. on the internet, we have to cater to the various generic terms and names of disabilities by which individuals with a disability might identify themselves. So these pages have to include words like polio, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, blindness, deafness, and even their alternate politically correct terms like physically challenged, mentally challenged, mentally ill, amputees, autism/aspergers , traumatic brain injuries, visually impaired, hearing impaired, learning disabled, developmentally disabled, and even more words than you are willing to read in this paragraph. There are some people with disabilities who have accepted antiquated derogatory terms in reference to themselves such as handicapped and crippled. But, whatever words a person with a disability puts into a search engine, we hope they find D.A.W.N., and, through this service, we hope they find love, and the dawn of new horizons.
D.A.W.N.'s TRACK RECORD
On the top menu of this page you will find a link to some of D.A.W.N.'s testimonials. They are a small sampling and, because this website is maintained by a volunteer part-time webmaster, they are not updated often. D.A.W.N's track record in numbers may not sound impressive when compared to well funded commercial dating sites catering to the general population. However, keeping in mind that people with disabilities constitute only 10% of the population and that D.A.W.N. can only afford two small classified ads in national disability magazines, the fact that it has served over a thousand clients, produced a few dozen marriages, and improved the love life of the vast majority of its clients makes D.A.W.N's Director and staff very happy and proud. Some clients challenges are more involved then others, some clients have unrealistic expectations (sorry, no movie stars or billionaires have joined yet), but D.A.W.N. doesn?t give up on anyone. In the unlikely event that a client doesn?t receive viable referrals in their initial membership period, the service will renew them an additional six month period for free, and repeat that free renewal until viable referrals are made.
MORE INFORMATION?
To learn how D.A.W.N. works, click on ABOUT in the top menu. To join, click on JOIN in the top menu. To learn more about D.A.W.N's Director, Wendy Wolf, click on the left menu article BIRTHDAY BLUES OR BIRTHDAY BLISS, her nationally syndicated dating advice column DEAR WENDY, and her recent reign as Ms. Wheelchair Arizona 2006 in the NEWS link. For information and advice about disability and dating, cruise the other articles and features on the left hand menu. Thanks for visiting, and may D.A.W.N. provide you bright new horizons in your love life, and a bright new day!
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