StopGap Foundation

Are you interested in helping to create more accessible spaces? We're looking for volunteers in the #Toronto area! With our #RampsOnRequest and #CorporateTeamBuilding programs back up and running, we have a need for additional #volunteer assistance with: 🎨 Ramp Painting: Join us at the @ttlmakerspace at 192 Spadina Ave to paint ramps. This role is perfect for people who like working with their hands and don't mind when things get a little messy. We are specifically looking for help during the daytime on weekdays. 🚗 Ramp Deliveries: Help us deliver ramps to local businesses in the GTA! In this role, you get to meet business owners and visit unique shops around the city. This is ideal for someone with a vehicle. We compensate volunteers for mileage, too. If you're interested, please click “Volunteer” through the link in our bio or fill out the volunteer inquiry form on our website at https://stopgap.ca/get-involved/volunteer/ . . . Image description: A close-up photo of people painting a red StopGap ramp. There is a text overlay on the photo that says "volunteer with StopGap" in a stencil font.

This Black History Month, we’re proud to support 5 Black-owned businesses in creating a more accessible space by offering them a StopGap ramp at no cost! ➡️ To be eligible, the business must: - Be located within the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) - Have a single-stepped entrance between 2” to 9” high If you’re the owner of a Black-owned business, send us a DM or email [email protected] to get a free, custom-built access ramp! We’ll be leaving this offer open for the rest of the year until all 5 spots are claimed. Know a Black-owned business that could use a ramp for their single step? Tag them below! ⬇️ #RampUpYourBusiness #BlackHistoryMonth #StopGapRamp #Accessibility #Toronto #TorontoSmallBusiness #ShopLocalToronto . . . Image description: A photo of a blue StopGap access ramp in front of a single-stepped entryway. White text in a stencil font reads “Free access ramp for five Black-owned businesses”.

Imagine being Luke Anderson. An engineer who survived a life-changing injury and continued showing up to work every single day using a wheelchair. For Luke, the commute didn’t end when he arrived at the office. It ended after unloading and setting up a long ramp just to get into the building. Before the meetings. Before the deadlines. Before the work. Just getting through the front door is a challenge many of us don't think about. Yet he still showed up. Still engineered. Still contributed. Still pushed forward. A reminder that resilience isn’t always loud. Sometimes, it looks like quietly overcoming obstacles before most people have even had their first sip of coffee. Today, Luke is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of StopGap Foundation, a registered charity helping make Canada more accessible, one ramp at a time. Watch the videos to hear Luke’s story. To learn more, visit charityaxess.ca/stopgap-foundation

StopGap Foundation is hiring for 2 part-time positions! ➡️ Operations Manager ➡️ Communications Coordinator Location: Virtual and occasionally on-site at 192 Spadina Ave. in Toronto, ON Application Deadline: Applications will remain open until the positions are filled Start Date: Spring/Summer 2026 (TBC) For more info, visit the link in our bio or https://stopgap.ca/hiring-2026/ Please share with anyone you think might be interested and a good fit! 😊 ___ Image description: Graphic with an orange background. Text in the middle says “We’re hiring!” in a white stencil font that has overspray around it. Below the text is StopGap Foundation’s logo in white.

Dave Brown meets Luke Anderson, an engineer who sustained a spinal cord injury and went on to found StopGap, a movement dedicated to improving accessibility through simple, impactful ramps. Join host Dave Brown for meaningful conversations with remarkable Canadians who are driven to make change. Tune in to AMI-tv, Thursdays at 9 p.m. Eastern, for the latest episodes. Or, stream Game Changers anytime on AMI+! @stopgapfoundation @gamechangers.tv #Inclusion #InclusiveSpaces #DisabilityCommunity

This week on Game Changers, @davebrownradio meets up with with @luke_wanders_on — accessibility advocate and co-founder of the @stopgapfoundation . After a mountain-biking crash left Luke a wheelchair user, the city he loved revealed a thousand tiny barriers: one step at a shop door, a heavy latch, a narrow threshold that turned everyday life into a negotiation. Instead of accepting it, Luke designed a fix—and a movement. He co-founded the @stopgapfoundation and launched the Community Ramp Project: bright, portable ramps built with volunteers, schools, and local partners. Each ramp is purpose-built—safe slope, grippy surface, easy handles—and painted in colours you can’t ignore. Watch @gamechangers.tv , Thursdays at 9PM EST, only on @accessiblemediainc TV and AMIplus.ca. #stopgap #accessibility #ramp #community #wheelchair

We’re shining a spotlight on Orangeville, Ontario and three newly ramped businesses! 📍 Bluebird Cafe and Grill, 100 Broadway 📍 Maggiolly Art Supplies, 158 Broadway 📍 The Altered Nation, 218 Broadway A huge thank you to the Town of Orangeville team, Access Orangeville Committee, and participating business owners for supporting our work and helping to create more accessible spaces for their community 🧡 [Photo credit: @townoforangeville ]

Wishing you and your loved ones a happy and restful holiday season! 🥰 The StopGap team is taking a break starting on Saturday, December 20th and returning on Monday, January 5th, 2026. We look forward to continuing our important awareness-raising work together in the new year! ♿ #HappyHolidays #StopGapFoundation

Exciting news: StopGap ramps have made their way to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario 🥳 Thanks to the years-long advocacy from resident Pamela TurnerSmith and the support of the Town of @niagara.on.the.lake , 9 single-stepped businesses received new access ramps painted in a heritage blue - just in time for the holiday season! ☃️ 📍 Fritters on the Lake, 217 King St 📍 Hatley, 4 Queen St 📍 Gyros on the Lake, 12 Queen St 📍 Neob Lavender, 38 Queen St 📍 COWS, 44 Queen St 📍 Cool as a Moose, 46 Queen St 📍 Scottish Loft, 13 Queen St 📍 Craig’s Cookies, 15 Queen St 📍 Wine Country Vintners, 27 Queen St [Photos by Marah Minor, Corporate Communications Lead at Town of Niagara‑on‑the‑Lake]

Each year, the United Nations announces a theme for International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The annual theme provides a common focus on how society can work towards inclusivity and remove barriers for people with disabilities. This year’s theme is “Fostering disability-inclusive societies for advancing social progress”. While the UN provides the official international theme, individual countries, organizations, and community groups can also develop their own complementary themes or events to align with local priorities and contexts. For example, we love the theme that our friends at the Centre for Independent Living in Toronto (@ciltoronto ) have chosen this year - “Resisting Ableism, Building Community and Hope for the dignity, rights, and well-being of persons with disabilities”!   Inspired by this year’s UN theme and our core values of fun, inclusion, community, inspiration, and empowerment, we declare “Access brings us Together” as StopGap’s complementary theme. It speaks to how we celebrate accessibility with joy, bringing people together to take collective action where everyone belongs. By sharing knowledge that empowers independence, we show what’s possible when communities unite. May all of these themes and events being held around the world today inspire a collective understanding about the importance of accessibility and inclusion in driving positive social progress all over the world. #StopGapFoundation #IDPWD2025 #IDPWD #Access4All [Background image by @the.katie.rainbow via Pexels.com. StopGap Foundation added text and edited the yellow cutout from the original image]

I never noticed access barriers until disability became part of my life. One small step. One minor design choice. One entrance that “looks fine” to a non-disabled person, but can completely stop someone like me from participating in my own community. This Giving Tuesday, I’m helping raise awareness with @stopgapfoundation , an organization doing real, meaningful accessibility work across Canada. They remove single-step barriers with community-built ramps. They educate kids about inclusive design. They influence policy change and raise awareness about access barriers many people haven’t considered. If this video made you pause, or think differently, or notice something you’ve never noticed before… I hope you’ll consider supporting StopGap today. Learn more, volunteer, or make a secure donation at stopgap.ca. Even a small contribution helps create communities where everyone can belong. The link to their organization is in my bio. #AccessibilityMatters #GivingTuesday #StopGap #DisabilityAwareness #inclusivedesign

Why I’m Dressed Like A Disco Ball @stopgapfoundation Video Description: this video starts with a shot of a helmet decorated like a disco ball and a silver jacket laying on a table. Spencer is then wearing the outfit. The video then goes back to the beginning where Spencer has seen leaving his house and taking the street car and arriving at the venue for the Stop Gap fundraiser event. Then there’s a montage of clips from the event, including some ramps that have been turned into puppets Throughout this entire video, Spencer looks extremely handsome. #StopGap #disability #accessibility #prom #discoball #Toronto