Detroit: The Torch goes on

American Association of People With Disabilities Logo

In Detroit With the Relay Sponsor

By Jacqueline Kravetz

Detroit, MI (July 31, 2000) - The Spirit of ADA Torch Relay made two stops in the Detroit metropolitan area to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act and raise public awareness for the Act in the state of Michigan.

The torch began its Michigan leg at Volkswagen of American headquarters in Auburn Hills, a suburb north of Detroit, where employees participated in a 1.8 mile relay from a local park to the company's facility. Volkswagen is the title sponsor of the 24-city cross-country relay.

The second relay activity of the day convened at the Great Lakes Center for Independent Living. A relay of twelve carried the torch to Hart Plaza where a closing ceremony was held.

"Welcoming the freedom flame to our headquarters is an exciting and unique opportunity for our employees to share in the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and to pledge and reaffirm our support and commitment of equality of opportunity for all people," Steve Keyes, Volkswagen of America's Director of Corporate Communications stated.

Keyes said Volkswagen's partnership with the American Association of People with Disabilities, the relay’s host organization, "was a little bit of luck and serendipity."

When Keyes and his colleagues heard about the idea for the torch relay, they were already looking for something that Volkswagen could do to give back to the American community to show its appreciation.

"It happened to be our 50th anniversary of selling vehicles in the United States," Keyes said. The company had also just introduced its new mobility access program in the United States and had launched its All Drivers Wanted campaign, still in use, five years earlier. "We just felt it [the torch relay] was a natural fit," Keyes explained.

In addition to a cash contribution exceeding $500,000, Volkswagen donated eleven vehicles, primarily EuroVans, for the relay caravan.

Though the decision to support the Spirit of ADA Torch Relay was primarily a philanthropic decision, Keyes explained, there was a business component involved in the sponsorship in that Volkswagen had hoped to improve brand awareness and also have the opportunity to explain its mobility access program.

"We think with the EuroVan, we have a great vehicle that is perfect for people with disabilities who need that vehicle," Keyes said.

"We've always had a very unique van in that it accommodates wheel chairs much easier than any of our competitors because of its size. So we've had that uniqueness, which allowed us to be involved with what we originally called mobility access," Frank MaGuire, Volkswagen of America's Vice President of Sales added.

Volkswagen's Mobility Access Program was developed for people with disabilities, as well as for families who transport them. The Program provides: up to $1000 in purchase assistance for wheelchair lift equipment, up to $500 for hand controls, or up to $1500 for both installed in eligible Volkswagen models.

The company's original Mobility Access Program, in existence in the 1980s, was discontinued when Volkswagen pulled the EuroVan from the American market. The EuroVan was re-introduced in the U.S. last year.

Andy Imparato, the CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities acknowledged, "This relay would not have happened without the support of Volkswagen of America."

Speakers at the Detroit events included, among others, Congressman Dale Kildee, Gill Hart, President of the Detroit City Council, Ida Castro, Chairwoman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and State Senator, Burton Leland.

Marva Ways, an ADAPT advocate, organized the local Detroit event.