Easter Seals has launched its revamped Web site, designed by Web-centric design and marketing firm PiperStudiosInc of Chicago. In keeping with Easter Seals’ mission to help people with disabilities lead independent lives, the site accommodates users with disabilities. During the next two months, the design template will be shared among the more than 150 Easter Seals’ affiliates nationwide, resulting in a uniform and accessible network of regional sites.
Large typeface framed in bold colors makes options easier to evaluate for the visually impaired. Scrollable pages and blown-up prompts make navigation easier for people with limited mobility who find using a mouse difficult. Strong color contrast is employed to prevent color-blind users from confusion. And the entire site works in sync with a screen reader, an adaptive software program used by blind computer users. Simplified, a screen reader navigates the screen top-to-bottom; then left to right, “translating” the information into either braille (older software), enlarged text or text-to-audio delivery.
Sighted individuals will notice very little to alert them the site is customized. That is the point, according to PiperStudiosInc marketing director Angelia Darnbrough. She said, “Although 1 in 5 Americans suffers some disability, most site visitors aren’t blind or mobility-limited. In the past, accessible sites meant creating text-only pages that discourage interaction and, worse, send the message to a disabled user that he is getting something less than sighted users. Our aim was to make the subtle yet vital changes that make a rich site available to the widest audience.”
Laurie Shapiro, the firm’s Easter Seals account leader, said, “A small change, such as added space between items on the navigation bar, takes little time but makes a world of difference for someone who can’t move the mouse easily.”
“This is what we hoped for — a site that incorporated the best of Web design with the best in accessibility technology,” explains James E. Williams Jr., president and CEO, Easter Seals. “We didn’t want to develop one at the expense of the other. Like an accessible house, an Internet site can be designed for people with disabilities and still be a good-looking, showcase site.”
Tis the giving season
IGive.com in Evanston reports that $89,075 found its way into the coffers of 2,107 nonprofit organizations during October thanks to those who shop at the iGive.com Web site. Visitors to the site register as shoppers to browse some 130 stores and may also register a nonprofit charity of their choice — ranging from their own local Girl Scouts troop to a major charity, such as the American Cancer Society. A percentage (determined by retailers, ranging from 5 to 15 percent) of each sale is then donated to the charity indicated.
Founder Robert Grosshandler launched the Web site in 1997. He said, “I had sold my software company that serviced the real estate industry. I was helping my wife in what seemed like an endless round of fundraising efforts for her local theater company. I figured there had to be a way to use the Internet to bring together nonprofits with philanthropists in what is a huge part of our economy.”
In the spirit of the season, iGive.com is jumpstarting the donation process by providing a $10 bonus to consumers’ favorite charity the first time they shop at iGive.com.
IGive.com members have raised more than $350,000 for charitable organizations that include animal shelters, medical research foundations, school marching bands, women’s shelters and missing children’s advocacy groups, among others. Chicago area nonprofit organizations affiliated with the site include Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Sherwood School PTO in Highland Park, Leukemia Research Foundation of Evanston, Suitcase Party, Northwestern University and the Medical Research Junior Board Foundation.
You’ve got musical mail
EkBazaar.com in Buffalo Grove has launched its free service of online musical greetings for all occasions. The site provides options to send and view online greetings. You can schedule the time and date you wish kudos, congratulatory wishes or greetings to be delivered. Graphics are animated and simple enough for fast download.
Among other options, you can send a virtual floral tribute or up to 150 virtual candles to commemorate any occasion. Or you can go all out and send virtual diamonds. If you are looking for a particular type of card, make a request. According to president Vidya Nahar, the site can add thousands of new greetings within minutes and she is hopeful that visitors will send her suggestions.
Site-ings
Comdisco in Rosemont, provider of global technology management services, has introduced a vulnerability-assessment tool on its Web site. The free survey, which takes about 20 minutes to complete, is designed to provide IT professionals with a personalized assessment of their organization’s vulnerability to business interruption resulting from hardware, software and network outages. Immediate online results are followed up by a more detailed report mailed to participants within a week.
On Nov. 2, Comdisco published the results of its Vulnerability Index, a report co-sponsored by BellSouth and Oracle corporations. Among its findings, the survey of 200 U.S. organizations reports that one third do not have a formal continuity program in place in the event of a major disruption or inability to gain access to their computer system.
vcapital.com in Chicago, a membership-based referral service and information hub for entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, announced that it has formed a strategic alliance with BancBoston Robertson Stephens Inc., an investment banker focused exclusively on growth companies.
Robertson Stephens will provide vcapital.com’s entrepreneur client base with access to the firm’s full-service investment banking services, focusing on key topics such as initial public offerings and other investment banking services.
eLoyalty, a Chicago-based consulting and systems integration firm, has completed phase one in its three-phase project to completely overhaul call-center technology and processes for Eircell, Ireland’s largest mobile phone operator, providing coverage for more than 98 percent of the country’s population.
Phase one of the triad project included installation of an interface for the desktop operator. Phase two will introduce outbound calling facilities. And phase three will provide techniques designed to increase sales revenue.
