Whatsup In Disability The local magazine for local people
Profile of Organisation
Disability
Media Association Inc (Australia) (DMAA) is a local independent, community,
non-profit, volunteer
organisation, which produces a bi-monthly
magazine called ‘Whatsup In Disability.’(WID), operates a Disability
Information Office, distributes a centralised Diary Date broadsheet, a
Disability Regional Directory and operates a local Community Notice Board.
WID contains articles of disability issues,
including local news, disability happenings, a readers forum and many other
items of interest to people with disabilities, carers and professional
people in the disability field.. Contributors are local people with
disabilities, the Toowoomba Regional Council, Disability Services Qld
and organisations all over Southern Queensland.
Most of the content is from local people with disabilities.
Our purpose is to produce a quality disability
magazine produced by people with disabilities, containing disability issues
which can be shared around this region, bringing greater awareness and a
better understanding for organisations and
people in this field.
The magazine also serves as
reference material for people fresh to this
field. It also provides an interesting
occupation for many local people with
disabilities, from Toowoomba to Roma.
WID is distributed to subscribers and by
individual sales and is the only publication in Southern Quensland in this
field. It is funded by advertisers who pay small rates to insert their
advert.
The magazine has been produced in this region for the
past 19 years and is very popular with people with disabilities , carers and
professional people in this field.
Our income of approx $900 per month from Advertisers and Subscribers ($27
per year) is used to run all our activities at the office.
The DMAA rented office is in
a central location in Toowoomba and is also a volunteer run,
Disability Information Office with a Community
Notice Board. (the only such specialist service in this area) producing also
a fortnightly broadsheet on activities in the area. Volunteers also work
with the Toowoomba Regional Council to put together the disability section
of the Regional Directory of Services.
Group established
The present Incorporated Association was formed
in Jan 2007, prior to this it ran for 2 years as an unincorporated
association and before this was a private hobby project for 16 years.
Members
DMAA has 32 paid up members
Average number accessing facilities
We have 25 volunteers actively involved in the
production of the magazine and the information program, most
have disabilities some are working
professionally in the field. We have approx 3,000 readers probably a lot
more. We have 34 advertisers (local disability services)
Principal age groups
Our youngest is 23 the oldest 74.
We produce the magazine as a community service to give to the disability
community. We volunteer our time and our own pockets on occasions.
We are a non profit group and working in a low
income field, we cannot
charge normal commercial rates for our product
including advertising space. We charge rates just sufficient to pay our
outgoings and rely on a lot of goodwill in the community.
Subsequently our income is around $900 per
month and outgoings just below this. We have managed to put aside, over the
years, a reserve amount of about $2,000 which we save for emergencies.
Our volunteers give their own
time and also pay their own expenses if we cannot afford to. We do pay
expenses to volunteers whenever we can but because our expenses are forever
increasing this is not possible always.
Our main income is through advertising, which requires constant marketing and promotion. Our major difficulty is that several volunteers are in wheelchairs, but we do have an accessible vehicle now , thanks to a grant from Jupiters Casino.
Our production of Whatsup In
Disability has always been of benefit to the people of Toowoomba and
Southern Queensland (incl Darling Downs and Lockyer valley), our main target
areas. It is the only information product to offer written comments on a
wide series of issues on subjects which people with disabilities and
disability organisations value.
The magazine helps to unite people from all
over the Darling Downs and Lockyer Valley as well as offering a valued role
to people with disabilities working on the production.
Copyright protected 2010
It is illegal to copy and use these pages for commercial use.