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New Site Focuses on Needs of Overlooked Population in the Disability Community: Black People With Disabilities Connect
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It may not seem readily apparent, but people living with
disabilities are just as eager to find a partner for love and romance as
anyone else. And a new website launching on August 20, 2013, promises
to serve as “the online love connection” for African American singles
with disabilities, making it the first of its kind anywhere. At Black
People with Disabilities Connect (http://www.bpwdconnect.com),
black people living with physical, emotional or communication
disabilities can meet people who want to be with them for friendship,
casual dating or even to find “the love of their lives.”
“Currently, there are no online dating websites that specifically
address the dating needs of the community of black people with
disabilities,” said Derek Marryshow, Ph.D., President/CEO of Akoma
Connect, LLC, which is launching the brand new site. African Americans
represent 22.2% of people with disabilities, which is a larger share of
this population than Hispanics and other minority groups.
As the online dating world has exploded in recent years, many
specialty and niche dating sites have focused on helping people find a
match according to preferred categories such as religious beliefs,
residency (rural dwellers looking for other rural dwellers), age, sexual
preference, and including numerous other online dating sites for people
living with disabilities. But these sites have proven incapable of
meeting the needs and desires of African Americans living with
disabilities, many who are looking for partners who share their cultural
heritage and partners of all racial and ethnic backgrounds with and
without a disability. Many single African Americans with Disabilities
would be attractive partners for others in the general population
interested in seeking out their demographic for friendship and romance.
Dr. Marryshow wants the site to be as diverse as the population it is
working to serve. While the new site is focused squarely on African
Americans living with disabilities, Black People with Disabilities
Connect wants to be a broad pipeline to dating for blacks living with
disabilities. For example:
"There's a myth that people with disabilities only want to date other
people with disabilities. Not so," says Dr. Marryshow. "Many people who
are not challenged with disabilities are open to romantic relationships
with persons who are living with disabilities and our site will help
African Americans from both worlds make a connection."
The bottom line is African Americans living with disabilities should
not have their personal relationship options confined to just their
disability population. That’s why Dr. Marryshow sees the site as more
than blacks living with disabilities meeting other blacks living with
disabilities. Instead, he sees the site also:
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increasing awareness of the thousands of attractive and eligible black singles who happen to have a disability.
- empowering singles without disabilities to consider singles with disabilities as a viable dating option.
- connecting black singles with disabilities with singles of other racial and ethnic backgrounds.
- and creating a dating community in which singles with and without disabilities, of all racial and ethnic backgrounds can find friendship, romance, and love.
Several weeks ago, Black People with Disabilities Connect (http://www.bpwdconnect.com)
opened a Facebook fan page and that has given an early indicator of
success. “Since launching our Facebook page, we have received a very
positive response from the community with over 2,500 likes, and the
internal numbers from Facebook Insights tell an even stronger story.”
Black People with Disabilities Connect has also developed other
companion social media sites including Facebook bpwdconnect.com, Twitter
(@bpwdconnect), LinkedIn (BPWD Connect) and a Blog
(bpwdconnectblog.com).
Initially, the site is targeting eight U.S. cities for a marketing
emphasis: New York City; Newark, N.J.; Dover, DE; Baltimore, MD;
Washington, D.C.; Richmond and Atlanta. Maryshow says Black People with
Disabilities Connect would like to sign up 1,000 premium members in each
of these cities as part of the initial launch phase.
Dr. Marryshow is available for media interviews at the contact information below:-
Derek Marryshow
Akoma Connect, LLC
+1 (301) 661-2348
Derek Marryshow
Akoma Connect, LLC
+1 (301) 661-2348
Source : PR Web , 21st August 2013
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