Company Profile
The Ability Center
Company Overview
The Ability Center is a non-profit organization that helps individuals with disabilities gain and maintain independence in everyday living and encourages them to become active members of their communities. We offer a variety of programs, services, as well as promote understanding of disabilities. Located in Sylvania, Ohio, we serve seven counties in northwestern Ohio.
Company History
Founding of The Ability Center
The Ability Center of Greater Toledo began as a Rotarian dream. Established in December 1920 as the Toledo Society for Crippled Children, we began raising community funds to build a hospital and rehabilitation facility for children with polio. With an initial gift of $50,000 from Edward Drummond Libbey and his wife, Florence Scott Libbey, and strong support from the community, Opportunity Home became a reality in 1937. We served the area as a hospital, which included a school for the children who spent so much time recovering from polio, until the advent of the Salk vaccine in the mid-1950s. During this time, the hospital was located in what is now Lake Erie Academy on Central Avenue.
Evolution
In the early 1960s, after the hospital closed, we became Opportunity Kindergarten, providing educational opportunities for children with disabilities. Relocated to The Edward Drummond Libbey House on Scottwood Avenue, we remained a kindergarten until 1976, when laws changed to allow for “mainstreaming” disabled students in regular schools. The Ability Center evolved again, becoming the Toledo Society for the Handicapped. We dedicated ourselves to providing comprehensive services to all people living with disabilities in the community.
By 1989, the movement to create a nationwide network of centers, which held with the Independent Living philosophy, expanded and took hold in northwest Ohio. The Board of Trustees changed The Ability Center’s mission to that of a Center for Independent Living. In keeping with this mission change, in 1990, the Toledo Society for the Handicapped became The Ability Center of Greater Toledo.
Today
The Ability Center serves seven northwestern Ohio counties (Lucas, Ottawa, Wood, Fulton, Henry, Defiance and Williams) via its main office in Sylvania, and satellite office in Bryan, OH. The Ability Center offers a wide range of services and opportunities designed to assist people with disabilities in gaining, or maintaining, independence in everyday living. We also provide information and support to community organizations and businesses necessary for providing inclusive programs and services to all citizens.