DISABILITIES
The ELA Foundation, Inc.
T
he vision of the Ethel Louise Arm- chair sports on the agenda and worked
strong Foundation, Inc. (ELA) is to to enlarge the positive public percep-
change the face of disability on the tion of people with disabilities. She
planet. became active on several local and
In order to accomplish this vision, national boards as she continued to
ELA’s mission is to promote, through train people about accessibility and the
scholarships, the presence of women Americans with Disabilities Act. In
with disabilities of higher education. 1994, she founded the ELA Foundation
To quote its founder, “Total inclu- and continued her work to improve
sion of people with disabilities in every policies and promote full inclusion of
aspect of society can and will happen people with disabilities.
as all of us embrace this vision togeth- The first grant made by the Founda-
er. Anything less than this is just not tion sent a woman with a disability to
acceptable.” the Beijing Women’s Conference in
1995.
About Margaret A. Staton Margaret continues to be an advo-
Founder and President cate, believing that this is the time to
Having been disabled by a spinal “Change the Face of Disability on the
cord tumor when she was two, Mar- Planet.” She is actively associated with
garet has a first hand knowledge of the and supports national organizations
needs and opportunities (or the lack such as the American Association of
thereof) offered to a woman with a dis- People with Disabilities (AAPD).
ability. for married women of Armstrong’s
Margaret Staton grew up in Atlanta social position to work for wages in
Georgia, the youngest of four children. About Ethel Louise Armstrong those days, so she did a lot of volunteer
Having the same values of independ- and her Granddaughter, work, especially in the children’s hos-
ence, self-reliance, perseverance (stub- Margaret Staton pital. When her husband died sudden-
bornness!) found in her Grandmother, Ethel Louise Armstrong (1875-1957) ly in 1923, she was left at age 48 with
Margaret used a wheelchair as well as was a powerful and influential woman four children to raise. She opened her
walked with braces and crutches. An who overcame adversity and the con- house to boarders, and her eldest son
avid sports fan, she was a swimmer straints of her day. Ethel, the eldest of dropped out of McGill to support the
and wheelchair athlete and she fol- four daughters, grew up in Montreal. family. She later managed to put two
lowed ice- skating championships and She wanted to be a doctor, but at that children through the university. Ethel
football teams. These are activities she time McGill University didn’t accept Louise Armstrong epitomized the val-
does to this day. From an early age, women into medical school. The Uni- ues of independence, self-reliance, per-
Margaret became an advocate for versité de Montreal did, but due to her severance, dignity, and caring with a
accessibility for people with disabili- father’s objections, she was not able to sense of humor as she forged new terri-
ties. attend classes there. Forced to abandon tory for herself and her family. It is
After attaining her undergraduate her dream of studying medicine, she with these same values that the ELA
degree in psychology from Georgia chose instead to study arts at McGill. Foundation serves people with disabil-
State, she planned an advanced degree She graduated in 1895 – graduating as ities while honoring her memory.
in occupational therapy. She ended up president of her class and class valedic- The mission of The Ethel Louise
with a M.Ed. in counseling because of torian - with a bachelor’s degree. She Armstrong Foundation, Inc. (ELA) is to
lack of accessible facilities at the Med- was the first one in her family to grad- “Change the Face of Disability on the
ical College of Georgia. In the 70’s, she uate from college. Planet.” For scholarship guidelines
became the Executive Secretary for the After graduation she married John and application form, please visit
White House Conference on Handi- Botterell, a grain and stockbroker in
www.ela.org/scholarships/scholar-
capped Individuals. She got wheel- Winnipeg. It wasn’t socially acceptable
ships_process.html PWM
22 PROFESSIONAL WOMAN’S MULTICULTURAL MAGAZINE
www.professionalwomanmag.com
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