Endless Highway: Supporting People of All Abilities

In life, there are many highways to travel. All roads lead to unique stories and experiences. Sometimes, there are detours and unexpected turns, and finding an alternative route will take you places you never expected. Endless Highway, a Rochester nonprofit, works tirelessly to ensure that no matter the obstacles, there will be paths forward.

One never knows when one’s ability may be altered. One moment in time can change everything. That moment can work for you or against you. It’s all about perspective, being open to new ideas, new ways, and endless highways. Thanks to teams that support people with various abilities, sports and art enthusiasts alike have many opportunities to travel, explore, create, and compete. One of the greatest teams, Endless Highway, makes adaptive equipment, creates inclusive experiences, provides funding, and creates partnerships to ensure such opportunities exist.

Rob Tortorella and Caralie Fennessey are both athletes on a mission to make the world accessible and inclusive for everyone, in Monroe County and especially in Rochester, New York. After graduating college, Tortorella was injured, sustaining a cervical spinal cord injury causing permanent paralysis during a motor vehicle accident, resulting in the use of a manual wheelchair for all aspects of mobility. He credits his athletic background with helping him get through rehab and building the confidence to live a full life.

Endless Highway was born in 2018 as a tribute to Tortorella when his family, friends, and coworkers gave him a surprise birthday bash. They knew the only gift he wanted was donations for the foundation that was started in 2011. Tortorella crafted the organization’s vision statement: We empower individuals who use mobility devices to live connected and ambitious lives by cultivating inclusion in sports, recreation, arts, and communities. Endless Highway then held a golf event, which helped raise the necessary funds to put the mission in place.

The nonprofit soon attracted strong support. Operations Director Caralie Fennessey joined Endless Highway in 2019. In fact, she decided to stay in Rochester because the vision Tortorella had aligned with hers. Endless Highway empowered Fennessey to use her education and experience as a Recreation Therapist. Her Master’s in Integrative Design continues to give her the skills she needs to create solutions from the point of view of people who use wheelchairs, supporting their needs with functional activities.

Together, Tortorella, Fennessey, and their staff built strong relationships with the community. Listening to participants’ needs and learning about their barriers, which include poverty, transportation, or equipment, helps them know what kinds of support and equipment are needed.

Endless Highway is guided by those they serve, bridging the gap by providing equipment, experiences, funding, and partnerships. The programs, systems, and processes serve people with disabilities using a strength-based approach that focuses on what an individual can do, because everybody is an able body, and nobody is left behind. The organization’s mission has created a future where people of all abilities are embraced by a culture that is equitable and inclusive.

Throughout Monroe County, they have grown their impact significantly by supplying customized bicycles and wheelchairs to those in need. This gives those individuals the ability to be independent in their recreation and other activities so they can participate with family members and friends. Endless Highway identifies and modifies custom-built bikes and chairs, working with the manufacturers to produce safe and functional equipment.

Creating inclusive experiences for people of all ages who use mobility devices is a priority. This fosters friendships, mentorships, and community inroads where everyone can engage with each other. Partners are provided with training, education, building assessments, and design consultation to expand accessibility and inclusivity across the community.

One way that Endless Highway has supported our community members of various abilities is by supplying basketball racing chairs to the Rochester Rookies. Basketball racing chairs can be customized for those with athletic abilities who want to compete at regional and national levels in various sports (they actually funded the Rochester Rookies so they couldcompete in the nationals!).

Xavier Major is a key player who is part of the Rochester Wheels basketball team. He also shoots baskets with the kids and shares his basketball skills. The team recently wrapped up its first year of a new inclusive wheelchair basketball program designed for integration in P.E. classes at school with a fleet of adaptive equipment donated by Endless Highway.

In collaboration with the Town of Greece, they opened a new fully accessible playground at Basil Marella Park. Additionally, a hybrid virtual reality gaming program called Game On! Virtual Reality was launched in partnership with VeracityVRcade, bringing individuals with disabilities free monthly gaming sessions and at-home VR kits that connect youth and adults across the Greater Rochester region.

Nico Santiago, an intern at Endless Highway, is an Industrial Design major at RIT. He collaborated with The Strong Museum of Play’s design team to ensure the new displays and bathrooms are accessible to people with mobility impairments, creating a culture and environment that welcomes everyone. Endless Highway pays for entrance to the museum and the butterfly museum for individuals with mobility impairments and their families.

Endless Highway helps fill the funding gap by providing opportunities for children, adults, families, and friends to live full lives as able-bodied people. They travel the high road, creating a sense of belonging and providing ways people of all abilities can live a full life. From equipment and experiences to funding and partnerships, Endless Highway is continually working to support people of all abilities throughout Greater Rochester communities.

Places of accessibility and inclusion in Rochester for fun, sports, & recreation: Rochester Accessible Adventures, The Strong Museum of Play, Cobb’s Hill Park, George Eastman Museum, Memorial Art Gallery, Wegman’s, and Rochester Public Market.