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WXXI receives five-year grant from the Golisano Foundation to expand 'Move to Include' initiative

The Golisano Foundation has awarded WXXI Public Media a five-year grant totaling $1.65 million in support of the continuation and expansion of the Move to Include (MTI) initiative.

That is an effort that began in 2014 to help inform and transform attitudes and behavior about intellectual, physical and developmental disabilities.

The five-year grant will enable WXXI to continue and strengthen MTI content and productions including documentaries, primetime and children’s TV programming and special events.

It will also support the Inclusion Desk, a multi-platform reporting effort by WXXI News dedicated to reporting on disability issues and stories of inclusion.

WXXI’s investment over the next five years totals $1.1 million.

In 2020 The Corporation for Public Broadcasting recognized the importance of Move to Include and awarded WXXI a grant to expand efforts to five additional public media stations, which include WFYI (Indianapolis), OPB (Oregon), WGCU (Southwest Florida), WCNY (Syracuse), and Iowa PBS. Now with the support of the Golisano Foundation, WXXI has a goal to partner with 40 new PBS stations nationwide to implement MTI in their communities.

“We are grateful to the Golisano Foundation for its generous support that will enable us to focus more effort on expanding MTI content and outreach,” said WXXI President Norm Silverstein. “Move to Include is an important part of our mission to ensure that a diverse set of voices is heard on our air, online, and in digital and community spaces.”

“We are pleased to partner with WXXI and continue our support for Move to Include, which has become a catalyst for inclusive programming in New York and several other states. With the proposed expansion to even more stations across the country, we look forward to an exciting new era of inclusive programming and public education that will increase engagement and impact on issues, experiences, and perspectives of the disability community,” said Ann Costello, Executive Director, Golisano Foundation.

WXXI has been providing focused coverage of disabilities for the past 19 years, first partnering in 2003 with the Al Sigl Community of Agencies to produce Dialogue on Disability, a one-week initiative weaving programming and news coverage focused on disabilities.

In 2014 with the support of businessman and philanthropist Tom Golisano and the Golisano Foundation, the Move to Include initiative was formed, enabling WXXI to develop year-round programming promoting inclusion that now reaches more than one million people.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.