February 2010: Royal Steele Ventures has officially donated 10% of profits from '09 paid commissions of royalsteals.com. In fact, since the site picked up a couple of advertisers last year, cost was covered entirely by advertising revenue in the calculation of the donation. In other words, 10% of every single commission that RSV was paid from a sale in '09 went towards Philadelphia Power Play, a wheelchair hockey club.

As noted below, RSV's desire to do something positive for the disability community is now focused on PhillyACCESS, launched as a community service from Royal Steele Ventures in November. "The goal is to build it into an organization that encourages the disability community to become self-advocates," said Rob Quinn, owner of RSV.

For now PhillyACCESS is mainly an informational resource for the disability community in the Philadelphia and surrounding areas.

"It would be a misnomer to state that 'a portion of profits from royalsteals.com are donated' to PhillyACCESS," Quinn added. "The current blog format of the site doesn't cost anything. But the reality is that it will take money to eventually move it from a blog to an organization that could have an impact on the community. The immediate concern would be to find money in the 'budget' - meaning 'profits from royalsteals.com' - to expand the visibility of the venture."

So, doing your online shopping through royalsteals.com still supports advocacy efforts in the disability community. In fact, that may be truer than ever.

January 2010: Online since December of 2004, the online shopping website was christened with a new name after five years. As 2010 began, royalsteals.com was born. The site is still intended as a shoppers' tool to make shopping online even faster and easier, while helping consumers save money. The concept is simple enough, summed up in the banners — royalsteals.com: compare. click. save.

Royal Steele Ventures is also changing gears in its efforts to do something positive for the disability community. After disappointing experiences with professional advocates, and three years of donating more than 13.2% of profits from commissions to organizations meant to improve the lives of people with disabilities, RSV is seeking out a better way to do something positive for people with disabilities.

When this website was lauched, part of the "About Us" was the "ultimate goal" of helping to build a rec center geared toward people with disabilities. This was removed when the site was connected to a charity. RSV is reinstating the idea of building a rec center as part of "About Us" as a long-term goal. It is meant as a statement of the belief that people with disabilities must take more direct control of their own advocacy, according to the website owner Rob Quinn, who lives with cerebral palsy.

"My experience working for a non-profit, as well as efforts to build a relationship between a couple non-profits and this website, lead to this decision," he said. "I want to make sure my efforts go towards something that truly respects people with disabilities and does something positive. My experiences involved being treated as a poster child and seeing so-called advocacy groups merely employing able-bodied people looking for funding to keep their jobs. That's not what I want to be part of."

While funding a rec center is a long-term goal, RSV will be looking for concrete things to do to support the disability community. In November of 2009, RSV launched PhillyACCESS, a user-driven source of information and opinions from the disability community of Philadelphia and surrounding areas. Quinn also frequently writes about disability issues on his blog, Rob Q. Ink.

August 2009: In an effort to enhance the impact of Royal Steele’s donation to a charity supporting people with disabilities, we have designated a new organization to donate to for 2009. Royal Steele is excited to be donating to the Philadelphia PowerPlay.

The Philadelphia Power Play is a power wheelchair floor hockey team based in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area. The mission of the team, founded by team member and manager Pat Hilferty, is to provide a community based competitive athletic experience for people who use power wheelchairs in their daily lives. To learn more about the team, check out their website at www.philadelphiapowerplay.com.

This is an exciting opportunity for Royal Steele to support a local effort. “I played wheelchair hockey as a kid, and it was some of the most fun my friends and I ever had,” said Rob Quinn, owner of Royal Steele. “It is great to see the level Pat has brought it to. It’s especially gratifying to see it based in Delaware County for the Philadelphia area. That’s right where I played.”

The PowerPlay and Royal Steele will be working together to make this a mutually beneficial arrangement. Donations will simply be made based on profits from the Stores @ Royal Steele to the PowerPlay.

Update: RSV's donation was not accepted by the registered non-profit PowerPlay works with. The 2009 donation will still go directly to PowerPlay. RSV is happy to be continuing a positive relationship with PowerPlay through PhillyACCESS.

March 2009: Royal Steele made our second annual donation to a foundation that makes assistive technology more affordable for people with disabilities and older Pennsylvanians. We’re thrilled to have actually increased our donation from ‘08 despite the difficult economic times. Your use of the website made the donation possible — THANK YOU to those who made purchases! It truly makes a difference.

March 2008: Royal Steele made our first donation to makes assistive technology more affordable for people with disabilities and older Pennsylvanians. Your use of the website made the donation possible — THANK YOU to those who made purchases! It truly makes a difference.

February 2007: Royal Steele Ventures has committed a portion of profits from our stores to a foundation that makes assistive technology more affordable for people with disabilities and older Pennsylvanians.

"I'm excited by this new relationship because I know how important assistive technology has been and continues to be in my life and the lives of other people with disabilities," said Rob Quinn, owner of RSV. "AT has played a critical role in my lifeAlthough I have cerebral palsy, I graduated from Penncrest High School, earned a degree with honors from West Chester University, obtained my driver's license through Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation, and worked full-time for several years. All of that was done with the use of various AT devices, and without those wheelchairs, laptops, and more, I may not have had those opportunities. That's why I'm so pleased to be dedicating a portion of any profits generated from the website to supporting efforts to put AT into the hands of people who need it."

So, now, not only do The Stores at Royal Steele offer consumers an easy way to save when shopping online, consumers have added the incentive of supporting a great cause by doing something they’re already doing.

Please contact us if you are interested in more information.