they have a dolphin adventure where you can go in the water with them. Then we talked about the Stat~ Fair-Kenny Rogers and the Oakridge Boys were going to be there. So in August I jumped in my car and drove to Indianapolis. My friends were all worried about me driving down by myself, and for me it was a huge leap of faith. We had a fantastic time."
Londoner Carole McFadden has no disability, so she never dreamed that she would find romance on Soulful Encounters. But she has after connect¬ing with Kevin Saichuk, who lives in Burnaby B.C. As the parent and primary caregiver of a 25 year-old daughter with spina hydrocephalus, McFadden was simply looking for someone to talk to, someone she could relate to because their experience waS similar to her daughter's. She has made a number of new friends through the website, but says, "for some reason Kevin and I clicked." The two have chatted and talked using a web cam, but have yet to meet in person. Saichuk, who has brittle bone disease, isn't fussy about flying, says McFadden, but they are hoping to meet up in Winnipeg sometime in February.
As with any Internet dating site, people need to be cautious when they meet someone online because there are a lot of scammers in cyberspace, says Maxwell. As the site's administrator, she is very protective of Soulful Encounters' members, and has put a number of filters and safe¬guards in place to quickly identify and eliminate scammers and spammers.
Maxwell is far more than the site's administrator, though. For many members she has become a mentor, supporter and friend. "I welcome everyone personally, and I spend a lot of time with people on the phone," says Maxwell, who takes the time to understand each person's personal situation and draw out their strengths and talents.
Maxwell first worked with people with disabilities when she was in her early twenties and on staff in a medical office. From the outset she was determined to
treat them as people first. "I made a hab¬it of speaking directly with people with physical challenges, instead of have their parent or caregiver speak for them."
After being involved in a car accident when she was in her late thirties, Maxwell underwent eight different back surgeries. Being housebound for nearly 10 years, she experienced the isolation and frustration that many people with disabilities encounter on a daily basis.
The inspiration for Soulful Encounters came from a young woman Maxwell met who was born with no arms and had resigned herself to never having a romantic relationship. At around the same time, one of Maxwell's sons was exploring dating sites on the Internet. That planted the seed in Maxwell's mind: why not a dating site that catered specifically to people with physical disabilities? "It drives me nuts that some people think disabled people do not need physical and emotional intimacy," says Maxwell. "That's not true."
Launched in 2005, Soulful Encounters logged almost 2,400 members by 2006. That year Maxwell began to use a new website hosting company and during the transition to the new service provider she lost many of the member contacts. The website was restructured and relaunched in May, 2006, and since then has attracted over 600 members that range in age from 21 to 87, with the majority in their forties and fifties. Most are North American-more than half in the U.S.-but there are also members in Australia, New Zealand, Egypt, France, Denmark and Sweden.
Chad McLinchey was Soulful Encounter's first member, joining in April 2005 . He had been looking for web¬sites where he could connect with people with disabilities and had not found any Canadian sites until he happened upon Maxwell's. McLinchey isn't housebound or isolated-he gets out and about on a regular basiS-and plays drums in a
rock band-but he enjoys talking with other people with disabilities who share common experiences. And at 27, he still holds hope that he might find romance one day.
Because he has dystonia, a movement disorder that leaves him with minimal movement control, McLinchey has to rely on others to type for him and only visits Soulful Encounters about three times a week. For other members, the site is a daily lifeline that connects them to online friendships. Read the website's testimonial page and you quickly under¬stand the impact that Soulful Encounters and Maxwell have had on their day-to¬day lives. Says one member, "Louise made me feel worthy and confident ... not trapped and sad. I have never felt so good about myself in my entire life."
"Whether they date or not is secondary now," says Maxwell. "What is more important is the way they feel empowered, the way everyone is embracing each other, and the huge support system that people have developed."
www.soulfulencounters.com
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Soulful Encounters Is Dancing!!!
Enterprise
Louise Maxwell started Soulful Encounters as an Internet dating service for the disabled. What she ended up with is so much more BY KYMWOLFE
City Life Magazine February/March Edition 2008
GOOD FOR THE SOUL
LOUISE MAXWELL INITIALLY LAUNCHED Soulful Encounters as a dating site for the medically disabled and differently abled, but it has quickly evolved into a unique online community that goes far beyond the role of matchmaker. It is a support system for people (and their parents) with disabilities; it's a forum where members can get expert advice from psychologists, pastors, lawyers and other professionals; and it is a virtual meeting place where people can find friendship-and, in some cases, romance.
That's what happened for Londoner Bonnie Maas, who met Ed Allen through Soulful Encounters and spent this past Christmas with him in Walton, Indiana. Maas, 49, who has multiple sclerosis, had previously been on regular dating sites and says, "I met some really nice guys, but there was no chemistry." She joined Soulful Encounters early in 2007 and 50-year-old Allen, who has a heart condition, joined in February. The two began to chat and email back and forth, but it wasn't until Allen went on vacation during the summer that Maas realized how much she looked forward to his messages.
"I missed him, so I sent him a message: 'Just wondering, did you fall off the face of the earth or what?'" she chuckles. "I found out later he was rock climbing and in fact there were a couple of times where he almost did fall am" Once Allen returned the two began to phone each other and that led to an invitation to visit in August.
"I've always wanted to swim with the dolphins, and Ed suggested I check out the Indianapolis Zoo because (to be continued)
Louise Maxwell started Soulful Encounters as an Internet dating service for the disabled. What she ended up with is so much more BY KYMWOLFE
City Life Magazine February/March Edition 2008
GOOD FOR THE SOUL
LOUISE MAXWELL INITIALLY LAUNCHED Soulful Encounters as a dating site for the medically disabled and differently abled, but it has quickly evolved into a unique online community that goes far beyond the role of matchmaker. It is a support system for people (and their parents) with disabilities; it's a forum where members can get expert advice from psychologists, pastors, lawyers and other professionals; and it is a virtual meeting place where people can find friendship-and, in some cases, romance.
That's what happened for Londoner Bonnie Maas, who met Ed Allen through Soulful Encounters and spent this past Christmas with him in Walton, Indiana. Maas, 49, who has multiple sclerosis, had previously been on regular dating sites and says, "I met some really nice guys, but there was no chemistry." She joined Soulful Encounters early in 2007 and 50-year-old Allen, who has a heart condition, joined in February. The two began to chat and email back and forth, but it wasn't until Allen went on vacation during the summer that Maas realized how much she looked forward to his messages.
"I missed him, so I sent him a message: 'Just wondering, did you fall off the face of the earth or what?'" she chuckles. "I found out later he was rock climbing and in fact there were a couple of times where he almost did fall am" Once Allen returned the two began to phone each other and that led to an invitation to visit in August.
"I've always wanted to swim with the dolphins, and Ed suggested I check out the Indianapolis Zoo because (to be continued)
WOW! You can read about Soulful Encounters!!
Soulful Encounters is full of surprises and seems to be in the news of late..The press release was carried..Louise Maxwell knows the problems the disabled have in starting new relationships. So she's helping them on her website.
ENTERPRISE: Giving disabled a chance to find someone
Christopher Clark
Sun Media
January 7, 2008
Though she is married, Louise Maxwell is quite upfront about the fact an Internet dating service changed her life.
CHRISTOPHER CLARK
A CLICK AWAY: Louise Maxwell's website, SoulfulEncounters.com, has evolved from a dating service to a community. (MIKE HENSEN photographer/Sun Media)
The service is SoulfulEncounters.com, and she is the founder. Although it began as a dating service, its users quickly transformed it into a community of individuals looking to form friendships in cyberspace.
Maxwell, 61, was never interested in creating a dating service for twentysomethings looking to hook up with each other. Her service is dedicated to people with physical or medical disabilities, people she knows from experience can have trouble making friendships and finding like-minded people with whom they can share time and attention.
"I worked in medical offices for 20 years and I saw a lot of people with physical disabilities," Maxwell says. "Attitudes have changed since then, but I saw a lot of people being ignored. If someone is in a wheelchair, it's common for them to be talked over and ignored."
Maxwell was already sympathetic to the situation of many disabled, and then she ran into a series of health challenges that left her unable to leave her home for years at a time.
An auto accident in Saudi Arabia in 1982 triggered a lifelong battle for mobility, an experience that has included five major back surgeries and episodes of chronic pain she has learned to manage, but not avoid.
Her husband, Brian, is visually impaired and cannot drive.
"Every day I get up and I don't know what I will be able to do that day. I make plans, but I never know what I can do until the moment arrives," she says.
In an effort to keep herself busy and learn something new, she started dabbling with the Internet two years ago. She wanted to do something focused on disabled people, and her initial foray was a dating service.
"That was how it started, but it expanded into something more very quickly," she says. "Many disabled are so lonely, so I found that a lot of people were spending time in the chat room on my site. They were talking to each other, regardless of their location or disability.
"It became a social setting, a community."
After launching the site in May 2006, Maxwell rejigged it and switched Internet providers last fall. Since then, it has been growing every week. Friends recommend the site to each other, and many people have turned to Maxwell for advice and help. She dives in and helps whenever she can.
Recently, she helped an epileptic in the U.S. find free medical care, then helped him apply for Medicaid.
In the same spirit, she has given some loyal website visitors tasks that help keep the site operating. It makes them feel good and helps Maxwell handle the daily load of keeping her site running smoothly.
She hopes to sell some advertising to defray her costs or turn a small profit this year. That's far down her list of hopes for the project, but it would ensure the site's continued viability -- and that's at the top of her wish list.
-- -- --
LOUISE MAXWELL
www.SoulfulEncounters.com (see link).
nline and then some. Yippee!!
ENTERPRISE: Giving disabled a chance to find someone
Christopher Clark
Sun Media
January 7, 2008
Though she is married, Louise Maxwell is quite upfront about the fact an Internet dating service changed her life.
CHRISTOPHER CLARK
A CLICK AWAY: Louise Maxwell's website, SoulfulEncounters.com, has evolved from a dating service to a community. (MIKE HENSEN photographer/Sun Media)
The service is SoulfulEncounters.com, and she is the founder. Although it began as a dating service, its users quickly transformed it into a community of individuals looking to form friendships in cyberspace.
Maxwell, 61, was never interested in creating a dating service for twentysomethings looking to hook up with each other. Her service is dedicated to people with physical or medical disabilities, people she knows from experience can have trouble making friendships and finding like-minded people with whom they can share time and attention.
"I worked in medical offices for 20 years and I saw a lot of people with physical disabilities," Maxwell says. "Attitudes have changed since then, but I saw a lot of people being ignored. If someone is in a wheelchair, it's common for them to be talked over and ignored."
Maxwell was already sympathetic to the situation of many disabled, and then she ran into a series of health challenges that left her unable to leave her home for years at a time.
An auto accident in Saudi Arabia in 1982 triggered a lifelong battle for mobility, an experience that has included five major back surgeries and episodes of chronic pain she has learned to manage, but not avoid.
Her husband, Brian, is visually impaired and cannot drive.
"Every day I get up and I don't know what I will be able to do that day. I make plans, but I never know what I can do until the moment arrives," she says.
In an effort to keep herself busy and learn something new, she started dabbling with the Internet two years ago. She wanted to do something focused on disabled people, and her initial foray was a dating service.
"That was how it started, but it expanded into something more very quickly," she says. "Many disabled are so lonely, so I found that a lot of people were spending time in the chat room on my site. They were talking to each other, regardless of their location or disability.
"It became a social setting, a community."
After launching the site in May 2006, Maxwell rejigged it and switched Internet providers last fall. Since then, it has been growing every week. Friends recommend the site to each other, and many people have turned to Maxwell for advice and help. She dives in and helps whenever she can.
Recently, she helped an epileptic in the U.S. find free medical care, then helped him apply for Medicaid.
In the same spirit, she has given some loyal website visitors tasks that help keep the site operating. It makes them feel good and helps Maxwell handle the daily load of keeping her site running smoothly.
She hopes to sell some advertising to defray her costs or turn a small profit this year. That's far down her list of hopes for the project, but it would ensure the site's continued viability -- and that's at the top of her wish list.
-- -- --
LOUISE MAXWELL
www.SoulfulEncounters.com (see link).
nline and then some. Yippee!!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Soulful Soon Rings In A New Year!
Soulful Encounters has shown itself to be very flexible...dating site to community site and now Soulful Encounters is working the phones to bring help to those who need it..
We are a great support group for the disabled..And, so we will ring in the New Year with a fresh start..Soulful is becoming a disabled community and dating site by the disabled...How unique is that...This fresh new site for the disabled is just that...unique..It is like My Space and Facebook rolled into one but only for the disabled..Come see us...Join Up and create a little space of your very own with guestbooks, blogs and you now have the ability to invite friends to your little space.
We are forever improving and gaining popularity. Don't be left behind. Get on board and enjoy the benefits.
We are a great support group for the disabled..And, so we will ring in the New Year with a fresh start..Soulful is becoming a disabled community and dating site by the disabled...How unique is that...This fresh new site for the disabled is just that...unique..It is like My Space and Facebook rolled into one but only for the disabled..Come see us...Join Up and create a little space of your very own with guestbooks, blogs and you now have the ability to invite friends to your little space.
We are forever improving and gaining popularity. Don't be left behind. Get on board and enjoy the benefits.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Here is My News Release for Soulful's Second Time Around
NEWS RELEASE
WEB SITE PROVIDES ONLINE COMMUNITY FOR THE DISABLED
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NOVEMBER 20, 2007
In only one year, SoulfulEncounters.com has evolved from a Web-based dating connection into a life-asserting online community. With chat rooms, personal profiles, and photo albums, it is best described as a cross between My Space, Face Book, and a dating site…but with a twist. It is niched for those who are physically or medically disabled – and there is nothing else like it online.
Louise Maxwell, the site’s founder and administrator, has been instrumental in drastically changing the lives of its members. With close to 2400 members before its current restructure, including lawyers, pastors, psychologists, and other professionals, the site has become a support system for the disabled by the disabled – and a support for parents of disabled children.
SoulfulEncounters.com is quickly building a reputation for providing a new outlook or purpose in life as members become extended family – and many have developed friendships and romance that otherwise would not have been possible. “Louise made me feel worthy and confident…not trapped and sad,” said one member. “I have never felt so good about myself in my entire life.”
Online membership ranges from age 21 to 87 with most between 40 and 55. Maxwell takes the time to discover each person’s strengths and brings it out through chat room conversations to help build self-esteem. And she is extremely protective of her online community. Spammers and scammers are quickly identified and eliminated to protect the vulnerable members.
Maxwell worked more than twenty years in medical offices surrounded by the very ill and disabled – and she was in her comfort zone. After becoming disabled herself in her late thirties due to numerous back surgeries following a car accident, she discovered that she continually had to prove she was smart and capable. Being housebound for nearly ten years, she felt isolated…and understands the needs of the disabled community first hand. “Just because you’re physically handicapped doesn’t mean that your heart and soul are. We’re empowering people to be who they want to be,” said Maxwell.
At SoulfulEncounters.com the type of disability doesn’t matter – the important thing is that everyone is regarded as an individual with unique talents and aspirations. Maxwell recognizes this in each member and strives to make everyone feel good about themselves.
“Members form a unique community in which they feel safe, accepted, and appreciated regardless of their country of origin,” said Maxwell, “because in the hearts of the disabled, no border exists.”
-30-
CONTACT: Louise Maxwell.. soulfulencounters@rogers.com www.soulfulencounters.com
PREPARED BY: Susan Regier, Vantage One Writing susan@vantageone.ca
WEB SITE PROVIDES ONLINE COMMUNITY FOR THE DISABLED
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NOVEMBER 20, 2007
In only one year, SoulfulEncounters.com has evolved from a Web-based dating connection into a life-asserting online community. With chat rooms, personal profiles, and photo albums, it is best described as a cross between My Space, Face Book, and a dating site…but with a twist. It is niched for those who are physically or medically disabled – and there is nothing else like it online.
Louise Maxwell, the site’s founder and administrator, has been instrumental in drastically changing the lives of its members. With close to 2400 members before its current restructure, including lawyers, pastors, psychologists, and other professionals, the site has become a support system for the disabled by the disabled – and a support for parents of disabled children.
SoulfulEncounters.com is quickly building a reputation for providing a new outlook or purpose in life as members become extended family – and many have developed friendships and romance that otherwise would not have been possible. “Louise made me feel worthy and confident…not trapped and sad,” said one member. “I have never felt so good about myself in my entire life.”
Online membership ranges from age 21 to 87 with most between 40 and 55. Maxwell takes the time to discover each person’s strengths and brings it out through chat room conversations to help build self-esteem. And she is extremely protective of her online community. Spammers and scammers are quickly identified and eliminated to protect the vulnerable members.
Maxwell worked more than twenty years in medical offices surrounded by the very ill and disabled – and she was in her comfort zone. After becoming disabled herself in her late thirties due to numerous back surgeries following a car accident, she discovered that she continually had to prove she was smart and capable. Being housebound for nearly ten years, she felt isolated…and understands the needs of the disabled community first hand. “Just because you’re physically handicapped doesn’t mean that your heart and soul are. We’re empowering people to be who they want to be,” said Maxwell.
At SoulfulEncounters.com the type of disability doesn’t matter – the important thing is that everyone is regarded as an individual with unique talents and aspirations. Maxwell recognizes this in each member and strives to make everyone feel good about themselves.
“Members form a unique community in which they feel safe, accepted, and appreciated regardless of their country of origin,” said Maxwell, “because in the hearts of the disabled, no border exists.”
-30-
CONTACT: Louise Maxwell.. soulfulencounters@rogers.com www.soulfulencounters.com
PREPARED BY: Susan Regier, Vantage One Writing susan@vantageone.ca
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Second Time Around Baby!
Second time around for Soulful Encounters. But, how sweet it is! Have you missed me?
Well, I decided to update Soulful Encounters and give it a fresh new cover. Why? Soulful has gone from stage one to stage two and there could possibly be a stage three.
Soulful Encounters is no longer just an exclusive dating site..It is now a disability community free for anyone who is medically disabled or differently abled..It is a community with dating as an option as well. Now more persons, whether disabled themselves or if they have family member who is disabled, could join and we will give you support. We are flying now! We have become one of the first disabled sites for members to have "A Space" of their own..and what marvellous spaces. We can spent as much time as you would like...fixing it just how you like it...Put themes up and then take them down and start over. Why just this morning I had my tea in Kevinoi69's parlour. And, what a nice parlour it is...so cozy and warm..and Santa is there to greet you! Even Santa loves Soulful Encounters..He is probably getting disabled himself having to carry such a heavy bag and then squeezing himself down that tight chimney.
Keep tuned now because we are on a roll again...
See you soon...
Well, I decided to update Soulful Encounters and give it a fresh new cover. Why? Soulful has gone from stage one to stage two and there could possibly be a stage three.
Soulful Encounters is no longer just an exclusive dating site..It is now a disability community free for anyone who is medically disabled or differently abled..It is a community with dating as an option as well. Now more persons, whether disabled themselves or if they have family member who is disabled, could join and we will give you support. We are flying now! We have become one of the first disabled sites for members to have "A Space" of their own..and what marvellous spaces. We can spent as much time as you would like...fixing it just how you like it...Put themes up and then take them down and start over. Why just this morning I had my tea in Kevinoi69's parlour. And, what a nice parlour it is...so cozy and warm..and Santa is there to greet you! Even Santa loves Soulful Encounters..He is probably getting disabled himself having to carry such a heavy bag and then squeezing himself down that tight chimney.
Keep tuned now because we are on a roll again...
See you soon...
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
My Angels Have Become Crazy Soulful Kids
I call Soulful Encounters' disabled members "my angels" but tonight GG said that my angels were more like "crazy soulful kids". Her words and not mine!! Well I guess GG is right --we are becoming more like a family every day on SoulfulEncounters.com....a place for disabled dating and much more. We cry together, we laugh, we pout and most of all we are there for each other..We care about each other and want to give a helping hand...These are my kids...the little angels.
Like I said before, they are very giving. There is Charles who is bright,intuitive, giving, thoughtful and generous with his time...He is appointed Soulful's Technical Support Angel.
My vision is starting to take place...When the house of SoulfulEncounters gets too busy and has a lot of kiddies...I would like to have only disabled singles working for this house of joy. So, GG calls the kiddies here Crazy Soulful Kids but I think of them as Skillful Soulful kids.
Come on over and meet my other kids...I have a lot of sweet angels living here in the house of www.Soulfulencounters.com . It brings to mind what one of my angels said when she was interviewed for SoulfulEncounters..."Just because the car is dented does not mean that it won't get you to where you want to go". Words from flutters...You see what I mean--we are real people who want to have fun. We want to be recognized as valuable citizens, because we are! We ought to be changing the name of SoulfulEncounters to House of Grand Talent!!
Like I said before, they are very giving. There is Charles who is bright,intuitive, giving, thoughtful and generous with his time...He is appointed Soulful's Technical Support Angel.
My vision is starting to take place...When the house of SoulfulEncounters gets too busy and has a lot of kiddies...I would like to have only disabled singles working for this house of joy. So, GG calls the kiddies here Crazy Soulful Kids but I think of them as Skillful Soulful kids.
Come on over and meet my other kids...I have a lot of sweet angels living here in the house of www.Soulfulencounters.com . It brings to mind what one of my angels said when she was interviewed for SoulfulEncounters..."Just because the car is dented does not mean that it won't get you to where you want to go". Words from flutters...You see what I mean--we are real people who want to have fun. We want to be recognized as valuable citizens, because we are! We ought to be changing the name of SoulfulEncounters to House of Grand Talent!!
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