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From: jfa (Justice For All Moderator)
Subject: Disability Mentoring Day: Wednesday, October 25.
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Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2000 14:16:18 -0400 (EDT)
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                        Justice For All

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         Disability Mentoring Day: Wednesday, October 25.

Jonathan Young, [log in to unmask], writes:

Last October 27, as many of you will recall, the White House sponsored
"Disability Mentoring Day: Career Development for the 21st Century."  It
was modeled after a variety of mentoring and job shadow days associated
with African American History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, etc., and
national programs like the February Groundhog Job Shadow Day, as part of
the National Disability Employment Awareness Month.  Last year's event was
done on a very small scale with the White House and federal agencies, and
participation in a few areas around the country.  The goal is to have the
project endure on an increasingly nationwide level for years to come.  That
depends on you!

Many of you have already been inquiring about this year's Disability
Mentoring Day, which will take place on Wednesday, October 25.  I'm
delighted with the interest, and wanted to get people thinking about
participating with some initial background information.

To help ensure the ongoing success of Disability Mentoring Day (to take
place the last Wednesday of every October), a public-private partnership
between the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities
(PCEPD), the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with
Disabilities (PTFEAD), and the American Association of People with
Disabilities (AAPD) has been formed to serve as national sponsors.  This
coalition will help in framing the mission and objectives, and providing
materials with concrete suggestions to help people get started.  In the
coming weeks, detailed information will be made available online at the new
www.disability.gov web site.  Although we will work to help provide an
overall framework for Disability Mentoring Day, we also want to maximize
flexibility for local planning to suit local needs and interests.

Disability Mentoring Day is designed not as an alternative to "mainstream"
job/career days, but rather as a complement to them.  (Check out
www.jobshadow.org, for example, to learn more about the Groundhog Job
Shadow day, which is sponsored in part by the Departments of Education and
Labor.)  Disability Mentoring Day is an opportunity to help people with
disabilities in thinking about career opportunities, and to educate the
general public about the potential of a massive resource for sustaining our
national well-being.  By having participation from all across the country
-- and demonstrating partnerships between young people with disabilities,
employers, organizations, and schools -- Disability Mentoring Day can play
a role in realizing the employment goals of ADA.

Disability Mentoring Day dovetails with this year's theme of the
President's Committee: "Ability You Can Bank On."   "People with
disabilities are ready, willing and able to be an essential part of our
nation?s human resource capital," writes PCEPD Chairman Tony Coelho.  He
continues:

     With the country?s lowest unemployment rate in 30 years, employers
     must search for new labor pools to continue expanding their profits
     and our economy. Job candidates with disabilities offer a natural
     solution. As a group so often overlooked, those of us with
     disabilities numbering 54 million strong are among the most committed
     and motivated employees. And we want to earn a paycheck and pay taxes!
     ...

     ...  Those of us with disabilities must believe in ourselves. A
     positive mind set and self-advocacy in seeking employment
     opportunities can be our most "bankable" assets.  Small
     accomplishments lead to huge successes. Little by little, we are
     demonstrating that employing people with disabilities provides
     employers with "ability they can bank on."

The ultimate goal of Disability Mentoring Day is to mobilize the employment
of people with disabilities.  Ideally, employers can approach the day with
a notion of identifying qualified job candidates for future employment, and
participants can view the day as an occasion to learn about potential job
opportunities and attractive workplaces.  It can also help (year-round) in
developing long-term relationships between various disability organizations
and employers.  People with disabilities interested in participating should
begin thinking now about preparing a resume and about what kind of
mentoring experience would be most helpful (i.e. what type of career).
Organizations can begin by identifying government agencies and
private-sector companies to participate.  Additional guidance will soon be
available at www.disability.gov.

Thanks for your interest!


Jonathan Young
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--
Fred Fay
Chair, Justice For All
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http://www.jfanow.org

Getting Out the Disability Vote: http://nod.org/vote2000/vote2000.html
Register to Vote Online at: http://www.fec.gov/votregis/vr.htm
For Your States's Election Resources: http://www.iupui.edu/~epackard/eleclink.html
Project Vote Smart: http://www.vote-smart.org/

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