National Disability Mentoring Day - Oct. 24

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> 4. WESTERN LAW CENTER ANNOUNCES LOCAL COORDINATION

> OF NATIONAL DISABILITY MENTORING DAY ON OCTOBER 24

>

> (Los Angeles, California - August 16, 2001) -- The Western Law Center

> for Disability Rights announces its local coordination of National

> Disability Mentoring Day, scheduled for Wednesday, October 24, 2001.

> Coordinated in conjunction with the American Association of People wi=

> th

> Disabilities (AAPD), this strategic alliance endeavors to advance the

> mutual commitment to expanding opportunities for students with

> disabilities. Themed " Career Development for the 21st Century, "

> Disability Mentoring Day will help meet the goals of the Americans wi=

> th

> Disabilities Act -- equality of opportunity, full participation,

> independent living, and economic self-sufficiency -- by giving studen=

> ts

> with disabilities a chance to learn about different employers and to

> meet one-on-one with mentors who can offer insight and advice about

> career paths.

>

> " Economic empowerment is at the heart of disability rights, " says And=

> rew

> J. Imparato, President and CEO of AAPD. " Millions of talented and

> qualified people with disabilities face unemployment. Until they gai=

> n

> access to meaningful career opportunities they cannot truly become fu=

> ll

> participating members of our society and live the American dream.

> Disability Mentoring Day provides an excellent opportunity for studen=

> ts

> with disabilities to make the types of connections that can provide a

> competitive edge in joining our workforce and contributing to our

> nation's economic growth. "

>

> Eve L. Hill, Executive Director of the Western Law Center for Disabil=

> ity

> Rights, emphasized the need of people with disabilities to have the s=

> ame

> mentoring opportunities as those given to students without

> disabilities. " We in the disability rights field have long said that

> people with disabilities are just as able to be contributing members =

> of

> society like everyone else. Our role in coordinating National

> Disability Mentoring Day at the local level will give both students w=

> ith

> disabilities and members of the public and private sectors a unique

> opportunity to learn from one another and to expand opportunities for

> enhanced growth for all those who participate. "

>

> Disability Mentoring Day began in 1999 as a White House effort to hel=

> p

> boost the employment of people with disabilities and was patterned af=

> ter

> other mentoring and job shadow activities, such as the national

> Groundhog Job Shadow Day. Last year Disability Mentoring Day events

> were hosted in 14 states and Washington, DC, with the participation o=

> f

> 17 federal agencies and more than two dozen national businesses.

> Disability Mentoring Day is now positioned to be extended across the

> country through leadership in local communities with the Western Law

> Center's efforts to coordinate the event in the Southern California

> area. The following businesses have already committed to participati=

> ng

> in this year's activities: Agilent Technologies, America Online,

> Booz- & Hamilton, Cingular Wireless, Equality Staffing, General

> Motors, HirePotential, IBM, Microsoft, and The Boeing Company.

>

> " AAPD is proud to serve as this year's National Host of Disability

> Mentoring Day, " says Imparato. " We applaud U.S. Department of Labor

> Secretary Elaine Chao and the Presidential Task Force on Employment o=

> f

> Adults with Disabilities for sponsoring this effort as a complement t=

> o

> President Bush's New Freedom Initiative. "

>

> Disability Mentoring Day is designed to maximize local creativity. T=

> he

> Western Law Center is to lead in organizing events in the Southern

> California area. With the assistance of resource materials developed=

> by

> AAPD, each participating community will plan activities that best sui=

> t

> the needs and abilities of its students and local employers. The

> Western Law Center is calling upon all disability organizational

> leaders, high schools, colleges and universities, law schools, and

> employers to join forces in making this event one of the most

> successful collaborative endeavors to take place at the local level.

>

> Disability Mentoring Day events need not be large to be successful --

> making an impact in just one person's life makes a difference. And t=

> he

> benefit is not just for the students. Participating employers can le=

> arn

> more about disability and tap a pool of qualified potential future

> employees. Disability Mentoring Day is also a great opportunity for

> local communities to draw media attention to the importance of employ=

> ing

> people with disabilities.

>

> For more information about local coordination efforts of Disability

> Mentoring Day, contact Olegario D. Cantos, VII, Esq., at (213) 736-83=

> 65

> or via email at Ollie.Cantos@... (putting the words " Disability

> Mentoring Day " on the subject line). Information about national

> coordination efforts may be found at the AAPD web site at

> http://www.aapd-dc.org or by contacting National Coordinator =

> M.

> Young at (800) 840-8844 or via email at AAPD@....

>