NATIONAL DISABILITY MENTORING DAY:
CAREER DEVELOPMENT FOR THE 21ST CENTURY


2002 YEAR-END REPORT

March 24, 2003


			Olegario D. Cantos, VII
General Counsel and Director of Programs and
NDMD International Coordinator
					American Association of People with
Disabilities (AAPD)
					1629 K Street NW, Suite 503
					Washington, DC   20006
					(800) 840-8844; (202) 457-0046 (Voice/TTY)
					(202) 457-0473 (Fax)
					GeneralCnsl@aol.com (Direct Email)
					http://www.aapd-dc.org






I.  Introduction
                                                                   
Thanks to generous funding from the US Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy 
(ODEP) and a host of National Corporate Sponsors, the American Association of People with 
Disabilities (AAPD) has been pleased to serve as the National Host for National Disability Mentoring 
Day for the second consecutive year, building upon the success from NDMD's origins in the White 
House from 1999 to 2000 and its subsequent spiraling growth at its new home at AAPD from 2001 to 
the present.  

As a creative way of bringing further attention to October as National Disability Employment 
Awareness Month, NDMD 2002 has been marked with new milestones as apparent in the significant 
level of activity within various facets of implementing a truly monumental event that has grown to 
become international in scope as other nations around the world follow our lead.  This success was by 
no means an accident.  Rather, it has been the result of a systematic turnkey approach (see Section III 
below) that effectively combined local creativity with national guidance, direction, organization, and 
cohesion.  This innovative approach represented a sustainable and effective model of a community-
based public-private partnership that witnessed literally hundreds of organizations voluntarily giving of 
their time, energy, and resources – all for the same reason:  To enhance employment opportunities for 
students and job seekers with disabilities.  The infrastructure created through this one-of-a-kind program 
delivery system has continued to crystallize this year as the direct result of work started when AAPD 
was a sponsor of the White House endeavor in 2000 along with what was then known as the Presidential 
Task Force on the Employment of Adults with Disabilities.  It also shows what may happen when the 
public sector joins forces with the private and non-profit sectors at local, state, and national levels to 
reduce the existing unemployment rate of 70% by working together on a common effort, paving the way 
for the establishment and growth of new partnerships that will have a substantial impact on the lives of 
real people.

Wednesday, October 16, 2002, was a day that thousands of people with disabilities and their mentors 
will never forget.  There was a "magic" that took place that day that resulted both in quantitative 
measurable outcomes and qualitative results that go far beyond the numbers.  Details on both fronts are 
provided here and, indeed, serve to illustrate how our current accomplishments are but a shadowing of 
the incredible achievements to come!