Disability Mentoring Day

New York City was the official launch city of DMD2004. Major NYC corporations hosted 250 mentees, including Merrill Lynch; shown is Charles Hammerman (r) with a group of mentees who were given unique exposure to a variety of jobs at Merrill Lynch’s global headquarters in NYC’s financial district.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), major public sponsor of DMD, hosted 180 mentees at their headquarters in Washington, DC, after which mentees went to various federal agencies throughout the city for a day of job-shadowing activities. Shown are some of the local students who participated, waiting to get onto buses to be transported to their job sites.

In Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, IKEA staffers hosted mentees from the Upper Merion School District and Ken-Crest Services on DMD.

Little People of Kosovo commemorated DMD throughout that country with more than 1,000 participants. Celebrations were kicked off with this parade in Pristina.

The Virginia BLN (Business Leadership Network) used DMD as the launch for its new year-round mentoring program, Virginia Mentoring Works!, at SunTrust Bank in Richmond, Virginia.

Various businesses throughout Beaufort County, North Carolina, hosted mentees on DMD; shown is mentee Nakia Bailey (L)with Wal-Mart mentor Alice Matthews.

DORS (Division of Rehabilitation Services) employer partners and consumers took part in DMD at various locations around Maryland. Shown is Becky Donoghue-Rick (r), who shadowed Jeanine Henderson at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage in Frederick, Maryland.

Ford Motor Company hosted DMD activities at global headquarters in Michigan, as part of a year-round program they co-developed with DiversityAbility LLC that supports the career development of students with disabilities. Shown is Rosalind Cox(R), Director, Diversity, Worklife & Peer Review at Ford Motor Company, discussing careers with mentee Carey Larabee.

Robin Player (l), a South Carolina high school student who wants to pursue a cosmetology career, spent DMD shadowing a hair salon owner.

At the Columbus County Department of Social Services in Whiteville, North Carolina, Jean Jacobs (l), who works in the administrative/fraud services area, mentored Andrew Munn, who indicated that he wants to pursue a clerical/office position after finishing his training and education.

In Princeton, West Virginia, students participated in DMD activities hosted by the USDA Northeastern Research Station Forestry Sciences Laboratory, where they visited different displays and met with area business leaders about job mentoring assignments and future employment opportunities at a job fair.

42 young people participated in DMD activities in Hazard, Kentucky. Shown is Tonjalina Howard, who spent the day with Wal-Mart customer service employees.

DMD activities happened throughout Barton County, Kansas. Shown is mentee Jessica (rear) who shadowed a daycare teacher.

American Airlines hosted a variety of activities on DMD, to include a community symposium and a reception to honor Ms. Wheelchair America Juliette Rizzo (center) at its C.R. Smith Museum in Texas.

As part of DMD activities in Washington, DC, The Honorable Joanne Wilson (center), Commissioner of the Rehabilitative Services Administration, U.S. Department of Education, met with mentees at her office.

In New Hampshire, DMD activities occurred in Rockingham and Hillsborough Counties. Shown is mentee Krista Matthews, who job-shadowed various employees at the Ride-Away Handicap Equipment Corporation in Londonberry, NH.

In Toledo, Ohio, mentee Jennifer Bartlett spent DMD at Sylvania Vet, where she was permitted to assist in surgery. Jennifer is now planning on starting a vet assistant program in the spring.

On DMD2004 in Salt Lake City, Utah, mentee Angie Luna (center), who's always wanted to be a dog groomer, job-shadowed the owner of a dog grooming salon, and communicated with the salon's staff with the assistance of a sign language interpreter.