Fact Sheet 2003
“DISABILITY MENTORING DAY: Career Development for the 21st Century” (DMD) is a partnership between the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP).
When Is Disability Mentoring Day?
DMD will be officially held on Wednesday, October 15, 2003. While most DMD activities will take place on or around the official day, DMD in some locations is a kick-off for a year-round effort to promote and organize mentoring opportunities for people with disabilities.
What Is the Purpose of DMD?
DMD is designed to enhance internship and employment opportunities for people with disabilities by bringing them together with employers from the public, private, non-profit, and educational sectors for a day of job shadowing and other hands-on career exploration activities. We can help break down employers’ fears about hiring people with disabilities and increase the latter’s confidence in securing gainful employment.
How Does it Work?
DMD is a community-based program that relies on local creativity to plan activities that best suit the interests and abilities of its students, job seekers, and local employers. Although the core experience is one-on-one job shadowing or group visits to worksites, event planners may choose to incorporate opening plenary sessions featuring guest speakers and/or close with a reception where Mentees and Workplace Mentors can share their experiences. The types of experiences will depend in large part on Mentees’ interests, education level, and work experience. Job seekers can focus on specific career advice and discuss potential internships and job openings.
How Will Mentees Benefit?
DMD enables students and job seekers to spend part of a day visiting a non-profit organization, business, or government agency that matches their interests and have one-on-one time with volunteer mentors. It is an opportunity to underscore the connection between school and work, evaluate personal goals, target career skills for improvement, explore possible career paths, and develop lasting relationships. Ideally, participation in DMD can lead to an internship opportunity or even function as an informational interview on the way to part-time or full-time employment.
How Will Employers Benefit?
DMD provides employers from all sectors with an opportunity to recruit interns, tap a pool of potential future employees, learn more about the experience of disability, develop lasting relationships with disability community leaders, demonstrate positive leadership in their communities, and attract positive media attention. Employers can host Mentees at their worksite by collaborating with an established Local Coordinator or serving as an Employer Coordinator (by working independently to recruit Mentees and plan activities). AAPD also welcomes employers to sponsor DMD at the national and/or local levels.
How Can You Get Involved?
Local Coordinators are the key to Disability Mentoring Day. They play a matchmaking role between prospective Mentees and Workplace Mentors and organize DMD activities. If you are interested in being a Mentee/Workplace Mentor, or work with students and/or job seekers, please review the list of Local Coordinators on AAPD’s DMD website (www.dmd-aapd.org). If you are interested in playing a coordination role, please review the DMD Toolkit and contact Ollie Cantos, AAPD’s General Counsel and Director of Programs, at (800) 840-8844 or GeneralCnsl@aol.com. There is no required size or timing for a successful event. It could involve just a handful of Mentees or several dozen and can take place at any point during the year. Making an impact in just one person’s life makes a difference and lays a foundation for subsequent years.
How Did DMD Get Started?
DMD began in 1999 as part of a White House effort to increase the profile of Disability Employment Awareness Month, celebrated every October. DMD was patterned after other school-to-work activities such as the National Groundhog Job Shadow Day and began with just three dozen student participants. 2002 witnessed participation of over 3,500 Mentees, 662 employer organizations playing a direct mentoring role, and more than 130 Local Coordinators in 37 states plus Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the District of Columbia, and a growing list of nations around the world.
How can DMD Support other Programs?
AAPD encourages communities to view DMD as an effective point-of-entry for existing mentoring, school-to-work, internship, and employment programs. Since many successful programs around the country require extensive year-round commitments, DMD can be a way to attract new participants and then encourage them to become more involved year-round. Employers with summer internship programs can use Disability Mentoring Day to identify promising internship candidates and encourage them to apply.
What is AAPD’s Role?
AAPD provides leadership by recruiting employers, students, job seekers, educators, and service providers to get involved; recruiting, training, and supporting Local Coordinators; encouraging the development of State Organizing Committees; maintaining a DMD Toolkit to assist in the planning of DMD activities; designing and disseminating promotional materials; fielding inquiries and making referrals; and coordinating a national media campaign.
About AAPD and ODEP
The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) is a national membership organization dedicated to promoting the economic and political empowerment of all people with disabilities; educating businesses and the general public about disability issues; and providing membership benefits, such as financial services and product discounts. Learn more at American Association of People with Disabilitie.
The mission of US Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) is to increase the employment of persons with disabilities through policy analysis, technical assistance, development of best practices, outreach, education, constituent services, and collaboration with employers. Learn more at US Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy.