American Association of People with Disabilities

Major Private and Public Sponsorship Provided for AAPD's Disability Mentoring Day Program

Funding from Darden Restaurants, Inc. and Other Sponsors Makes it Possible for Program
to be Commemorated in Communities Around the Country on October 18

WASHINGTON, DC — The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) is delighted to announce its partnerships with Darden Restaurants, Inc., as lead private sponsor, and the Social Security Administration (SSA), as lead public sponsor, to host Disability Mentoring Day.

Disability Mentoring Day provides a valuable opportunity to students and job-seekers with disabilities to spend part of a day visiting a place of business (in the public or private sector) that matches their interests and have one-on-one time with volunteer employer mentors that are in jobs that interest them. For the students and job-seekers, participation in Disability Mentoring Day can result in longer-term mentoring or an internship opportunity, function as a first interview on the way to a part-time or full-time employment offer, or even result in employment.

In addition to Darden and SSA, AAPD also proudly recognizes SAP, founder and sponsor of the AAPD/SAP High Technology Disability Mentoring Program and of AAPD's first-ever Disability MentoringLink program, and the Verizon Foundation, lead corporate sponsor. The U.S. Department of Education is also a public sponsor, and the following companies are participating as national corporate sponsors: Hewlett Packard, IBM, Microsoft, Pitney Bowes, and SunTrust Banks, Inc.

All of these sponsors are playing a significant role in making Disability Mentoring Day a truly effective public-private partnership. Through their support, they are helping to tackle the longstanding problem of unemployment and underemployment among people with disabilities.

"Employers explain that their lack of exposure to people with disabilities is one of the biggest barriers to hiring qualified disabled employees," says AAPD President and CEO Andrew J. Imparato. "Disability Mentoring Day connects disabled students and job seekers with employers who work in a field of interest to them. This informal exposure is leading to internships, job offers, and a stronger connection between employers and potential employees with disabilities – this ultimately leads to a more diverse workforce and more directed and motivated students and job seekers with disabilities."

To be commemorated this Wednesday, October 18, Disability Mentoring Day provides job-shadowing and career exploration opportunities for students and job seekers with disabilities. This AAPD program has expanded from a small DC-based event for three dozen students, to a national event with a rapidly growing network of volunteer Local Coordinators all across the country plus more than twenty international locations, and almost 14,000 mentees. It is designed to benefit from local creativity, with each community planning activities to best suit the interests and abilities of its students, job-seekers and local employers.

"Economic empowerment is at the heart of civil rights for people with disabilities," adds Imparato. "By building relationships between students with disabilities and mentors, Disability Mentoring Day helps to create a pipeline of qualified workers for participating employers and gives disabled students a firsthand view of the world of work. We applaud and thank Darden Restaurants, Inc., the Social Security Administration, SAP and all of these sponsors for embracing and helping to further this critical national mentoring program."

For further information regarding Disability Mentoring, contact AAPD at 800-840-8844 (V/TTY), by email or visit the AAPD website.

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The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the country's largest cross-disability membership organization, promotes the economic and political empowerment of the more than 50 million children and adults with disabilities in the U.S. AAPD was founded in 1995 to help unite the diverse community of people with disabilities, including their family, friends and supporters, and to be a national voice for change in implementing the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). For additional information and to learn about AAPD member benefits, advocacy efforts and programs, visit the AAPD website.

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American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)
1629 K Street NW, Suite 503; Washington, DC 20006
VOICE: 202-457-0046 (V/TTY) * FAX: 202-457-0473 * www.aapd.com
(This fax number does not accept unsolicited advertisements.)