American Association of People with Disabilities

Darden Restaurants, Inc. - Lead Sponsor of
2006 Disability Mentoring Day

Program to be Commemorated This Week in National and International Locations

WASHINGTON, DC- — The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) is honored to partner with Darden Restaurants, Inc. to present 2006 Disability Mentoring Day. Darden, which operates 1,400 Olive Garden, Smokey Bones Barbeque & Grill, Red Lobster and Bahama Breeze restaurants in the U.S., is Lead Sponsor of 2006 Disability Mentoring Day. AAPD is National Host of Disability Mentoring Day.

Disability Mentoring Day promotes career development for students and job-seekers with disabilities. With national coordination from AAPD as the National Host, local communities organize their own activities that bring students and jobseekers with disabilities together with host employers (from both the public and private sectors) for informational sessions about career opportunities and one-on-one mentoring.

On Wednesday, October 18, Disability Mentoring Day will be commemorated in every state around the country, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and more than 20 international locations, including China, Germany and Kosovo.

In addition to the support received from Darden, AAPD is partnering with the Social Security Administration, the major public sponsor, with Verizon, and with several other major corporations participating as national corporate sponsors. AAPD’s coordination of Disability Mentoring Day is made possible by the tremendous support received from Darden Restaurants, Inc. and all of the program sponsors. Visit the AAPD website (www.aapd.com) for complete sponsor information.

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
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