American Association of People with Disabilities

Thousands of Students and Job Seekers with Disabilities To Be Mentored On October 19

Disability Mentoring Day Program Happening in Regions in Every State and Many International Locations

WASHINGTON, DC — Tomorrow, more than 10,000 students and job seekers with disabilities will have the opportunity to be mentored by people who are in positions of interest to them, thanks to a program called Disability Mentoring Day (DMD). As a result of participation, many of these students and job seekers will be offered educational guidance, longer-term mentoring opportunities, internships, or full-time employment.

As stated by a mentor participant in last year's DMD program, "I didn't see someone in a wheelchair - I saw someone who likes to do what I do. I now recognize that, in a workplace, it's all about compatibility that makes a team."

DMD is a core program of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the largest cross-disability membership organization in the country. Thanks to a strong organization of volunteer local coordinators, AAPD is able to implement DMD in regions in every state, plus the U.S. Virgin Islands and 17 countries, including Argentina, China, Kosovo, and Israel. DMD is effective because it implements a grassroots structure that fosters creativity and empowers locally-based, on-the-ground businesses, non-profit organizations, schools, government agencies and consortiums to use a nationally-recognized and trusted model to adapt and make work for their own diverse communities.

DMD is designed to provide students and job-seekers with disabilities a firsthand experience in learning about career opportunities in a variety of their chosen fields. It helps to promote the importance of encouraging these students and job-seekers to develop the necessary skills and experiences to compete in today's competitive workforce. A 2004 participant from West Virginia said, “DMD was a good way to learn about a particular job and the skills that are needed to be successful on the job. I was especially pleased to be mentored at a bank, since I plan to work in the banking business when I complete my training."

Disability Mentoring Day has expanded from a small DC-based event, when it was a White House initiative, to a national event now hosted by AAPD. In 2004, more than 9,000 students and job seekers with disabilities participated in communities nationally as well as many international locations. On October 19, AAPD will host the seventh-annual DMD and more than 10,000 students and job seekers with disabilities are anticipated to participate.

AAPD is partnering with the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy, the major public sponsor; the Social Security Administration; SAP and Verizon, lead sponsors of DMD; and ten additional National Corporate Sponsors. Please visit the AAPD website (www.aapd.com) for complete sponsor information.

Additionally, SAP is the founder and sponsor of the AAPD/SAP High Technology Disability Mentoring Program and of AAPD's first-ever Disability MentoringLink program.

For further information, contact AAPD at 800-840-8844 (V/TTY), by email, or 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