American Association of People with Disabilities

Corporations and Federal Agencies Provide Major Sponsorship for AAPD’s Disability Mentoring Day Program

Funding Makes it Possible for Disability Mentoring Day to be Commemorated in Communities
Around the Country and Internationally on October 19

WASHINGTON, DC — The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) is delighted to announce its partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) to host the seventh-annual Disability Mentoring Day. This program enables students and job-seekers - in every state around the country and in many international locations - to spend part of a day visiting a business or government agency that matches their interests and have one-on-one time with volunteer mentors.

In addition to ODEP, AAPD is also proud to partner with the Social Security Administration. 2005 Disability Mentoring Day corporate partners include SAP, founder and sponsor of the AAPD/SAP High Technology Disability Mentoring Program and of AAPD's first-ever Disability MentoringLink program; Verizon, as Lead Corporate Sponsor; and the following companies, all of whom are participating as National Corporate Sponsors:

• BellSouth
• Comcast
• Darden Restaurants
• Hewlett-Packard
• IBM
• Independence Technology
• Microsoft
• Pitney Bowes
• SunTrust
• Wal-Mart

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 on October 19, 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 17 international locations, and almost 10,000 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. In its role as National Host, AAPD recruits volunteer Local Coordinators, promotes the event nationally, and provides resource materials and technical assistance to its substantial corps of participating volunteers.

"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 greater direction and motivation to pursue their career goals. We applaud and thank these national public and private sponsors for embracing and helping to further this important national mentoring program."

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

The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the country's largest cross-disability membership organization, promotes the economic and political empowerment of all 56 million children and adults with disabilities in the U.S. It 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). AAPD members have access to a full range of financial services through a federal credit union, a discounted mail order prescription program, and a quarterly AAPD newsletter. For additional member benefits, or to learn more about AAPD's advocacy efforts and major program areas, visit the AAPD website.