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Building a World of Inclusion |
Foundations
ABILITY Awareness's E-Newsletter
Fall 2007
Vol. 1, Issue 1
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Foundations ABILITY Awareness's E-Newsletter Fall 2007 Vol. 1, Issue 1 |
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In This Issue:
· Welcome
Our success has been made
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Executive Director
Program Director
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Communications & Outreach
Thanks to You
Thank you for your readership! It takes the efforts of many individuals to make this e-newsletter possible. We highly value your input and welcome any suggestions for new articles or comments on the contents of our e-newsletter. Contact Jennifer Beekman, Communications & Outreach Coordinator, through email or at (714) 277-4330.
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Welcome to Foundations, the first quarterly ABILITY Awareness electronic newsletter. Our goal is to set the foundation for “Building a World of Inclusion” by highlighting our progress and providing meaningful ways for you to become involved in our mission. As a nonprofit organization, we are committed to enhancing the quality of life for people with disabilities through housing, employment, education, media and volunteer opportunities. We believe that anyone can volunteer and work to make a difference in their community.
We highly value your input and welcome any suggestions for new articles or comments on the contents of our
If you are a veteran or a surviving family member and feel you may meet the above requirements, please refer to our ABILITY House Preliminary Homeowner Form. No matter how big and powerful government gets, and the many services it provides, it can never take the place of volunteers. --Ronald Reagan Volunteers are a significant resource to every community. Through volunteerism, lives are changed, communities are united, and serious social problems are solved. People who volunteer live longer, happier, healthier lives.
While organizations are considerably limited in their volunteer base, they frequently overlook the significance and importance of engaging people with disabilities. People with disabilities are habitually discredited as unqualified, unskilled and uneducated individuals and have long been viewed as recipients and not providers of service. The fear of engaging people with disabilities often results from unfamiliarity with disabilities, a lack of knowledge in which simple accommodations are required, and an uncertainty in their capability in handling a job. Overcoming these objections is recognizing their excitement in contributing their time and energy to improving the quality of life in their communities and should be supported in the same spirit as it is for those without disabilities. They not only expand an organization’s volunteer base and increase diversity within an organization, but they are able to showcase their talents and skills to themselves and their communities.
It greatly saddened me to learn of the passing of one of America’s most influential human rights leaders, Dr. Frank Bowe. I had the honor and pleasure of meeting Dr. Bowe while attending a national conference for the International Year of Disabled Persons and remember how impressed I was with his passion and spirit. For those of you who are unfamiliar with his many extraordinary accomplishments, a brief bio follows. He was an inspiration for many of us working toward full inclusion. He will be greatly missed. Dr. Frank Bowe, Ph.D., L.L.D., (March 29, 1947-August 21, 2007) was a nationally recognized champion for the rights of people with disabilities and a long-time member and supporter of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD).
As the first executive officer of the American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities (ACCD), he provided critical direction during the nationwide sit-in regarding Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act in 1977, the world’s first civil-rights provision for persons with disabilities. This eventually led to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), passed in 1990. In 1978, in response to the various barriers that people with disabilities face in America, Dr. Bowe wrote Handicapping America, which was not only the first on social policy and disability but became a standard text of the general disability rights movement. Dr. Bowe, who never stopped fighting for people with disabilities, will be greatly missed. In the words of Dr. Bowe, “America handicaps disabled people. And because that is true, we are handicapping America itself.”
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VOLUNTEER - Whether it's helping to build a house, doing office work, or helping to plan a fundraiser, our volunteers provide an important service!
DONATE - We depend upon your donations to help make a difference in someone's life. Your donations help empower people with disabilities and other health conditions lead valued lives and embrace self-sufficiency.
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If you are interested in these opportunities or have suggestions of other ways to be involved, please contact us through email or by phone at
Accessibility/Visitability Volunteer
Corporation for National and Community Service
Points of Light Foundation and the Volunteer Center National Network |
ABILITY Awareness, through our ABILITY House Veterans with Disabilities Initiative, provides meaningful opportunities to veterans who have health conditions or disabilities. In cooperation with the Department of Veterans Affairs' vocational rehabilitation and employment service departments, the Paralyzed Veterans of America and numerous private and state veterans' services agencies, AHVDI will engage veterans and service members who have health conditions or disabilities in active volunteer service. In addition to their participation on ABILITY House construction sites, veterans are considered potential recipients of an ABILITY House. 
