Archive for the ‘Making LIFEMATTER’ Category

May 11th, 2012

Share Everywhere

Small Businesses More Ready to Hire People With Disabilities Than They Think

Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy. Some variation of that sentence will be uttered approximately 14,926 times between now and Election Day in November. Keeping the entrepreneurial engine operating efficiently means keeping costs under control and maximizing the return on investment from every employee hired. Awareness that both of these goals can [...]

May 10th, 2012

Share Everywhere

Film Festival Brings Stories About People With Disabilities Into Popular Culture

Lost in the recent discussions about employment rates, workplace accessibility, and assistive technology was Rich Juzwiak’s thoughtful essay, “13 Hours, 42 Movies About People With Developmental Disabilities: Enduring Sprout,” published on, of all places, Gawker. The “Sprout” Juzwiak’s article title refers to was the 10th Annual Sprout Film Festival, which took place at New York [...]

May 9th, 2012

Share Everywhere

Assistive Technology Developers Honored as Champions of Change

Every week, the White House acknowledges American innovators through its Champions of Change program. Since the program was launched last year, it has put the spotlight on sustainability, renewable energy, youth violence, entrepreneurism, Native Americans, and volunteering, among other issues and special interests. This week, people with disabilities got their turn, as 14people were honored [...]

May 1st, 2012

Share Everywhere

Employment Opportunities for People With Disabilities Key to Progress in Illinois

The Arc of Illinois honored Governor Pat Quinn for his efforts to change the state’s approach to people with disabilities by giving him their 2012 President’s Award during last week’s 62nd annual convention. A press release put out by the state said the award was given in recognition of Governor Quinn’s “leadership to improve life [...]

April 25th, 2012

Share Everywhere

New Federal Agency to Strengthen Voice of People With Disabilities

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the restructuring of its organizational support for people with disabilities last week in a move intended to provide lifelong support with education, employment, and housing. Three agencies within the HHS — the Office on Disability, the Administration on Aging, and the Administration on Developmental Disabilities — [...]

April 24th, 2012

Share Everywhere

Bipartisan Support for Employing People With Disabilities

Nearly every national issue the media covers gets defined by which politicians are in support of or in opposition to it; and while we’re in an election cycle, it seems as if every issue, great and small, is a dividing line between the two major U.S. political parties. So it was refreshing to read guest [...]

April 23rd, 2012

Share Everywhere

“Employment First” Policy for People With Disabilities Comes to NJ

Last Friday’s blog post closed with a look at a New Jersey job fair intended to pair people with disabilities with a wide variety of employment opportunities. Shortly thereafter, the state of New Jersey formalized its commitment to getting more people with disabilities into the workforce. Susan K. Livio, statehouse bureau reporter for The Record, [...]

April 16th, 2012

Share Everywhere

Greenhouse Jobs Provide Growth for People With Disabilities

With spring so much in the air this past weekend, it’s only appropriate we take some time to smell the flowers; not to mention the soil and the fertilizer that bring forth these beautifully blooming buds. The photo gallery accompanying last week’s Tulsa World article on people with disabilities working and getting job training in [...]

April 12th, 2012

Share Everywhere

Fitchburg Man With Disability Making Most of Time and Talents

Remember this January story about Preston Dwoskin? The 20-year-old man from Marysville, Washington, was lobbying state legislators for more inclusiveness of people with disabilities in schools and planning a run for city council. He also had aspirations to follow in the family tradition of serving at even higher levels of government. Now Massachusetts has its [...]

April 11th, 2012

Share Everywhere

Soft Skills Pay the Bills for Young People With Disabilities

“April showers bring May flowers,” goes the old adage. And for young people, this is the time of year to plant seeds for summer employment opportunities; then tend to them so they’ll blossom into jobs that can “make it rain,” to borrow a more contemporary saying. A summer job is often a teenager’s first experience [...]

Search Blog:

Subscribe to This Blog