Mitsubishi Electric: Changes for the Better

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Redefining "Normal": Inclusive Schools Week 2011

posted December 07, 2011
By: Andraéa N. LaVant, Inclusion Specialist, Girl Scout Council of the Nations Capital

Normal. It is a word that is tossed around ever-so-lightly, as if everyone knows exactly what it is supposed to mean. “Is that normal?” “She is not normal.” But what really is “normal?”

This week, students, parents, and teachers across the globe are setting aside time to “redefine normal” as part of Inclusive Schools Week (December 5-9). Throughout this week, educators, students, and families will come together to celebrate the progress of those who have worked to make their schools more inclusive. The week also provides a space for schools and communities to discuss inclusive education and plans for the future. Ultimately, this serves as a time for communities as a whole to begin or continue the journey toward providing a quality education to all children regardless of differences in ability, gender, ethnicity, language and health status.

The Inclusive Schools Network (ISN), sponsor of Inclusive Schools Week, has come up with a variety of ways for young people, their families, and schools to celebrate the week. This includes joining the I am Norm (www.iamnorm.org) campaign, as they encourage people to host their own “I am Norm Days” in their schools or with programs like Girl Scouts....

See the entire post on Girl Scout Capitalk Blog

MEAF is a proud supporter of the I am Norm campaign and the Girl Scouts Include All Girls Initiative.

MEAF Announces 20 Inclusion Champions During 20th Anniversary Celebration of Changes for the Better

posted March 30, 2011
The Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation announced the first eight recipients of the 2011 Inclusion Champion Award at the MEAF 20th Anniversary Luncheon in Washington, DC on March 11th. The Inclusion Champion Award (ICA) was established by MEAF to honor organizations and individuals who have made measurable and sustainable impact in promoting the inclusion of youth with disabilities.

In total, 20 awards will be presented throughout this 20th anniversary year to honor current and past grantees for their efforts to promote the full participation of young people with disabilities in society. Each recipient will receive a trophy and a $1,000 grant. On March 11th, MEAF presented awards to the following organizations:

Marriott Foundation for
People with Disabilities
Bridges…from School to Work
MEAF’s very first grant project in 1991, the Bridges model has been replicated throughout the U.S. helping 70,000 youth with disabilities successfully transition from school to work with 3,000 employers.

Partners for Youth with Disabilities
National Center for Mentoring
In a relationship spanning 20 years, MEAF and the Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs have supported PYDs efforts to provide mentoring opportunities for youth with disabilities. Most recently, PYD has been helping national mainstream mentoring organizations learn how to be more inclusive.

American Association of People with Disabilities
Summer Internship Program
In 2002, MEAF partnered with AAPD to institute its signature Congressional Internship Program, placing colege students with disabilities in Capitol Hill offices. The program was first replicated by Microsoft and since has grown to include Summer Internships throughout the federal government garnering support from Wal-Mart and The HSC Foundation.

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Project SEARCH
Project SEARCH provides experiential training for youth with cognitive disabilities so that they may find competitive employment after graduation. In 2003, MEAF’s grant helped Project SEARCH refine their business plan allowing this successful model to be replicated at 180+ sites around the world.

Kids Included Together
National Inclusion Institutes
Over the past six years, MEAF has partnered with KIT to teach mainstream, youth-serving organizations, such as the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, how to fully include youth with disabilities. This national Inclusion Initiative has involved 60 national organizations, trained 6,000 adult leaders, directly served 12,000 youth, and has the potential to impact 12 million youth across the country.

Wilderness Inquiry/Girl Scouts of the USA
Include All Girls Initiative
Using its proven Seven Steps to Social Integration model, Wilderness Inquiry partnered with the Scouts to demonstrate that everyone can participate in outdoor activities. This led to the national, MEAF-supported Include All Girls Initiative providing inclusive best practices to Councils throughout the U.S.

The Corps Network
Inclusive Crew Model
This innovative model was designed so young people with disabilities could fully participate in national service programs, like Americorps. Inclusive crews work in national forests, parks and urban settings gaining valuable career skills.

National Inclusion Project
I am Norm
A youth-led national campaign to promote inclusion, I am Norm was born out of a partnership between the Including Samuel Project and numerous other MEAF grantees and partners. National Inclusion Project is coordinating this initiative designed to empower youth and help redefine ‘normal.’

“For 20 years, Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation has worked to identify partners with the most innovative ideas that promote the full inclusion of young people with disabilities,” says Kevin R. Webb, the Foundation director. “The focus of the our grant investments, “ continues Webb, “has been and will continue to be on developing sustainable, replicable models that make the most impact on the lives of youth, and help to build more inclusive communities.”

MEPPI President Receives Prestigious Award from LifesWork of Western PA

posted October 25, 2010
On October 1st, MEPPI President and COO Brian Heery received the prestigious Joseph F. Mulach Jr. Award from LifesWork of Western Pennsylvania for his efforts to make life more meaningful for persons with disabilities. In his acceptance speech, Mr. Heery accepted the award on behalf of all MEPPI employees.

LifesWork provides vocational skills training and employment for people with developmental disabilities. In 2001, Mr. Heery toured LifesWork and in 2002 MEPPI began a contractor relationship with the organization. The relationship has grown over the years from a $26K job employing two people with disabilities, to a half-million dollar relationship that employees 12 full and part-time workers at LifesWork.

Read more at www.lifesworkwpa.org/index.php?id=80,196,0,0,1,0

Congratulations to Mr. Heery and MEPPI for their efforts to help make Changes for the Better in the lives of people with disabilities.

Belle Center of Chicago Executive Director Nancy Mayo Buchanan Wins Inclusion Champion Award

posted October 08, 2010
From Forbes.com

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Belle Center of Chicago Executive Director Nancy Mayo Buchanan has been named the winner of the 2010 Inclusion Champion Award for her contributions to the inclusion of youth with disabilities. The award was presented by the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation (MEAF) at the Kids Included Together (KIT) Journey Toward Inclusion luncheon in San Diego. Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation (MEAF) established the Inclusion Champion Award to honor individuals who have made a measurable and sustainable impact in promoting the inclusion of youth with disabilities.

Buchanan has been an advocate for disabilities rights for over a decade, since her oldest daughter Rachel was born with Down syndrome in 1994. She has served on the board of the National Association of Down Syndrome (NADS) and on the fundraising committee for two years. Buchanan was a founding board member of the Belle Center of Chicago in 1998 and has remained on the board on and off for seven years, two years of which she acted as board president. She has established relationships with many schools on the North Side of Chicago that have since partnered with the Belle Center and worked to establish relationships with foundations, private funders and other disability advocates in the Chicagoland area to continue the important mission of Belle.

"I am very humbled by this award because I know so many people who work every day to give children with disabilities the same opportunities as other children," said Buchanan, who lives in Chicago with her husband and three children. "I thank MEAF and Kids Included Together for shining a spotlight on this issue that means so much to me, my family and people everywhere."

In presenting the award, MEAF Executive Director Kevin Webb highlighted Buchanans inclusion advocacy within the Belle Center and her efforts to develop programs and spread the word about

inclusion throughout her community. "Ms. Buchanan is a shining example of the power of one individual to make a difference in the lives of many. Ms. Buchanan has proven she is always willing to ensure that children with disabilities have every opportunity to access the same activities as children without disabilities."

Go to "Forbes.com" to read the full article. www.forbes.com/feeds/prnewswire/2010/10/06/prnewswire201010061133PR_NEWS_USPR_____DC77634.html

Disability Advocates to Receive Prestigious Leadership Award

posted February 16, 2010
Don Dew and Lawrence Carter-Long chosen for AAPD’s Paul G. Hearne award

WASHINGTON, DC – February 9, 2010 - The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) is pleased to announce Don Dew and Lawrence Carter-Long have been selected for AAPD’s prestigious 2010 Paul G. Hearne Leadership Award.

Dew of Hays, KS, and Carter-Long, of New York City, will be presented with their awards, which are given to emerging leaders in the national cross-disability community, at the 2010 AAPD Leadership Gala on March 10 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC. Dew and Carter-Long were chosen by a national advisory committee to receive $10,000 each to further their work in the disability community. AAPD’s 2010 Paul G. Hearne Leadership Award is supported in part by a grant from the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation.

"In a year when we are celebrating both the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 15th anniversary of AAPD, I am delighted that our National Advisory Committee has selected two individuals with the skills, vision, and track record that can help move our community forward," said AAPD President and CEO Andrew J. Imparato. "Don Dew and Lawrence Carter-Long are helping bridge communities, educate the public and foster a dialogue that will change attitudes and improve opportunities for people with disabilities."

Dew works through his organization, ReachOut USA, to ensure full equality for the four million Americans who have a disability and are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). ReachOut USA works to make LGBT groups more responsive to people who have disabilities and at the same time make disability groups more responsive to the LGBT community.

"It is such an incredible honor winning the 2010 Paul G. Hearne Award, especially looking at the past winners and their accomplishments. It is very overwhelming and humbling," Dew said. "This award has strengthened my determination to continue to represent and serve all people with all disabilities or chronic illnesses and to obtain the goal of outreach and collaboration between the disability and LGBT communities to achieve full independence and inclusion for everyone."

After several years spent working in the animal protection community, Lawrence Carter-Long moved over to the Disabilities Network of NYC, an organization that brings people, organizations, government and industry together to find solutions to the problems faced by New Yorkers with physical, visual and hearing disabilities, and works for full inclusion of people with disabilities into the vast civic, social and economic life of New York City, and eventually became Executive Director of the organization.

"Five years ago when I left my previous career to focus primarily on disability rights, I was determined to use the skills I'd developed to further access and inclusion for everyone. Winning AAPD's Hearne award affirms that decision, and holds me accountable to it. I am grateful -- and eager to utilize the opportunities the Hearne award provides to take my advocacy efforts to the next level," Carter-Long said.

For more information about the event, visit www.AAPD.com.

jfactivist.typepad.com/jfactivist/2010/02/disability-advocates-to-receive-prestigious-leadership-award.html

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