|
|
|
| Issue: |
You've heard that October 20th is Disability Mentoring Day. What's that all about? Is it too late to participate?
|
 |
|
|
Answer: |
Wednesday, October 20, 2004 marks the official kick-off of a year-round effort to promote career development for students and job-seekers with disabilities through job shadowing and hands-on career exploration. This year New York City is the launch city. But “Disability Mentoring Day: Career Development for the 21st Century” will be commemorated around the country with local communities working to bring students and employers together for informational sessions about career opportunities and one-on-one mentoring with volunteers at public and private places of employment.
Although the core experience is one-on-one job shadowing, the type of mentoring experience will depend in large part on the participants’ interests, education level and work experience. There is no required size or timing for a successful event—it could involve just a handful of students or several dozen, and can take place at any point during the year.
Kick-off celebrations are held on the third Wednesday in October in conjunction with National Disability Awareness Month. However, Disability Mentoring Day is commemorated on the third Wednesday of every month and implemented in locations around the country and internationally throughout the year. It can be a point-of-entry for existing mentoring, school-to-work, internship and employment programs.
Local Coordinators play a match-making role between students/job-seekers and local employers and are the key to Disability Mentoring Day. Communities wishing to participate can review the Local Coordinators list on the American Association of People with Disabilities' web site to see if there is already someone coordinating in that community.
Source: http://www.aapd-dc.org |
|
|
