Disability Mentoring Day

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Florida DMD to Celebrate 10th Anniversary!

The 10th anniversary of Florida Disability Mentoring Day will be commemorated on Wednesday, October 20, 2010. Statewide activities will coincide with National DMD events across the country, which are supported by the American Association of People with Disabilities.

Florida’s DMD program is organized through a collaborative partnership of The Able Trust, The Agency for Persons with Disabilities, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and other statewide partners. The Able Trust and members of the statewide planning committee raise funds for Florida DMD activities and provide support to local community liaisons that coordinate the matchmaking experience between mentors and mentees.

Governor Crist Kicks Off Festivities for 2009 Florida Disability Mentoring Day

Governor Charlie Crist served as Honorary Chair for Florida's festivities as part of Florida’s Disability Mentoring Day endeavor. Disability Mentoring Day is a nationally coordinated job shadowing opportunity for students and jobseekers with disabilities. Disability Mentoring Day was commemorated across the country on October 21, 2009, in honor of October: National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Participants are matched with professionals based on their career interests and spend the day with mentors observing job responsibilities and getting a better understanding of the work place environment. Disability Mentoring Day gives participants a chance to learn about the day-to-day responsibilities required of a desired occupation and the skills and education requirements specific to a job in that career field.

National Disability Mentoring Day (NDMD), sponsored by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), began in 1999 as part of a White House effort to increase the profile of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, celebrated every October. It is a national partnership between the AAPD and the US Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy.

NDMD was patterned after other school-to-work activities such as the National Groundhog Job Shadow day, and began with just three-dozen student participants, mostly in Washington, DC. In 2000, NDMD began to take root in communities across the nation. To learn more about NDMD on a national level, visit http://www.dmd-aapd.org/.