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The Florida Grantor, Fall 2004

National Disability Mentoring Day a Success in Florida

Across Florida, business executives, elected officials and other career professionals spent Wednesday, October 20 mentoring students with disabilities as part of National Disability Mentoring Day (DMD). Mentors shared their job experiences with more than 600 students with disabilities. Among those who participated were Governor Jeb Bush and DMD Honorary Chairman George Koehn, President of SunTrust Banks, Florida.

“Disability Mentoring Day provides a great opportunity for business professionals to share their work experiences with persons with disabilities,” said Governor Bush. “Florida’s business community has done a wonderful job in providing valuable support and resources to people with disabilities and the agencies working to serve them.”

DMD is a nationally coordinated job shadowing opportunity for students with disabilities. It gives students 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. Participants are matched with mentors based on their career interests and spend the day observing job responsibilities and getting a better understanding of the work place environment.

Over the past three years, Florida has led the nation with outstanding student and business participation in Disability Mentoring Day. As a result, Florida has been selected by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) as the National Kick-Off Site for Disability Mentoring Day 2005, scheduled for October 19.

The event is not only beneficial to students with disabilities, but also for mentors. DMD allows employers and business owners to learn about the abilities of people with disabilities. Along with creating awareness, it often makes them more sensitive to the needs of their employees and more receptive to candidates with disabilities.

In many cases, an ongoing relationship is created between the student and the mentor. Students have been offered summer internships and jobs as a result of the contacts that were established during DMD. After participating in Disability Mentoring Day, some mentors become High School/High Tech partners, hosting students with disabilities for activities throughout the year.

Disability Mentoring Day is a national initiative of the AAPD and the US Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy. Florida sponsors include Clear Channel Radio, Rosen Centre Hotel, Anheuser Busch, Polk County Workforce Development Board, IARP, Merrill Lynch, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Volunteer Florida and the Governor’s ADA Working Group.