Be Part of Disability Mentoring Day, Oct 17, 2007

Disability Mentoring Day, October 17, 2007, is a nationwide effort to promote career development for students with disabilities through hands-on career exploration.

Students with disabilities (mentees) are matched with workplace mentors according to expressed career interests. Mentees experience a typical day on the job and learn how to prepare to enter the world of work. Employers gain an increased awareness that people with disabilities represent an overlooked talent pool. Disability Mentoring Day is a program of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD).

Disability Mentoring Day began in 1999 with fewer than three-dozen student participants as part of a White House effort to increase the profile of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), celebrated every October. In 2005, 9,000 youth with disabilities participated nationally and in 20 international locations. They were mentored by more than 2,000 private, non-profit, governmental, and educational organizations.

The goals of Disability Mentoring Day are designed to enhance internship and employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

• To promote disability as a central component of diversity recruitment for a more inclusive workforce.
• To dispel employers' fears about hiring people with disabilities.
• To increase confidence among students and job seekers with disabilities.
• To launch a year-round effort to foster mentoring opportunities.

Employers (private, non-profit, government, educational), students with disabilities, and educators participate in Disability Mentoring Day.

For more information, visit the American Association of People with Disabilities Web site.