October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month

Dear Colleagues:

We hope that this kit provides you – our federal customers and participating nonprofit agencies – with the tools you need to help us spread the word in your communities and across the country that AbilityOne Works for America!

The AbilityOne Program creates employment opportunities that enable people who are blind or have other severe disabilities to fulfill their potential while providing a wide array of custom solutions at a fair market price to federal customers. The AbilityOne Program is the largest single source of employment for people who are blind or have other severe disabilities in the United States, currently employing over 42,000 such individuals at more than 600 community-based nonprofit agencies across the country. Although we celebrate this success, the remains a critical need for the program as over 68 percent of people with severe disabilities remain unemployed or underemployed.

Employment opportunities made possible through the program equip tens this group of people with the job skills and training necessary to earn equitable wages, benefits and greater independence. Nonprofit agencies that employ these individuals provide best value products and services to the federal government.

We kick off our fiscal year with National Disability Employment Awareness Month in October. This is an exceptional opportunity to celebrate the success of the AbilityOne Program, but there are numerous other opportunities throughout the year to plan and participate in AbilityOne commemorative events. New contracts, ribbon cutting ceremonies, anniversaries and other milestones, visits by prominent individuals and awards presentations are all opportune events for conducting outreach to local, state and national leaders as well as local businesses and media organizations.