Washington, D.C. - Representatives of eight organizations that work with people with disabilities met in Washington, DC, this week to continue building collaborations to ensure the full inclusion of people with disabilities as service participants. The meeting was sponsored by the Corporation for National Service, as part of its ongoing effort to include people with disabilities in national and community service.

The Corporation awarded two-year grants totaling $3.6 million to the organizations to fund the projects. "Everybody should have the opportunity to serve, including the 54 million people in this country who have disabilities," said Wendy Zenker, acting CEO of the Corporation. "Because people with disabilities have a lot to offer to community and national service, we want to make sure that organizations know how to recruit them and how to make their programs accessible."

Although the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) made great strides in the areas of education, public access, and employment opportunities, there is still a need to increase opportunities for social interaction. People with disabilities continue to often be viewed as recipients of services, not as participants in service. The grant program is part of the Corporation's effort to change that perception.

• Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, which is increasing service programs' awareness of the capacities of men and women with cognitive disabilities to perform national service.
• Hampshire Educational Collaborative targets special education students in three counties to increase sensitivity and awareness of barriers that hinder involvement of the disability community with service-learning activities.
• International Association of Jewish Vocational Services is providing outreach to and recruitment of young people with a broad range of disabilities in ten cities to enroll them in national service programs.
• Oregon Health Sciences University is linking people with physical, developmental, psychiatric, and sensory disabilities with national service programs.
• Pennsylvania Department of Education provides school districts with strategies for integrating service-learning into the Individual Education Plans of special education students.
• Self Help for Hard of Hearing People is implementing an outreach program that will disseminate information about national service programs and encourage people with hearing loss to engage in national service.
• State Independent Living Center of Georgia, Inc., provides information about national service programs to people with disabilities in four states and assists national service programs in adapting their programs to allow greater participation by individuals with disabilities.
• West Virginia Commission for National and Community Service is forming community service inclusion teams, made up of national service programs, disability organizations, and consumer groups, in three areas of the state.

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