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Disability Policy Consortium Weekly Update
Greetings!
I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend! I can't believe that the summer is over.
As you may have heard, I will be leaving DPC at the end of the month. This comes with very mixed emotions. I have loved my time with the organization and look forward to continuing to watch DPC grow in strength and numbers. I hope you'll continue being an active member.
Sincerely,
Robyn Powell
Assistant Director, Disability Policy Consortium
rpowell@dpcma.org| 617-542-3522 |
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| Protest Demonstration
For special education rights
State House - Boston
Wednesday, October 6
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
(Rain date: October 13)
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education refuses to help students it knows have been hurt by schools that break special education laws.
Mark your calendar now. Your presence at this protest is crucial. The children are counting on us to save them from the lifelong consequences of school failure.
If we do not speak up for these children and demand change, who will?
Bring your children, family, friends, neighbors.
This is not a disability issue, it's an American issue.
R.S.V.P.
Send us an email to let us know you'll be there to take a stand for children's special education rights.
Questions?
Email Ellen Chambers at emchambers@charter.net or call SPEDWatch (978) 433-5983
"The ultimate tragedy of Birmingham was not the brutality of the bad people, but the silence of the good people."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
SPEDWatch isa 501(c)3 non-profit special education watchdog group functioning as an activist movement for students' special education rights. Our mission is simple: to secure the educational rights of Massachusetts students with disabilities, ages 3-21. All we're asking is that these students be given the education to which they are legally and morally entitled.
No more. No less. No compromise.
To learn more:
Visit www.spedwatch.org
Email info@spedwatch.org, or
Phone (978) 433-5983
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Employment Now Coalition Meeting
Please join us for the the next meeting of the Employment Now Coalition, which will be held on Friday, September 10 at 1:00 in the first floor ballroom of the Cambridge Citywide Senior Center, located at806 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge. We'll be discussing the re-invigoration of the Executive Strategic Planning Committee, upcoming initiatives to be funded with the new contract from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, the expansion of ENC membership, Disability Employment Month in October, and much more. Light refreshments will be served. All are welcome to attend.
We're looking forward to an ambitious schedule with monthly meetings between now and the end of the year. upcoming meetings are tentatively scheduled for Friday, October 8, Friday, November 5, and Friday, December 10. These meetings will most likely take place outside the Boston area in order to reach out to our members in other parts of the state, but video conferencing will enable people who can't attend the meetings to participate.
To request a reasonable accommodation, including ASL interpreters or CART, please contact DeAnn at delliott@employmentnowcoalition.org by 9/7/10.
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Employment Now Coalition Seeks Co-Chair
It is with regret that we pass on to you the news that Phil Zukas, who has served the ENC well as co-chair, has decided to resign from his position effective September 10 in order to pursue other career goals. We will miss his enthusiasm and hard work, and are mindful of the need to find another good person to fill his shoes.
We are seeking nominations for the role of co-chair, to be filled on September 10 at our next ENC meeting. The ideal candidate will be an active ENC member and will have personal and professional experience in the field of disability and employment. Candidates should be able to provide leadership during meetings and throughout the year, be able to devote approximately 10 hours per month to the position, and participate in monthly conference calls of the Executive board (generally held on Wednesday afternoons) and in monthly meetings (usually held on Friday afternoons). Candidates who can help establish connections and identify opportunities where advocacy efforts would be effective are strongly encouraged to apply.
Members may nominate themselves or another member by emailing a few paragraphs outlining qualifications, background, interest, and any other relevant information to DeAnn Elliott, ENC Coordinator, at delliott@employmentnowcoalition.org. Nominations should be received by September 3, 2010 in order to receive full consideration. The Executive Strategic Planning Committee will review nominations and present a candidate for approval at the September meeting, which will be held at 1:00 at the Cambridge Citywide Senior Center, located at 806 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge.
In addition to filling the position of co-chair, we will be discussing the addition of a youth representative to the board, the upcoming October meeting and initiatives for October Disability Employment Month, the first-year report of the Model Employer program, and more. We sincerely hope you can join us!
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Disability Reframed: A Free Community Film Series
Presents "My Left Foot" with Daniel Day-Lewis (1989)
Saturday, September 11th, 2010 from 2 pm - 5 pm at the Cambridge Citywide Senior Center,
806 Massachusetts Avenue, Central Square
Irish poet and painter Christy Brown started out life with the odds stacked against him: no one except his Mum believed he could think or remember, let alone contribute to society and create works of art of the highest caliber.
Daniel Day-Lewis won an Academy Award for this unforgettable film, which is a 1989 adaptation of Brown's 1954 autobiography about growing up in working-class Ireland.
The screening will be followed by a discussion lead by Mr. Chris Hart, who is lead staffer for public transit issues at the Institute for Human Centered Design. Chris has cerebral palsy and uses a power wheelchair.
This is a scent free event. Out of consideration for people with environmental illness or multiple chemical sensitivity, please refrain from using perfume or other scented products. For sign language
interpreters or other accommodations, please contact the Commission for Persons with Disabilities by September 11th at 617-349-4692 (voice) or 617-492-0235 (TTY) or email kthurman@cambridgema.gov
Sponsored by the Cambridge Commission for Persons with Disabilities
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DPC Needs your Help!!!
The DPC uses the PayPal PayFast system for your tax deductible charitable donations. You do not need to have a PayPal account to use this system because credit card payments are also accepted.
The DPC also uses the Causes program for recurring donations (as well as one time donations). This is a great way to make a smaller monthly donation.
Donate by Mail
Make check or money order payable to:
Disability Policy Consortium
59 Temple Place, Suite 669
Boston, MA 02111 |
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