Connecting Service to Employment for Members of All Abilities

Participating in national and community service is one way for people with and without disabilities to gain valuable experience and skills toward employment. The National Service Inclusion Project is currently looking for success stories from service members with disabilities about how his or her service experience has linked them to full or part time work. If you are a service member with a disability who would be interested in sharing your story of your transition from service to employment, please submit your story here.

Below is Michael Agyin’s story of how his service experience led to his current position within the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood and Community Service.

During his term of service in 2000-2001 with National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), Michael

How do you encourage disclosure and create inclusive service environments?

As your service program works to become more inclusive of members all abilities, consider what you can do to create an environment where service members with both apparent and non-apparent disabilities would be comfortable disclosing their disability and requesting reasonable accommodations if needed.

Hidden or non-apparent disabilities may include physical or mental health related conditions that are not readily visible to others. This may include, but are not limited to: specific learning disabilities, diabetes, epilepsy, low vision, hard of hearing, heart disease, and chronic illness.

It may be difficult for some service members with disabilities to decide whether or not to disclose their

110 Nonprofit-Track Workshops at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service

The largest U.S. gathering of voluntary effort — the National Conference on Volunteering and Service — will take place in San Francisco in just a couple weeks. The nonprofit workshop track at the conference is among the largest, with over 100 presentations.

The National Conference on Volunteering and Service (NCVS) is the Fashion Week of the service world in the United States. It’s taking place June 22-24 (plus various pre- and post-meetings), at the Moscone

The Benefits of Collaborating with National and Local Disability Organizations and Communities

As national service programs work to expand their networks and include individuals of all abilities, it is important to consider the benefits of partnering with disability organizations within your communities.

The benefits of collaboration can enhance both your service program and the disability organization you partner with as you work toward mutual goals.

By a national service program collaborating with a disability organization, benefits to national service programs include:

• Speaking about national service at a disability-focused event, conference or job fair.
• Having staff at a disability organization inform specific constituents about opportunities to serve

Disability and Inclusion related sessions at the 2009 National Conference on Volunteering and Service

“The 2009 National Conference on Volunteering and Service, taking place June 22-24 at the Moscone Center – West in the heart of San Francisco, is the world’s largest gathering of volunteer and service leaders from the nonprofit, government, and corporate sectors. This year’s theme —”Civic. Energy. Generation.”— reflects the tremendous excitement in our nation today as people of all ages and backgrounds unify in a powerful movement to bring about social change.”

Learn more about the 2009 National Conference on Volunteering and Service and register.

The National Service Inclusion Project will be conducting a pre-conference training, an immersion learning session and two workshops focused on disability and inclusion in national and community service at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service. Information and descriptions of each session is listed below:

Pre-Conference: Getting Buy-in: Crafting Partnerships that Fully Embrace Inclusion
Monday, June 22: 8:00 am- 4:00 pm — Participants of all levels welcome

People with disabilities are now, more than ever, engaged in community service or volunteering. Whether responsible for

Inclusive AmeriCorps Week Projects

6 Days, 6 Ramps 2008

The third annual AmeriCorps Week is taking place May 9-16, 2009. AmeriCorps Week “provides the perfect opportunity for AmeriCorps members, alums, grantees, program partners, and friends to shine a spotlight on the work done by members–and to motivate more Americans [including individuals with disabilities] to serve their communities.”

Celebrations of service are being planned throughout the country and below are two examples of AmeriCorps Week events that are inclusive of people with disabilities.

6 Days, 6 Ramps

The fifth annual 6 Days, 6 Ramps project will take place this year from May 8-10 and then May 15-17. “6 Days 6 Ramps is

Inclusive Interviewing for National and Community Service Programs

Via magnusfranklin's Flickr photostream

As applications to join your service program increase, and the interview process continues, this is the perfect time to brush-up on information regarding inclusive interviewing.

As a result of feedback from the field, the National Service Inclusion Project (NSIP) will be providing an informative and interactive discussion to guide you in conducting inclusive interviews.

What are questions that you can and can’t ask? What if someone discloses a disability on their application or during an interview? What are strategies to ensure that all applicants know your agency provides reasonable accommodations?

Please be a part of this presentation and discussion about conducting inclusive interviews both in-person and at a distance.

Join us on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 from 3 PM – 4 PM EST (2 PM Central, 1 PM Mountain, 12 PM Pacific).

Our presenters this month are both from the National Service Inclusion Project (NSIP) (see their biographies, below):

Engaging Service Members of All Ages and Abilities in Service

May has been declared Older Americans Month, by the Administration on Aging (AoA) out of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

According to the AoA: “This year’s theme ‘Living Today for a Better Tomorrow’ reflects AoA’s continued focus on prevention efforts and programs throughout the country that are helping older adults have better health as they age.” Many seniors of all abilities are “living today for a better tomorrow” by committing themselves to national and community service through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn & Serve programs.

In May 2007, the Corporation for National and Community Service released “The Health Benefits of Volunteering: A Review of Recent Research” (PDF). The study “documents major findings from more than 30 rigorous and longitudinal studies that reviewed the relationship between health and volunteering. The study, which were controlled for other factors, found that volunteering leads to improved physical and mental health.”

Key findings include:

• Older adults are more likely to receive greater health benefits from volunteering; including improved physical and

Emergency Preparedness and People with Disabilities

Many AmeriCorps, Senior Corps and Learn and Serve America programs focus on emergency preparedness. Service members who serve in these programs inform and educate the public about the need for emergency preparedness, including emergency preparedness for individuals with disabilities, and respond when emergencies happen.

Bobbie Singletary is an AmeriCorps  VISTA who has been serving at Life of South Mississippi from 2006, focusing specifically on emergency preparedness for people with disabilities.

Bobbie, who is of short stature, was volunteering at Life of South Mississippi when she was asked to become their VISTA. “Life [of South Mississippi] helped my family, so I wanted to give of my time.”

In her service, she focuses on providing disaster preparedness trainings to the public and especially to persons with disabilities. She gets the word out to first responders and other emergency managers so that they are best able to assist everyone regardless

Access to Outdoor Service and the Utah Conservation Corps

Today is Earth Day and Keep America Beautiful’s “Great American Clean Up” takes place every year from March 1 through May 31, with partners like Service Nation and Volunteer Match.

“In 2008, an estimated 3 million volunteers and attendees donated more than 6.7 million hours in clean, beautify and improve more than 17,000 communities during more than 30,000 events in all 50 states and beyond.”

National service programs are working to engage members and volunteers of all abilities in service opportunities outdoors. For example, for the past three summers, the Utah Conservation Corps (UCC) Access to Service Inclusive Crew has conducted accessibility surveys and transition plans for the Wasatch-Cache National Forest and worked to design and construct an

Celebrating People in Action for National Volunteer Week (April 19-25)

National Volunteer Week 2009 is April 19-25. This year’s theme is “Celebrating People in Action.” Below are three new stories of service members or volunteers with disabilities in action, “honoring the individuals who dedicate themselves to taking action and solving problems in their communities.”

Tiffany Hunter, AmeriCorps VISTA
People First of Nevada-Carson City Chapter, 2006-present
Quadriplegia and TBI

“The Carson City Chapter of People First [of Nevada], began with 10 people. In three years, we’ve doubled,” says Tiffany. Meeting monthly, she tracks and facilitates PFN-CC meetings and encourages those in attendance to determine the thrust of the chapter. The experience of working as a VISTA has also allowed Tiffany to increase the network of partners connected to PFN-CC. “We had a barbecue social, but we didn’thave very much money to hold the event. I looked around for donations, but wasn’t having much luck until I talked to the manager at the local grocery chain where I shop. She originally offered to donate $20, but when I went back to the store to pick up the donation, she had increased the donation to $50. With that I was able to buy everything I

Autism and Inclusive Interviewing for All

Ways that national service programs can make the interview process less chaotic for people with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day and April is National Autism Awareness Month. Given that national service programs have members with non-apparent disabilities, including members with all forms of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs), information and tips for including members with autism are provided below:

What are Autism Spectrum Disorders?

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), “Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of developmental disabilities defined by significant [limitations] in social interaction and communication and the presence of unusual behaviors and interests. The thinking and learning abilities of people with ASDs can vary. ASDs include autistic disorder, pervasive developmental disorder–not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS, including atypical autism), and Asperger syndrome.

Learn more about autism spectrum disorders.

These conditions all have some of the same symptoms, but they differ in terms of when the symptoms start, how severe they

Tips for Recruiting New Corps Members with Disabilities

Ways that national service programs can recruit members with disabilities.

Many national service programs have begun recruiting new members for the upcoming year. As you begin this process, here are some ways to recruit potential members with disabilities:

Make a statement!

When developing your program’s recruitment materials (including posters, emails, and online) and applications it is important to include a statement regarding your organizations commitment to inclusion. For example:

Inclusive Service Projects for MLK Day

From the National Service Inclusion Project:

Today, more than ever, projects are designed using principles of universal design, accessibility and accommodation strategies so that all people can serve. For example:

In Morrisville, NC the “Building a Ramp Into the Community” project will be underway.  The Durham County Affordable Housing Coalition (DAHC) and Durham Habitat for Humanity and Merck have partnered with triangle MLK Day of Service to build ramps in the Durham community. Service members include 12 seniors and people with disabilities. 

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service sponsored by the University of Iowa’s Civic Engagement Program encourages the participation of people with disabilities and publicizes the availability of accommodations on their “Days of Service” website. 

For a helpful resource on inclusive days of service, please see:
Effective Practices Guide To Inclusive And Accessible Days Of Service

NSIP would like to know what inclusive service activities you are planning and or participating in!  Please contact NSIP email at: NSIP [at] umb.edu, or call 888-491-0326 (V/TTY).

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