National Forum on Disability Issues - Sept 28, 2012 | How to help & participate

Your Help is Needed NOW!

The National Forum on Disability Issues is just two and a half months away, September 28, 2012. Your help is needed now to make the National Forum on Disability Issues a precedent-setting success!

Invite the Candidates: Each of the campaigns have acknowledged the event but will not make a decision for several more weeks, if not at the last minute. We must make them aware of the significance and prominence of the disability community and disability policy issues. They must FEEL THE POWER OF THE DISABILITY VOTE!:

Write a letter to the Campaign Offices of President Obama, Governor Romney and if you are in Ohio to Josh Mandel and Sherrod Brown. Tell them why the Forum and disability issues are important to you and to the disability community. Tell them that the forum will be the only national event to focus specifically on disability issues. Questions are expected to focus on “big picture” issues facing the broad disability community, such as employment, health care, long-term services and supports, education, transportation, housing, and research.
Contact the campaigns by using this link:www.ncoa.org/DisabilityForum

Make a video of your invitation to the Candidates. Keep it short and to the point. Be sure to include your home state. Send videos to shetrick@abilitycenter.org. These videos will be posted on YouTube, Facebook and on the Registration website.

Invite Co-Sponsors: Co-sponsors are still needed for the event! Call or send a letter to interested disability-related organizations inviting their participation. Sponsorships are available in the amount of $100 to $10,000. Corporate sponsorships are also available. Contact Kate Josephson at kjosephson@ucp.org for more information.

More than 40 state and national organizations have already pledged their support as co-sponsors!

National

• American Association for People with Disabilities
• American Association on Health and Disability
• Amputee Coalition
• Association of University Centers on Disabilities
• Caring Across Generations
• CSAVR
• Easter Seals
• Epilepsy Foundation
• Hemophilia Federation of America
• Jewish Federations of North America
• Jewish Funds for Justice
• Lutheran Services in America
• Mosaic
• National Association for Homecare and Hospice
• National Association of State Head Injury Administrators (NASHIA)
• National Association of States United for Aging and Disability
• National Council on Aging
• National Council on Independent Living
• National Down Syndrome Society
• National Center for Learning Disabilities
• National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society
• National Organization on Disability
• National Youth Leadership Network
• Paralyzed Veterans of American
• PHI National
• Self Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE)
• Sibling Leadership Network
• The Access Center for Independent Living
• The Arc of the United States
• The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation
• United Cerebral Palsy
• United Spinal Association
• Yoshiko Dart

State/Local

• Ohio Abilities Network
• Ohio APSE
• Ohio Association of Goodwill Industries (OAGI)
• Ohio Disability Vote Coalition
• The Arc of Ohio
• The Ohio State University Nisonger Center (UCEDD)
• University of Cincinnati University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities

To connect with National Forum On Disability Issues, sign up for Facebook today.
www.facebook.com/pages/National-Forum-​On-Disability

Note: The National Forum on Disability Website will be ready soon. Stay tuned for an announcement and information on the site. On this site you may register to attend the event, to watch the event live via webcast, view video invitations and press releases about the event.

Forum Planning Committee: American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), The Arc, Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD), National Center for Learning Disabilities, National Council on Aging (NCOA), National Council on Independent Living (NCIL), United Cerebral Palsy (UCP), and Ohio Disability Vote Coalition (ODVC)

General Information Contact: Sue Hetrick / 866-575-8055 / shetrick@abilitycenter.org

Sponsorship Information Contact: Kate Josephson / 202-776-0406 / kjosephson@ucp.org

Media Contact:
Paul Carringer / 614-599-0416 / paul@caringmarketing.com
Kate McAndrews / 614-560-5028 / kathleenmcandrews@sbcglobal.net