Disability
People Working Cooperatively & Home Depot Repair Homes For Veterans
There are heroes all around us. Willa is one of them. At 80, she can look back at her life with great pride. In 1951, Willa was one of the few trailblazing African American women to enter the military and she valiantly served three tours of duty as a medic both stateside and abroad in the Women’s Army Corps.
Passing by her house – the place that has been the center of her life since returning to civilian living – one would never know what greatness resided within. Today, like so many other military veterans, she has permanent health and mobility issues….and a home in need of repair.
People Working Cooperatively (PWC) and The Home Depot Foundation have joined forces to make an impact. Yesterday, after an announcement of a $155,000 donation by Home Depot to PWC, over 225 local store associates set off to repair and renovate the homes of 15 local veterans – including Willa – who wouldn’t be able to afford those expenses on their own.
For The Home Depot Foundation, this is part of its second annual ‘Celebration of Service Campaign’ where employees across the country repair 100 homes. For PWC, the Campaign marks a new attention focus on the needs of veterans.
“When I joined PWC as an employee, I looked at our waiting list for mobility modifications. There were 58 veterans on the list. I wanted to come up with funding to remove their names,” said Ron Heinlein, a former Home Depot district manager who became PWC’s director of corporate and community partnerships.
And, if you know Ron, the way I do, you know he can get it done. The $155,000 check from Home Depot will cover the renovation costs for those 58 names but the list just keeps growing.
So, with a huge kick-off planned, PWC will have a new ‘Ramp It Up For Veterans Campaign’ running September 11 through Veteran’s Day (November 11), 2012. Donors will be able to text a number and contribute $10 toward PWC’s important work.
If you would like to donate it advance, please visit the PWC website at this link.
Nike Has Found Greatness With Its New Ad
Have you seen the new ad by Nike being played during the Olympics? It really speaks to me.
In the spot, Nike shows people of diverse nations and abilities, some who use both arms and those who learn to do things with one. There are young children and older adults. Wrestlers, runners, and baseball players. The ad says …’the truth is greatness is for ALL of us. This is not about lowering expectations. It’s about raising them for every last one of us…because greatness is not in one special place. And it is not in one special person. Greatness is in whatever person is trying to find it.”
Brilliant!
There is always a way
Cincinnati’s Unique Heritage Being Told In Cincy Story Mural
Something truly wonderful is happening. It is transcending generations, bringing together diverse people from just about every local community. Our great city of Cincinnati is being told, one person, one story, one neighborhood at a time. Old shoeboxes are coming out of storage. Camcorders and iphones are popping up in storefronts and street corners. Memories are being inked in vivid detail as prose on pieces of lined paper.
It is all a part of a first-time project called the Cincy Story Mural. Through a series of what are being called harvesting events, the public has been invited to share photos, videos, narratives, and drawings to help tell the story of their unique corner of the world. And by the spring of 2012 (which is fast upon us), they will all be transformed into a beautiful mural installed in locations throughout Cincinnati with an interactive online version.
Cincy Story Mural is a collaboration between Starfire Council, DIY Printing, Public Allies, Cincy.com, and artist Krista Brinkmeyer.
Krista is the vision behind the project. In her late 20’s, she has always had a passion for expressing herself through storytelling – sometimes by capturing moments in photographs and sometimes through written word. She also has a knack for making friends, an important quality for any role let alone the role of project director.
“I like myself very much. I work hard at Starfire. I am a good person and I am happy,” she wrote in her blog profile.
I sat down with Krista and her right hand man as they say, Leah Addison, an Americorp volunteer with Starfire. The idea, they told me, was sparked when Krista was developing an idea for her capstone project in her final year at Starfire U.
“I like taking pictures and showing them to my friends,” Krista said. “I’m learning to blog and email. I’m meeting a lot of people. I’m not done yet and I need everyone’s help.”
If you have a photo or story you would like to contribute, please contact them at infor@CincyStoryMural.org.
Photo Caption:
Today my friends Aaron and Sybilka and I made a poster for our Mural Launch Party. I got my picture taken while we were working on the screen printing. The posters are blue and silver. The posters tell about the project and they have a QR code on them so people can scan with their phones and read more about the project.
About Starfire U
I really couldn’t describe it better than the words used by Starfire on their website….
Starfire believes every person has gifts that should be valued and respected. Time at Starfire is spent discovering those gifts and finding the people and places where those gifts are able to shine the brightest. Starfire recognizes that all people want acceptance and need relationships. There is great value to relationships with the community and neighbors so an emphasis on building connection runs throughout each program. Starfire strives to maximize resources and generate new avenues and networks of connections for people.
Starfire U is a new, post-secondary opportunity focused on providing relevant educational opportunities for young adults with disabilities. It combines Starfire’s expertise in advancing socialization with traditional special education techniques. This research-based program will have a positive lifelong impact on the lives of people who experience disabilities.
The Starfire U curriculum includes communication, safety, transportation, health, citizenship, technology and volunteering. The knowledge and experience gained in the program helps people to become integral parts of their community.
Over the course of the four-year program, there is exposure to new opportunities, a chance to explore and define a person’s gifts and talents, find valued roles in their community, and build a network of support. The curriculum is designed to:
- Connect with the Community
- Develop Friendships
- Increase Social Confidence
- Gain Experiences at Local Colleges, Businesses, and Non‐Profits
- Contribute through Service
- Build Occupational Skills
- Develop Personalized Future Plan
People Working Cooperatively Helping People With Disabilities
Each year through People Working Cooperatively, thousands of volunteers working in tandem with professionally trained staff reach out to homeowners without the financial means to maintain their home, and thus, maintain their independence. The organization strengthens communities by providing professional, critical home repairs, weatherization, modification and other repair services that residents would not be able to afford on their own. PWC’s Modifications for Mobility Program specifically offers costly accessibility adaptations to homes for people with disabilities.
Two friends, A Common Bond
PWC volunteer Steve Crow’s battle with cancer resulted in a prosthetic leg and a calling to help his fellow neighbors. That calling was put into action when Steve met a man with whom he shared a common bond. David lost his leg to diabetes two years ago. Using a wheelchair in a house that wasn’t built for someone with a mobility disability prohibited David from being able to come and go easily.
Steve volunteered with the Kentucky United Methodist Church to build a ramp for David.
“I was so depressed, just so upset. I couldn’t go anywhere,” David told PWC. “It has literally been two years since I went outside the house. You can’t imagine what it is like.”
The ramp gave David a new lease on life. “Just to go outside again and smell the fresh air and hear the birds. It’s indescribable,” he said.
But the ramp was not David’s only gift. The other gift was a new found friendship with someone who understands that life can change in a moment’s notice.
You Can Help
When I worked with the Inclusion Network, we used to say…”Disability is the one minority population that any of us can find ourselves in, without any notice.” Accessibility modifications, while a necessity for someone with a disability to maintain his/her independence and quality of life, are very expensive. This makes it difficult for PWC to help everyone who needs and can benefit from the service. PWC currently has 125 people on a waiting list.
Proceeds from its upcoming Oscar Night® America Party will benefit PWC’s Modifications for Mobility Program. It will be Sunday, February 26 beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland. Cost is $150 per person. If you can’t attend, you can still bid in their online auction at www.biddingforgood.com/PWCoscars. For more, please visit their website or call Chris Owens, 513-351-7921.
