DISABILITY MENTORING DAY – OCT. 15, 2003

Contact: Kathy McCreedy (989-631-8867)

MIDLAND, MI. – Ford Motor Company and The Dow Chemical Company joined forces with DiverseAbility LLC to sponsor the 2003 Disability Mentoring Day (DMD) on October 15 in Dearborn and Midland. The national sponsor for the event is the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). More than 55 students participated in job-shadowing experiences, which were matched to their personal vocational interests.

Ford Motor Company and The Dow Chemical Company both have employee networks, which have been formed to support employees with disabilities working in their companies. At Ford, Marketing presented an overview of Ford and the Mobility Motoring Program, followed by a lunch sponsored by the Ford Employees Dealing with DisAbilities group. At Dow, the disAbilities Employee Network sponsored a lunch, at which the students were recognized for their participation and Dow employees shared their experiences of working with disabilities in a large corporation

One goal of DMD is to raise awareness of the importance of career development experiences for students with disabilities. Equally important is to promote disability as a central component of diversity efforts for a more inclusive workforce. Ford and Dow’s sponsorship of DMD reflects their ongoing commitment to including people with disabilities as a critical component of their diversity efforts. DiversityInc has named Ford Motor Company as the number one company for diversity (DiversityInc June/July 2003). (Possible quote from Ford on continued commitment to “raise the bar” on diversity efforts.)

In addition to the Mentoring Day activities, Ford and Dow are working with DiverseAbility to sponsor career development workshops for college students with disabilities. The purpose of these workshops is to better prepare students with disabilities to obtain entry-level positions that position them for future leadership roles. It is estimated that 50% of college graduates with disabilities are unemployed.

To learn more about Disability Mentoring Day, visit the AAPD website and click on the Disability Mentoring Day logo. For more information about the activities with Ford Motor Company and The Dow Chemical Company, contact Kathy McCreedy at DiverseAbility (989-631-8867 or kmmccreedy@chartermi.net).