Help ensure that service-learning is accessable to all students: Recruiting People with Disabilities

The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act contains many references to the active participation of individuals with disabilities as service members and volunteers including:

1. outreach to agencies and organizations serving veterans and individuals with disabilities, and other institutions or organizations from which participants can be recruited and;

2. collaborate with organizations with demonstrated expertise in supporting and accommodating individuals with disabilities, including institutions of higher education, to identify and implement methods of recruitment to increase the number of participants who are individuals with disabilities in the programs receiving assistance under the national service laws

Many national disability organizations embrace and promote national service and volunteering as valued options for their constituents with disabilities and serve as excellent venues for recruitment efforts. The Association on Higher Education and Disability (http://ahead.org/nsip ); the Association on University Centers on Disability (http://www.aucd.org/directory/directory.cfm?program=UCEDD and http://www.aucd.org/template/page.cfm?id=23 ); the National Down Syndrome Congress (http://www.ndsccenter.org/selfadvo/nsip.php ); and National Council on Independent Living (http://www.ncil.org/ ) each have state member organizations and affiliates which can be identified through the national websites provided above.

Feel free to contact NSIP to assist with efforts to recruit individuals with disabilities. We are happy to help you connect to specific state and local disability organizations.

Best to you,

Paula Sotnik, Director

National Service Inclusion Project

888-491-0326 (toll-free voice and TTY)

paula.sotnik@umb.edu

www.serviceandinclusion.org

The National Service Inclusion Project (NSIP) is a training and technical assistance provider on disability inclusion, under a cooperative agreement (#08TAHMA001) from Corporation for National and Community Service. NSIP partners with the Association on University Centers on Disability, National Council on Independent Living, Association on Higher Education and Disability and National Down Syndrome Congress to build connections between disability organizations and all CNCS grantees, including national directs, to increase the participation of people with disabilities in national service.