February SEEC E-News

SEEC News

February 2019 | Issue Seven

Developmental Disabilities Day at the Legislature

Making Our Voices Heard

Developmental Disabilities Day at the Legislature is an annual advocacy event occurring during the legislative session in Annapolis. Maryland's Developmental Disabilities Coalition sponsors the day which was held this year on February 13th. The event provides an opportunity for people with developmental disabilities and their allies to gather in support of issues of concern to the disability community. Elected officials and advocates address the crowd and, then, most participants disburse to meet directly with their representatives.

People supported by SEEC and their staff prepared for several weeks to ensure they made the most of this one day opportunity. The group gathered to practice advocacy skills, set up meetings with their elected officials, and prepare print materials for the day. This year, close to twenty SEEC participants and staff joined over 800 advocates from across Maryland to bring attention to issues such as Direct Support Professional wages and retention; reduction of the waiting list for services; and fair housing practices.

When asked about the day, Jonathan (pictured above top) noted, "I was proud to meet with the delegate to make sure she knows people with disabilities care about our community. I felt really good about that."

See SEEC's full DD Day album on our Facebook page at this LINK.

Inside This Issue

Developmental Disabilities Day at the Legislature
SEEC Gala 2019: Save The Date
The Comms Bunch: Meet the SEEC Communications and Development Team
Project SEARCH Participants Help Furloughed Workers: Government Shutdown Halts Program

SEEC Gala 2019

Curious about SEEC's 2019 Gala? Our Gala Committee and Gala Chairs, Arlene and Jeffrey McCrehan, have been hard at work planning an unforgettable event! The festivities will be hosted at the National Park Seminary Ballroom in Silver Spring on Saturday, May 18th . Save the dates will hit your mailbox soon and our 2019 theme will be unmasked. You will not want to miss this unforgettable event highlighting the #LiveWorkThrive stories of people SEEC supports and reminding all of us that each person has a story right behind the mask. . .

Sponsorship Packages Available NOW!

The Comms Bunch!

Meet the SEEC Communications and Development Team

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel ." -Maya Angelou

One of the key roles of the Communications and Development team is to ensure that each and every SEEC supporter has the tools to spread SEEC's powerful message to the community. To achieve this goal, SEEC is pleased to announce a restructured Communications and Development Team with several new faces and some familiar SEEC staff. The team's first order of business is to determine the needs of each department and develop a request process along with user friendly self-help tools so all SEEC staff have an array of options at their fingertips.

"The communications team shares SEEC's passion for the importance of inclusive community services for people with developmental disabilities. Our goal is to communicate that passion and widen our community reach even further by tapping into each and every potential touchpoint with our staff, people we support, families, and community partners," said new Communications and Development Director, Carrie McGraw.

Do you know which team member was an extra with Jodie Foster? Who is also a Barber?

Meet the full Comms Bunch HERE!

Project SEARCH Participants Help Furloughed Workers

Government Shutdown Halts Program

On the last day of the federal government shutdown, five young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are participants in SEEC’s Project SEARCH program spent their afternoon bagging groceries for furloughed federal workers at the Capital Area Food Bank. What many did not know was these five students were also victims of the shutdown.

Project SEARCH is a one-year school-to-work transition program designed for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are either in their last year of high school or are recent graduates. The cornerstone of Project SEARCH is total workplace immersion in a host business, government entity, or place of community employment. The five young adults bagging groceries at the food bank just began the second rotation out of three workplace immersion experiences in December when the federal government shut down. The interns were working in various positions at the Smithsonian Institution including custodial work, administrative support, and data entry. In all, over 20 Project SEARCH participants and recent federal hires were affected by the shutdown working positions at such landmarks as the National Museum of Natural History, National Postal Museum, and National Portrait Gallery.

Read the full Press Release HERE.

301.576.9000 | www.seeconline.org