To boost recognition of the importance of disability inclusion in the workplace, October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and Long Island-based experts are doing their part.
This year’s theme is “The Right Talent, Right Now,” to encourage business leaders not to overlook this talented pool of prospective employees.
“Unemployment rates for the general public are extremely low right now — less than four percent — but for individuals with disabilities the rate of unemployment reaches eighty percent,” says Michael Kramer, CEO of The Corporate Source, a Garden City-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the employment of individuals with disabilities. “This heartbreaking disparity drives TCS’s mission: To promote the employment of individuals with disabilities and provide services leading to independence and fulfillment.”
To recognize the value of work — how it gives meaning, purpose, productivity, friendships as well as financial independence — TCS will be hosting a special reception titled Celebrating Work: A Labor of Love, honoring actress Jessica Hecht with its Impact Award on behalf of the cast and production crew of Emmy-nominated series Special that illuminates the challenges faced by a young man with cerebral palsy.
“The cast, crew and executives behind Special have made a bold breakthrough whose time has come,” Kramer said. “They have succeeded in taking subject matter once outside the awareness of the general public and highlighting many of the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities. By presenting Ryan’s story with humor in a creative and engaging way, the series brings about critical awareness and sensitivity to many who are otherwise unrepresented on screen.”
Celebrating Work: A Labor of Love will be held at The Bowery Hotel, 335 Bowery, Manhattan at 6 p.m. on Oct. 23. For more information or to buy tickets, visit thecorporatesource.org
