What a wonderful presentation by Taryn Green, at our Rotary Club of Sudbury Sunrisers' last meeting, about how we can challenge our perspective when employing people with disabilities. Taryn, who works in Marketing and Communication at BrokerLink challenged our perspective about disabled people. She provided examples of how we can make a difference (e.g. active listening, engaging disabled people, ensuring accommodation is a right not a privilege & evaluating hiring practices) and how unlearning can be difficult but necessary when building a more inclusive workplace.
Taryn Green
Program Updates
The Plasma Drive needs your help to reach the donation goal! Please contact Brandi Braithwaite to sign up for a time to donate.
Backpack Basics is providing much needed personal items for people in our community. Go to https://backpackbasicsrotary.ca/ to donate to make these backpacks available. The time to donate is quickly coming to a close. Sunrisers let's ensure we have donated to meet the project goal!
Adopt a Road clean up will not occur until the stay at home order is lifted. Once a date is set, event coordinator Cathy Coe will be asking for volunteers.
Gathering for The Great Lakes Watershed Clean Up that was scheduled for April 24th will not be possible during the stay at home order. If you and your social bubble decide to clean up an area of your back yard for some exercise send along a photo for the next newsletter. We may not be able to gather quite yet but collectively we help clean up the community!
The 2021 Virtual Convention will be better than ever, opening more innovative opportunities to learn and to engage with the family of Rotary, near and far. You’ll be able to network in virtual lounges, meet new partners in service, and join fun activities with Rotary members from around the world.
This event is open to all Rotary members and participants from 12-16 June 2021. Registration fees are as follows:
Promotional rate: US$49* through 11:59:59 (Chicago time - CDT) 7 May
US$65 - 8 May through 16 June
*Registration must be paid in full between 16 April and 7 May to receive the US$49 rate.
The common perception of the physically disabled throughout Mexico was that they are incapable of being productive members of society. Unable to work or provide for their families, they face discrimination, must be taken care of, and are kept at home.
But an organization called Autonomy, Liberation Through Movement (ALEM) is working to change all that. Founded in 2007, ALEM provides vocational training, encouraging and empowering people with motor disabilities to find meaningful employment. In addition, the group is providing a service that was sorely needed throughout central Mexico: wheelchair repair.
With the help of the Rotary Club of Cuernavaca-Juárez and the Rotary Club of Paoli-Malvern-Berwyn, Pennsylvania, USA, ALEM has been able to provide low-cost repairs for wheelchair users in their community. A Rotary Foundation grant is funding a mobile repair clinic that travels to neighboring central Mexican cities including Puebla and Veracruz. Local Rotary clubs arrange accommodations, meals, publicity, and a central location where the ALEM team can set up its mobile repair shop.
ALEM has 10 people working out of its Cuernavaca-based workshop, all with physical disabilities and most of them wheelchair users. All workers are trained in various specialties, including painting, welding, and upholstery work.
Mayra Solano, director of ALEM, explains that the organization’s name is meant to emphasize the possibility of growth and change for anyone with a motor disability. She adds that the constant challenge is figuring out how to fight pre-established notions about the capabilities of people who must rely on a wheelchair. “We [and the Rotary clubs] joined our efforts and started working together, but it goes much further than that,” Solano says. “It goes in the feeling and the spirit of Rotary, which is about working with the community, for the community. It’s the partnership that makes change possible.”