11.04.05 Amber Philman Kennedy Space Center, Fla. (Phone: 321/867-2468) RELEASE: 99-05 KENNEDY SPACE CENTER WORK FORCE MENTORS LOCAL DISABLED STUDENTS NASA's Kennedy Space Center will provide local students and job seekers with disabilities an opportunity to spend a day with the NASA family on Tuesday, Nov. 8 in support of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. KSC civil service employees and contractors will serve as mentors for the day, helping the students learn firsthand about different types of careers, make the connection between school and work, and target their career paths. NASA's partnership with the Space Coast Center for Independent Living brought the students and job seekers together from area community agencies. The event aims to provide job-shadowing opportunities for those with disabilities and promote disability as a central component of diversity recruitment for a more inclusive work force. Its other goals include dispelling employers' concerns about hiring people with disabilities, and increasing confidence among those with disabilities. Disability Mentoring Day is supported statewide by a collaborative effort between The Able Trust and the Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, along with a Florida planning committee. National Disability Mentoring Day began in 1999 as part of a White House effort to increase the profile of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, celebrated every October. To learn more about Florida Disability Mentoring Day, visit: http://www.floridadmd.org To learn more about National Disability Mentoring Day, visit: http://www.dmd-aapd.org -end- To subscribe to the list, send a message to: ksc-subscribe@newsletters.nasa.gov To remove your address from the list, send a message to: ksc-unsubscribe@newsletters.nasa.gov
