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PRLog

December 17, 2008

Dec. 31 is Deadline for 2009 Accessible America Competition $25,000 Prize to be awarded

By Mike Reynolds

WASHINGTON, DC, December 17 – With two weeks until the deadline, The National Organization on Disability (NOD) is putting out the final call for its $25,000 Accessible America Contest. The eighth annual competition, open to all U.S. cities and towns, is sponsored by AARP and has a deadline of Dec. 31, 2008. The winner will be announced in February 2009. Participants will showcase how citizens with disabilities are participating in and contributing to local community life. The winner of the Accessible America 2009 competition will be a city or town where citizens with disabilities are fully included in their community with respect to education, employment, voting, transportation, housing and a full range of social, recreational and cultural activities. The competition highlights thorough community-wide progress and inspires replication. Previous Accessible America first-place winners include: Houston, TX, Berkeley, CA, Cambridge, MA, Irvine, CA, Pasadena, CA, Phoenix, AZ and Venice, FL.

NOD has been a national leader on disability policy issues for over 25 years, and has led the fight for the passage of the ADA and the inclusion of the statue of FDR in a wheelchair at the FDR Memorial in Washington, DC. Currently NOD is focused on employment for people with disabilities and the need for cities to include people with disabilities in emergency preparedness planning.  Both issues are addressed in the Accessible America application.

The launch of this year’s contest, featuring Ms. Wheelchair America 2009 Michelle Colvard, is posted our new youtube channel, http://www.youtube.com/user/AccessibleAmerica. This year’s contest also is featured on the social networking websites Facebook and Myspace.

To enter the competition, communities must submit an official Accessible America 2009 application available at www.nod.org with a cover letter signed by their mayor describing how their city or town (or county representing unincorporated communities within its borders) provides opportunities for citizens with disabilities. Entries must be submitted no later than December 31, 2008.

"While there is going to be one winner, all the communities that enter are demonstrating a powerful commitment to people with disabilities," says NOD Senior Vice President Nancy Starnes. Ms. Starnes, a wheelchair user, is the former mayor of Sparta, N.J.

To learn more about the Accessible America 2009 competition, visit www.nod.org, or call 207/576-7396. The Accessible America initiative shares information about and promotes replication of model local disability programs through its growing network of towns, cities and counties committed to mainstreaming people with disabilities.

The National Organization on Disability, founded in 1982, promotes the full and equal participation and contribution of America’s 54 million men, women and children with disabilities in all aspects of life. For more information about NOD’s programs including previous Accessible America finalists and winners visit www.nod.org.

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The National Organization on Disability, founded in 1982, promotes the full and equal participation and contribution of America’s 54 million men, women and children with disabilities in all aspects of life. For more information about NOD’s programs including previous Accessible America finalists and winners visit www.nod.org.