Communities Of Power:
Community Building Tools
Our Voices: Spring 2005
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Get Active! Get Involved!
Spring is coming--this is no time to sit on the sidelines, merely watching! Michigan Disability Rights Coalition is offering lots of opportunities for all of you to make a difference. As always at MDRC, you can get involved at every level of capacity-socialize, raise money, come to the Capitol, take a class, get support for a local project!
Table of Contents:
- Walk & Roll.
- The EVENT - Action Day - Communities of Power.
- Action Day / Long-Term Care Reform Campaign.
- Tips for Making Your Voice Heard!.
- Opportunities for Grassroots Groups.
- Job Openings.
- New Grant for Southwest Michigan.
- Cookie Gant Leadership Development Fund.
- Join MDRC.
Walk & Roll
Join us on April 30th at Holt High School for prizes, entertainment, and an exciting opportunity to support:
- The Capital Area Center for Independent Living (CACIL)
- The Michigan Association of Centers for Independent Living (MACIL)
- The Michigan Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC)
- . . . and us, your friends at MDRC!
Here's what you can do:
- Find people to sponsor you, then walk or roll.
- Recruit corporate sponsors to donate money.
- Recruit vendors to market their products or services that day.
- Recruit groups to participate, to raise funds for their group.
- Solicit door prizes for the day of the event.
How do you find corporate sponsors, vendors, and other groups to join, organizations that will donate door prizes, or people to sponsor you? Start with people we deal with every day, whether that's family members, neighbors, co-workers, or people you buy products or services from on a regular basis. That could include employers, co-workers, and labor organizations, friends from church and school, caregivers, and neighbors who are accustomed to seeing you on a regular basis. Show them the sponsor form from the website and ask them if they'll support you. Ask them who else you should talk to. Maybe they're members of some clubs and organizations that would become involved. A lot of groups have a charity committee. Let them give to Walk and Roll!
To learn more, contact Aimee Sterk at MDRC (800) 760.4600, ext. 28 or visit www.copower.prosynergy.org/mdrc/walkandroll.htm.
Come to Holt High School on April 30th and join the fun!
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The EVENT - Action Day - Communities of Power.
The first Event in May, 1990 drew over 1,300 people with disabilities to participate in workshops, a march to the Capitol, and three-day rally. The EVENT continued each year through 1997. Now, regional partners coordinate Action Days in local areas during even-numbered years. In odd-numbered years, activists gather at the Capitol to meet with legislators and policymakers. This Communities of Power Action Cycle is funded by the Michigan Developmental Disabilities Council.
Action Cycle regional partners are:
- Capital Area Center for Independent Living (517) 241-0393
- Community Connections (269) 925-6422
- Superior Alliance for Independent Living (906) 228-5744
- Northern Michigan Alliance for Independent Living (231) 922-0903
- The Disability Network (810) 742-1800
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Action Day / Long-Term Care Reform Campaign.
This year we encourage everyone to join us at the Capitol on June 9 to participate in our Raise a Public Voice for Long-Term Care (LTC) Reform Campaign. Advocates from around the state, from both the disability community and the aging network, will meet in Lansing to celebrate the publication of the Medicaid Long-Term Care Task Force Report. . . but our work is not finished! The report will contain values, vision, and legislation that we must keep before the public. This year, Action Day is the kick-off event in our mission to increase the availability of Home- and Community-Based Services throughout Michigan.
Long-term care reform is a collective effort to increase the availability of home and community based long-term care supports while decreasing Michigan's reliance on nursing home services. As we work to reform the LTC system, other systems will be impacted. When public policy dollars move long-term care supports to the community, the disability community's efforts to make housing affordable and accessible and to increase the availability of accessible public transportation will get more attention!
The Campaign to Raise a Public Voice for Long-Term Care Reform starts with Action Day and continues throughout the summer in communities throughout Michigan - where local groups host educational events for people in their communities, including their local legislators, to learn more about efforts to rebalance the public long-term care system. MDRC has resources to assist local groups in this education campaign! Contact Carolyn Lejuste (Lejustec@comcast.net, 517.333.2477 x 21) for more details. Look for future announcements for additional opportunities to raise your voice in support of long-term care reform.
Save The Date: June 9th! Join us at the Capitol to Raise a Public Voice for Long-Term Care Reform! For updated information, see the Action Day webpage.
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Tips for Making Your Voice Heard!
- THINK about why advocacy is important: to make communities more inclusive, to improve everyone's quality of life!
- REMEMBER that advocacy work promotes core democratic values of fairness, choice, and personal responsibility.
- JUMP IN AT ANY LEVEL! Talk to people in your community, talk to reporters, talk to TV and radio news people, talk to elected officials.
- DEEPEN CONNECTIONS. Start out by just getting to know people who make decisions. Let them know about why we need inclusive, affordable, accessible homes and regional public transportation. Find out when meetings are being held, show up, and schmooze!
- USE CONCRETE TERMS. Tell them what life is like for you, what you want, and why you want it. Keep it simple! Speak about what you know.
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Opportunities for Grassroots Groups.
The Grass Roots Education and Empowerment Network (GREEN) has funded 33 projects so far, with 3 more "in the mill" and another 11 anticipated! In addition, MDRC has published RFP's for three other grant processes in the last month. Visit our web page to learn more about projects run by local groups with support from GREEN. Here's the URL for GREEN: http://www.copower.prosynergy.org/At/green.htm.
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Job Openings.
MDRC has expanded our staff several times over the past few months. While we can't hire everyone, when openings develop, we're very interested in attracting good, talented people with disabilities to work with us. Stay tuned to www.copower.prosynergy.org/mdrc/news.htm
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New Grant for Southwest Michigan.
Do you live in Southwest Michigan? The Arcus Gay and Lesbian Fund awarded a grant to MDRC to bridge the disability and gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgender communities through public education and policy-level advocacy regarding issues faced by both groups.
For more information on the Arcus Foundation, visit their website.
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Cookie Gant Leadership Development Fund.
Take a class, attend a conference, learn how you can grow your leadership skills so you can give back to the movement, OR make a donation to empower others!
Cookie Gant was a disability activist, a performance artist, a powerful raiser of consciousness, a relentless supporter of diversity in every part of life, and a loyal and perceptive friend. Her passing was an irreplaceable loss in all of our lives. One of Cookie's goals was to help other disability activists experience conferences and other leadership development opportunities that would make them more effective in the movement.
Michigan Disability Rights Coalition has created a scholarship fund in memory of Cookie to achieve her goal. For information and an application, see http://www.copower.prosynergy.org/mdrc/cookiesfund.htm .
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