Inclusion in the Workplace
Hello everyone,
This past Thursday, I was honored to have been invited to present at the annual Columbia Valley Job Fair and Career Expo. Theresa Wood, an advisor at The Columbia Valley Chamber of Commerce had invited Tanelle Bolt (the founder of Recreational Adaptive Society) and myself, Inclusion Educator and co-founder of Count Me In, to be speakers on accessibility and inclusion in the workplace. I was excited; not only to be asked to speak, but also that a light was being shed on this important topic.
Society has started to include and promote a lot of different minority groups in the workforce, which is wonderful, but one of the minority groups that is not thought about is people who have diverse abilities. Employers, like many other people, do not often know what people who have diverse abilities can do in the workplace, or what adaptations can be made to allow them to work.. I was very grateful that people who have diverse abilities were considered at the Job Fair, and loved that I had the opportunity to show people what we can do.
My business partner, Crisanna, was very enthusiastic, too. We created a powerpoint that advocated for the right to work for people with diverse abilities. In the presentation, I would speak a bit about my life story, to show the audience what people with diverse abilities are capable of and how we can handle challenges, which makes us ideal workers.
There was a fun, interactive exercise where, a volunteer, Richard read out a list of circumstances, and asked people to stand up and then sit down if they felt the circumstance read aloud applied to them. This was to show people that diverse abilities are more common than they think, and that we all have things we struggle with.
We had a short time span in which to have everything ready by. I appreciate how hard Crisanna worked with me to get the powerpoint done. We were a great team!
Finally, after many long days of work, the day of the Career and Job Fair was here! That morning, we arrived early so we could do some last minute preparations. My mom and aunt were there to cheer me on. Our good friend Bill helped with mic setup, and to run through my speech We can always count on him. Earlier in the year, Count Me In hired an Administrative Assistant, Landon, who has given us technical help. He has been great to work with, and as a thank you, we invited him to watch me present..
I think it is normal for everyone to get stage fright before they go on stage. My tummy was sure doing some flip flops at first, but once I saw the welcoming crowd who had come to watch me speak, they went away. There was a great turn out! I felt that I spoke really well. Once I got going, it felt effortless! I was able to get my message of inclusion across just the way I wanted to.
After I went, it was Tanelles' turn to present . She spoke extremely well. She has worked in interior design, and is certified to give accessibility assessments, so she knows her stuff! I was proud of her. She definitely got me fired up about getting some portable ramps made for businesses downtown.
It was a great morning, and we were served lunch after too.
I’m very grateful for the opportunity to speak at this career fair. Thank you to everyone who made this career fair possible for remembering to include people who have diverse abilities. The more we get out there and show people what we are capable of, the more opportunities we will have, because when people know better they do better.
*I have a few attachments below for people to look at; especially for the people who saw my presentation
The presentation at the Career and Job Expo was filmed, so you can watch my speech
A resource list for the local services for people who have diverse abilities in my hometown
02 23 Resources Job fairs (3).doc - Google Docs
A slide in my powerpoint on ways that businesses can be proactive in making sure they are accessible and inclusive for all.
Feb. 28 Cran Job Fair Proactive Inclusion - Google Docs
I was interviewed by our local radio station about speaking on accessibility and inclusion at the job fair
An evaluation form that people who attended my presentation can fill out and send back to me by email:kginclusionworkshops@gmail.com
Comments
Post a Comment