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IMPACT


Improving Inclusion in Volunteer Programs

(Sidebar in original publication)

Below are steps that organizations can take to ensure that their doors are open to volunteers with developmental disabilities. For additional information or assistance related to any of these items, local chapters of disability organizations such as Arc, Easter Seals, or United Cerebral Palsy can be valuable resources, as can disability agencies and services.

  • Evaluate your program’s accessibility on the physical, programmatic, attitudinal, and economic levels.
  • Be familiar with your obligations under disability-related laws.
  • Include as a part of your volunteer and staff training a section on disability awareness and sensitivity.
  • Ensure that your volunteer or service positions have clear position descriptions stating the essential functions of the positions.
  • Ensure that your application process and all forms are accessible.
  • Actively recruit qualified persons with disabilities by sending information about volunteer positions to local disability agencies. Add an inclusive statement to all of your recruitment materials (e.g. “Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply”).
  • Make the interview about ability and not disability.
  • Be prepared to coordinate reasonable accommodation requests. Determine what resources are available to implement accommodations before anyone ever makes a request.


Adapted with permission from materials written by Helen Lowery and Amy Desenberg-Wines of Disability Consulting, L.C., Norwalk, IA 505/981-4113 or aw411@earthlink.net


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Resources: Resources and Related ICI Publications

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Citation: Shoultz, B., Miller, E.E., & Ness, J. (2001). Impact: Feature Issue on Volunteerism by Persons with Developmental Disabilities, 14(2) [online]. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration. Available from http://ici.umn.edu/products/impact/142/.

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Hard copies of Impact are available from the Publications Office of the Institute on Community Integration. The first copy of this issue is free; additional copies are $4 each. You can request copies by phone at 612-624-4512 or E-mail at icipub@umn.edu, or you can fax or mail us an order form. See our listing of other issues of Impact for more information.

The print design version (PDF, 448K, 28 pp.) of this issue of Impact is also available for free, complete with the color layout and photographs. This version looks the most like the newsletter as it was printed.

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