Ideas for Disability Awareness Week Projects

• Review your school or workplace for barrier-free access to persons with disabilities.
  
  
• Organize a Disability Awareness Walk 'n Roll for your school, local park or nature trail.
  
  
• Review the information on Disability Awareness Week at the website : www.gnb.ca/0048/.
  
  
• Have your boss or supervisors adopt a disability by using a wheelchair, wearing a blindfold, using ear plugs, etc. for a chance to see how they would cope with a disability.
  
  
• Purchase and use Disability Awareness promotional items from the provincial committee.
  
  
• Have an open house in your facility to demonstrate services and programs available to persons with disabilities.
  
  
• Organize a guest speaker on disability issues for your group's meeting or staff lunch session.
  
  
• Bring in a DVD or video on disability issues to watch with fellow workers over lunch.
  
  
• Have your local principal, mayor, church leader or department head officially declare Disability Awareness Week.
  
  
• Set up a display table to promote information from disability organizations to educate your staff and clients.
  
  
• Promote a scent-free environment at your school or workplace.
  
  
• Organize a public picnic/barbecue with entertainment or talent displays by persons with disabilities.
  
  
• Approach your local media to do stories that profile individuals with a disability and/or local examples of the practice of inclusion.
  
  
• Distribute by information sheets and/or email some specific tips on how to respond to persons with different types of disabilities.
  
  
• Sponsor an advertisement in the local newspaper and/or radio station to support Disability Awareness Week. Remember to use your newsletter.
  
  
• Promote the Random Acts of Inclusion campaign.
  
  
• Have a casual dress down day and donate the participation fee to a disability related community organization.
  
  
• Put up posters and send emails for all offices and buildings to promote Disability Awareness Week.
  
  
• Ensure that signs are easy to understand and have large print and good color contrast.
  
  
• Arrange for person(s) with a disability to visit your school or workplace.
  
  
• Organize a special employee lunch hour to promote stress reduction with a fun physical activity.
  
  
• Help support your local chapter of a disability related organization and come up with a specific project to recognize Disability Awareness Week.
  
  
• Call your local Community College or University president to find out what is being done in your community to include persons with disabilities.
  
  
• Monitor parking spaces reserved for persons with disabilities to see if the vehicle has the necessary placard.
  
  
• Set up a local contest in the schools to seek ideas on how to make your community more inclusive and how to reduce the impact of disabilities.
  
  
• Find out if your local municipality has a cross-disability advisory committee. If not - start one.
  
  
• Ask your local churches and community halls about systems to help hard of hearing participants
  
  
• Speak up for inclusion at every opportunity.