Author | EAPD Press Team
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Employment Alliance for People with Disabilities
2012 Winner of the Martha Arbuckle Award
2012 Winner of the Martha Arbuckle Award
The Employment Alliance for People with Disabilities (EAPD) is a joint effort of organizations and professionals working within their community to achieve the highest success in enhancing the empowerment of people with disabilities. The EAPD is dedicated to "building a culture of access and inclusion in the modern workplace® and champions diversity and inclusion strategies that recognize and support best practices in the employment, advancement and inclusion of people with disabilities. EAPD activities include educating employers on how to meet their workforce and market needs by attracting and retaining a diverse workforce and guiding businesses strategies to expand diversity and recruiting efforts by outreaching, hiring and retaining people with disabilities, older Americans and wounded warriors. The EAPD has achieved state and national recognition. The EAPD was chosen by the Texas Governor's Committee on Persons with Disabilities as the 2012 winner of the prestigious Lex Frieden Employment Award in the Martha Arbuckle Category --which recognizes the SINGLE most innovative committee and project in the state of Texas that has transformed the lives of job seekers with disabilities. The EAPD supports and is founded upon the principals of independent living, that being the right of all people to control and direct their own lives and to participate fully and meaningfully as equal member of society.
Breaking through barriers, the EAPD hosted a Job Fair targeted to people with disabilities and open to the public. The first of its kind in the Coastal Bend, the EAPD Job Fair was held at Del Mar College Center for Economic Development in October 2011, in celebration of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Leveraging the strengths and resources of the community it serves, the EAPD Job Fair was produced entirely through in-kind donations, which included public transportation shuttles and accommodations such as large print/Braille, sighted guides and certified ASL Interpreters to guarantee that all attendees had equal access. The EAPD Job Fair helped to create a culture of access and inclusion in the workplace with regional employers by inviting them to join the EAPD, and encouraging them to request specific training and resource information and additional resources relative to the economic benefits of welcoming individuals with disabilities as both employees and customers. The EAPD Job Fair received local media attention that helped to influence and change cultural attitudes and to promote effective workplace practices that ensure that today's workforce is inclusive of all people. The EAPD Job Fair was an outstanding success with over 350 attendees from throughout the Coastal Bend region, most of whom were job seekers with disabilities, and 40 private-sector employers present. The EAPD is set to host the 2nd Annual EAPD Job Fair in October 2012.