 The Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities

Be a part of Disability Awareness 2009 Defining people only by their disabilities can be hurtful and limiting. See others for who they really are and you’ll learn a lot about true character.

 19 th annual MDAM campaign  Unique theme every year  Artwork featured people of all ages, with and without disabilities, painting over a wall with disabilities written on it R

 Educate people on people with disabilities  Evaluation forms from previous year allowed the Council to improve campaign and materials R

 Well-known campaign  Media were friendly and helpful  Educators, community and organization leaders expected the campaign and were ready to organize activities R

 Advocacy  Independence  Fairness  Writing and phrasing R

 Raise awareness and understanding of disability issues in the home, business, school and neighborhood.  Promote independence, integration and inclusion of all people with disabilities. P

 Children  Youth  People uneducated on people with disabilities P

 Put people first. Instead of saying “the blind boy,” say “the boy who is blind.”  See others for who they really are--don't just focus on their disability. Define people by their true character.  Say "my friend has a disability," rather than "my friend is handicapped."  Treat people equally. Don't feel sorry of go overboard in how you treat people with a disability just to make them "feel" better.  Give the person a chance to say something or do an activity on his/her own. Like you, he/she has ideas and wants to try new things.  Wait to offer help until someone is ready or asks for help. Then you can help him/her out.  It’s okay to ask questions when you're unsure of what to do.  Visit IndianaDisabilityAwareness.org for more information. P

 Media: PSA’s, Press Releases and Television Ads  Outreach: On Target Newsletter, Governor's E-newsletter and Conferences (All to order MDAM materials) P

 Follow-up calls to coordinators to find events to pitch to media  Press Releases sent to Indiana television, radio and newspapers  PSAs sent to Indiana radio stations C

 Bookmarks  Stickers  Posters  Activity Idea Booklets  MDAM Information Packet  CD-ROM C

 Media- all publics › Press releases › Personal feature stories  Educational Materials- children and youth › Classroom activities › Community events C

 Recorded media coverage › Clippings › Google alerts › PSA follow-ups  Coordinator feedback forms › Satisfaction and comments on MDAM › Activity › Impact on and number of participants › Impact on community E

 Use coordinator feedback  Traditional Media › PSA › Press releases  Social Media › Twitter › Facebook fan/event page › Blogs  Training & idea sharing conferences E

 About. (2009). Retrieved April 19, 2010, from Indiana Disability Awareness:  Borshoff. (2009, Feburary 19). Celebrate March Being Disability Awareness Month: PSA Pitch. Indianapolis, IN, USA.  Borshoff. (2009, Feburary). MDAM Bookmark Indianapolis, IN, USA.  Borshoff. (2009). MDAM Evaluation Governor's Council for People With Disabilities: Indianapolis.  Borshoff. (2009, Feburary). MDAM Press Release Indianapolis, IN, USA.  Regnier, J. (2010, March 30). Account Coordinator. (E. Vincent, Interviewer) 