 | This article reads like a press release or a news article and may be largely based on routine coverage .(June 2017) |
Easterseals (formerly known as Easter Seals; [1] founded in 1919 as the National Society for Crippled Children) [2] is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing disability services, with additional support areas serving veterans and military families, seniors, and caregivers.
Easterseals has a network of locations across the United States. [3] Services assist people with physical disabilities, mental disabilities, and special needs. Parents can find support for a child who has a diagnosis at birth and there are services for people who have a disability due to disease, injury, or aging.
Easterseals' offerings are categorized into support areas: [4]
90% of funds raised go to Easterseals disability services across the nation. Easterseals' funding sources include government grants and agency programs, donations, and fee-for-service initiatives. Donations help the organization provide affordable offerings to clients while maintaining program costs. Easterseals serves about 1.3 million individuals per year. [5]
The name "Easter Seals" derived from an earlier fundraising program: beginning in 1934, colorful adhesive seals, the size of postage stamps, were sold around Easter; purchasers stuck these on the back of mailed envelopes, as a popular tradition was to send cards to friends and family both at Christmas and Easter seasons. Because of the program's success, the organization changed its name from "the National Society for Crippled Children" to "Easter Seals." [6] They have since changed their name to "Easterseals." [1]
In 2003, Easterseals started "Walk With Me" events across the country. Thousands of people have attended these events over the years, generating millions of dollars for disability services. [7]
In 2010, Easterseals expanded the "seal" program through introducing the "Easterseals Blanket." The image on the blanket is chosen through an online vote for the Lily Seal of the Year. Artists submit depictions of lilies to be featured on the blanket. [8]
Since the 1920s, Easterseals has worked with federal, state, and local officials to advance legislation for people with disabilities and disability services. This includes the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Passed in 1990, the ADA guarantees the civil rights of people with disabilities and prohibits discrimination. [9]
Easterseals also created a public service campaign that highlighted accessibility and employment issues [10] to be addressed by the ADA's implementation.
Today, Easterseals continues to advocate for policies [11] that support people with disabilities.
Easterseals' national office, located in the Board of Trade Building in Chicago, provides assistance to several affiliates through management training, implementation of best practices, consultation services, fundraising, marketing, advocacy, and corporate relations.
Nationwide, Easterseals locations provide services to people with disabilities and special needs in their local communities. Each location operates independently as its own 501(c)(3) corporation under the Easterseals name. [5]
Easterseals is governed by a National Board of Directors, which is composed of volunteers, most of whom are nominated by one of the organization's affiliates across the country. Elections to the Board, composed of between 15 and 19 members, are held annually by another larger volunteer body, Easterseals National House of Delegates. Directors are elected for three-year terms, and terms are staggered to achieve strength and continuity on the board.
Easterseals National House of Delegates consists of volunteers certified by their affiliates to represent them as delegates at the organization's annual convention, thus ensuring broad representation of Easterseals affiliates nationwide. In addition to the numerous training and motivational sessions offered to Easterseals board members, delegates and affiliate staff throughout the convention, the Annual Meeting of the House takes place, when the house elects new members to the national board and addresses any other motions put before it.
In March 2020, Easterseals announced the addition of Glenn Henderson, entrepreneur and motivational speaker, and Barry Simon, President and CEO at Easterseals of Oak Hill (CT), to its National Board of Directors. [12]
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, and other characteristics illegal, and later sexual orientation and gender identity. In addition, unlike the Civil Rights Act, the ADA also requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities, and imposes accessibility requirements on public accommodations.
Christmas seals are labels placed on mail during the Christmas season to raise funds and awareness for charitable programs. They have become particularly associated with lung diseases such as tuberculosis, and with child welfare. Christmas seals are regarded as a form of cinderella stamp in contrast with Christmas stamps used for postage.
The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all people with disabilities.
The American Dental Association (ADA) is an American professional association established in 1859 which has more than 161,000 members. Based in the American Dental Association Building in the Near North Side of Chicago, the ADA is the world's largest and oldest national dental association and promotes good oral health to the public while representing the dental profession.
Ontario March of Dimes is a charitable organization which provides programs and services to people of all ages with physical disabilities in Ontario, Canada. Its headquarters is in Toronto. It is not affiliated with the American organization called March of Dimes.
The autism rights movement, also known as the autistic acceptance movement, is a social movement allied with disability rights that emphasizes a neurodiversity paradigm, viewing autism as a disability with variations in the human brain rather than as a disease to be cured. The movement advocates for several goals, including greater acceptance of autistic traits and behaviors; reforms of services - i.e. services that focus on improving quality of life and well-being instead of suppression and masking of autistic traits that are adaptive or not harmful or imitations of social behaviors of neurotypical (non-autistic) peers ; the creation of social networks and events that allow autistic people to socialize on their own terms; and the recognition of the autistic community as a minority group.
The CNIB Foundation is a Canadian charitable organization and volunteer agency dedicated to assisting Canadians who are blind or living with vision loss, and to provide information about vision health for all Canadians. Founded in 1918 as the Canadian National Institute for the Blind to assist soldiers who had been blinded in the First World War, CNIB originally offered sheltered care and specialized employment to people with vision loss. It has since expanded to include other programs and services, including research, public education, rehabilitation counselling and training, advocacy and an alternative-format library for people living with a print disability. It is a member of the Braille Authority of North America.
In Canada, Easter Seals is a group of charitable organizations which supports the development and advancement of people who are living with different types of disabilities. Founded in 1922 by a group of Rotary Clubs, it sought to emulate the success of the American Easter Seals program.
March of Dimes Canada (MODC), officially the Rehabilitation Foundation for Disabled Persons, Canada is a registered national charity established in 2005 by Ontario March of Dimes. MODC aims to provide community-based rehabilitation services and resources across the country to people with physical disabilities.
Various definitions exist for a service animal. The Americans with Disabilities Act defines the term as "dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities". Dogs are the most common service animals, having assisted people since at least 1927.
United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) is an international nonprofit charitable organization consisting of a network of affiliates. UCP is a leading service provider and advocate for adults and children with disabilities. As one of the largest health nonprofits in the United States, the UCP mission is to advance the independence, productivity and full citizenship of people with disabilities through an affiliate network.
Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center is located in Greenfield, New Hampshire, United States. It began as a rehabilitation center for children with polio. However, over the years it has evolved into one of New Hampshire's largest human services organizations, serving students with disabilities at Crotched Mountain School, children with autism through its "Ready Set Connect" programs, and adults with unique needs through Crotched Mountain Community Care.
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit advocacy organization run by and for individuals on the autism spectrum. ASAN advocates for the inclusion of autistic people in decisions that affect them, including: legislation, depiction in the media, and disability services.
Ari Daniel Ne'eman is an American disability rights activist and researcher who co-founded the Autistic Self Advocacy Network in 2006. On December 16, 2009, President Barack Obama announced that Ne'eman would be appointed to the National Council on Disability. After an anonymous hold was lifted, Ne'eman was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate to serve on the Council on June 22, 2010. He chaired the council's Policy & Program Evaluation Committee making him the first autistic person to serve on the council. In 2015, Ne'eman left the National Council on Disability at the end of his second term. He currently serves as a consultant to the American Civil Liberties Union. As of 2019, he also is a Ph.D. candidate in Health Policy at Harvard University.
SourceAmerica is a U.S. nonprofit agency, located in Vienna, Virginia, that creates employment opportunities for people with disabilities through its national network of affiliated nonprofit agencies.
Evelyne Jobe Villines was an American disability rights advocate and political activist who had Poliomyelitis. Villines worked for both the state of Iowa and the federal government as an advocate. The Des Moines Register called her a "nationally known spokeswoman for the disabled" in 1992.
YAI, previously known as the Young Adult Institute, is an organization serving people with Intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in the United States. YAI launched as a pilot program at a small school in Brooklyn, New York, in February 1957. The pilot program was run by co-founders Bert MacLeech and Pearl Maze and served seven people with I/DD. Today, YAI has expanded to a team of over 4,000 employees and supports over 20,000 people in the I/DD community. YAI supports people with Autism, Down syndrome, and Cerebral palsy, among others.
Howard Center is a Burlington, Vermont-based nonprofit organization that offers professional crisis and counseling services to children and adults; supportive services to individuals with autism and developmental disabilities who need help with education, employment, and life maintenance skills; counseling and medical services for those struggling with substance use disorders; and interventions and supports for adults with serious and persistent mental health challenges in Chittenden County, Vermont's most populous county. Howard Center collaborates with many community partners and is a United Way of Northwest Vermont-funded agency.
People with disabilities are at greater risk of contracting COVID-19 and have higher rates of mortality than non-disabled populations. This is especially true for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, individuals who reside in care facilities, and women with disabilities. People with disabilities are at greater risk of experiencing mental health issues related to the pandemic, such as feelings of loneliness and isolation. They may be at greater risk of domestic violence and abuse during the pandemic. People with disabilities are more likely to experience unemployment as a result of the pandemic and may require changes to the types of accommodations they require for work. Children with disabilities are experiencing disruptions to their educational programming. Remote learning poses a host of challenges for children with disabilities, including disruptions to physical and occupational therapies and access to assistive technologies.
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