CDR's own Sandra Roberts is interviewed by WFSB Channel 3 recently about the state's first wheelchair-accessible fan. Read the transcript and watch the video, below!

Download the pdf of the transcipt here.

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Hundreds Roll For Disability Awareness In West Haven

WEST HAVEN, CONN. – About 200 people turned out for Center for Disability Rights’ (CDR) Fourth Annual Wheel-A-Thon (www.wheel-a-thon.org) on West Haven’s shoreline today to raise awareness about wheelchair access and access for other disabled persons, and to raise money to support youth program resources, for which CDR receives no other funding. (For more inform

Participants register for the Fourth Annual CDR Wheel-A-Thon

ation on CDR’s Youth Programs, visit www.centerfordisabilityrights-ct.org/services.)

Fourteen teams participating in the Wheel-A-Thon navigated wheelchairs along two routes – a 1.5-mile-long route, and a more challenging alternate route – both of which are along the preserved shoreline boardwalk in West Haven.

While the event is not a physical competition as much as it is a fundraising event for the Center for Disability Rights, Rick’s Rollers, the team that raised

The top money-raising team was Rick’s Rollers, which raised more than $2,000. The Four Wheel Loggers raised almost $1,500 and Karshutay raised more than $1,300. The top three money-raising teams received trophies and the top team received Dunkin’ Donuts gift cards and a gift card from the Branford Hall massage clinic.

West Haven Mayor and Honorary Wheel-A-Thon Co-Chair John M. Picard addresses participants before the start of the event.

A total of 14 teams registered and, combined with individual donations, the 2009 Wheel-A-Thon is expected to net between $10,000 and $15,000 this year, which will go directly to support the following CDR program areas:

• College scholarships for students with disabilities;
• Advocacy with students to improve their education;
• Communication access services for youth with hearing loss involved in peer support programs;
• Facilitation Services for youth groups; and
• CDR youth transition services.

“We are very pleased that so many volunteered and were able to support the Fourth Annual CDR Wheel-A-Thon,” said CDR Executive Director Marc Anthony Gallucci.

Since 1989, CDR has been promoting options that empower people with disabilities to achieve their full potential and live independently, fully participate in their community, and exercise their rights as citizens. Through advocacy, education and citizen action, it challenges those systems that limit such options.

For more photos of the event, click here.

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11 Students Receive Scholarship Awards From Center for Disability Rights

WEST HAVEN, Connecticut (July 30, 2009) —  Eleven local students received scholarship awards at the Center for Disability Rights’ (CDR) Annual Meeting Thursday, July 30, at Savin Rock Conference Center in West Haven, Connecticut.

                 
The 11 scholarship winners and the towns in (in L-R order of appearance in the photograph available below, and the towns in which they live are:  Justin J. Kruscek of Deep River; Ashley Glorioso of Old Saybrook; Jeanette Anderson of New Haven; Madalyn Wild of Ansonia; Troy Fischer of New Haven; Lauren Cozensa of West Haven (her brother Anthony received the award on Lauren’s behalf); Benjamin Kaufman of Essex; Jason Connolly of Old Saybrook; Seth Cohen of Hamden; and Paige Mino of East Haven. (Not pictured: Albert Maldonado of New Haven.)

Established four years ago, The CDR Annual Scholarship Program is part of CDR’s Youth Programs that also include Youth Transition Advocacy and Education. CDR members, friends, and corporate sponsors, who work each year to make the CDR Annual Wheel-A-Thon a success, make the scholarship program possible. CDR’s Fourth Annual Wheel-A-Thon (www.wheel-a-thon.org), which takes place from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 6, 2009, is a CDR fundraising venture to address the need for youth program resources, for which CDR receives no other funding.

“As a membership organization of people with disabilities, CDR is very pleased that we are able to assist eleven promising students make this important transition into adulthood,” said CDR Executive Director Marc Anthony Gallucci. “We value every community partner and volunteer that has helped us raise the funds to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities.”

Wheel-A-Thon 2006 enabled the Center to offer scholarships to two scholars.  Wheel-A-thon 2007 enabled the Center to offer another two scholarships.  Wheel-A-Thon 2008 made it possible for the Center to offer scholarships to 11 young adults with disabilities from throughout our region.

To be eligible for a CDR Scholarship, all the successful candidates must submit a person essay, proof of their disability and residency, and be enrolled or accepted at a post-secondary institution.

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Connecticut opened its first Aging and Disability Resource Center on Oct. 1, 2008.

CDR Executive Director Marc Anthony Gallucci was there with DSS Aging Services' Pam Giannini (L), and Agency on Aging of South Central CT's Neysa Stallman-Guerino (R).

About the ADRC:

The US Administration on Aging and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have partnered to launch a national initiative for the development of Aging and Disability Resource Centers to promote the integration of long-term care information and referral services, benefits and options counseling services, and access to publicly and privately financed services and benefits for those in need of long-term supports and their families.  The initiative ideally restructures existing resources and programs while complementing other long term care system change activities designed to enhance access to community living for both older and disabled adults by empowering them to make informed decisions through a streamlined long-term support system.

For more information on Connecticut's ADRCs, visit the State of Connecticut website here.

Read the New Haven Register story about the grand opening here.