Editor, OBSERVER:

We are The Make A Mark Self Advocacy Group based out of The Resource Center in Dunkirk. We are writing this letter to spread awareness. As many of you may or may not know, in the month of March there is an annual campaign that takes place called Spread the Word to End the Word/Spread the Word for Inclusion. This campaign has been taking place nationwide since it was founded in 2009 by two college students named Soeren Palumbo and Tim Shriver. The purpose of the campaign is to raise awareness of the fact that people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities still sometimes face exclusion, social isolation, and social abuse in schools, workplaces, and communities. Which prevents us as a society from being truly inclusive where we can grow and learn together.

This March we are encouraging people to “Go All Inclusive”. This means speaking up against the wrong and demeaning use of the R-Word (retard or retarded) as well as using this language to demean and hurt people.

We believe that the world would be a better place if people valued, respected and embraced all people. We also believe that it is important to educate people on the importance of Inclusion because people with disabilities are part of what makes a community.Our hope is to try to make more people aware of the isolation and exclusion that many people with disabilities face every day and to encourage people to be a part of breaking the cycle. You can do this by acting to make your school, workplace and community more inclusive to all by seeking out someone who has been left out or bullied, be a friend, or just take the time to get to know people before making assumptions.

We not only want you to use the month of March to spread this awareness. We would like to encourage you to do this all year long by always keeping an open mind, invite diversity into your discussion’s, have a safe space for people to talk about their beliefs and most of all remember that we are all equal and deserve a chance to be included.

The actions you take can help educate others on how to make the world more inclusive place for all. You can also take the pledge to go all-inclusive by logging onto www.SpreadTheWord.Global/Pledge.

BETH E. RAY

Self Advocacy Adviser & The Self Advocates of Make A Mark Group,

The Resource Center, Dunkirk