Mental retardation and other related developmental disabilities affect more than seven million people. March is National Mental Retardation & Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month and a time to focus on the abilities of these individuals. The theme this year is “Success – when doors open we succeed.” People with developmental disabilities work, volunteer, give back and enrich our lives and our community, which is the true meaning of success.

This year, our nation continues to address serious budget issues, seeking to provide security – in every sense of the word – for all Americans and ensure that each one of us has the opportunity to pursue our dreams and to contribute our own unique talents to the fabric of our communities. The diversity that enriches our nation and the freedoms that all Americans cherish are embodied in the lives of people with cognitive, intellectual, and developmental disabilities – those whose interests are often overlooked and whose needs are often unmet when budgets are tight.

MDS encourages you to bring diversity to your community by welcoming people with disabilities into local neighborhoods, workplaces, houses of worship and schools. We hope you will get to know some of the 600 people we serve who may be your neighbors, your bagger at the grocery store or your child’s schoolmate. You’ll learn that everyone has something to offer. Focus on what people can do. To find out more, visit our website at www.mesadev.org .

Sincerely,
Anita Pisciotte
Executive Director
Mesa Developmental Services

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 23rd, 2008 at 6:05 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.