CSR - Wal-Mart Stores’ charity grant to support services to one-fifth of Americans with disabilities
Last updated 19/07/2009 13:01:56
CSR - Wal-Mart
Resources helping 54 million Americans with disabilities will be further supported from a grant of $500,000 awarded by the Walmart Foundation to the National Organization on Disability's (N.O.D.) Emergency Preparedness Initiative (EPI).
N.O.D., founded in 1982, promotes the full and equal participation and contribution of one-fifth of the U.S. population men, women and children with disabilities in all aspects of life. The cross-disability organisation has a fully-dedicated emergency preparedness program and personnel experienced in emergency management and disability issues.
The grant from the Walmart Foundation will support EPI to:
- Revise and improve educational and training materials;
- Reach out to more states, counties and localities;
- Expand its network of advocacy organizations;
- Increase its outreach activities for people with disabilities; and
- Increase awareness nationwide on this critical issue.
EPI's outreach, education and awareness efforts aim to position people with disabilities as a central component of emergency preparedness plans at all levels, while also ensuring that people with disabilities take steps to prepare themselves.
Carol Glazer, N.O.D. president said: "the aftermath of September 11th exposed an obvious vacuum in the emergency preparedness universe. We created EPI to address the critical need to educate a wide range of audiences about how to successfully implement emergency procedures for people with disabilities".
EPI has worked to bridge the divide between the disability and emergency preparedness communities through its award-winning "Partners in Preparation" outreach campaign, the establishment of the first-ever disability-preparedness "Technical Assistance, Outreach and Education Center" and individual-level training on preparedness for 4,500 people in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, among other programs.
EPI's work following Hurricane Katrina influenced legislative changes in the Post-Katrina Reform Act, including the establishment of a National Disability Coordinator position at FEMA.
In 2006 EPI's team found that 85.7 percent of community-based service providers for senior citizens and people with disabilities did not know how to access the emergency management system before the disaster. "Emergency preparedness for the disabled concerns all Americans, because anyone can join the disability community in an instant," added Hilary Styron, EPI national director.
www.nod.org/emergency.
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