Bender Leadership Academy/Bender Student Leaders Program Students

Welcome to Disability Matters with your host Joyce Bender. All comments, views, and opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the host, guest, and callers. Now the host of Disability Matters, here's Joyce Bender.

Hey everyone, welcome to the show, to everyone in the United States. Oh, I have such great listeners. They are so awesome. I get so excited when I meet someone and they say, hey, I know your voice, so, you know, thank you for your support. And around the world, how about these countries around the world that support this radio show? And that starts with my close friend Mr. Richard Roberts. He is so awesome, and he is in Brazil, but I worked with him in both Japan and South Korea. That's how long we've known each other. Hard to believe. And he is, like, so passionate and caring about people with disabilities. I just love him and can't wait to see him this fall. In Brazil. And Gangyong Cho in South Korea. Gangyong, such a great young man, also with the State Department. He's fabulous. And Cheryl Smith, who's right at the State Department in Washington, D.C., great person. And Vinya Meen in Kazakhstan. Hey, I love all of you and I appreciate your support. And a special shout out to my close friend Yoshiko. Yoshiko Dart, special shout out to you. And to my sponsor, Highmark, who has been the lead sponsor for over 6 years of this radio show. So hi everyone, welcome to the show. And today we are going to talk to Scott Hammerstrom, Jason, and Brooklyn about the Bender Leadership Academy. Uh, very close to my heart, as any— all my listeners know. And my favorite guest, young students with disabilities. It just doesn't get better than that. And our great leader, Mr. Scott Hammerstrom. I love this Academy, and I have these superstar graduates. Let's start with Scott. Would you explain to our listeners what the Bender Leadership, uh, mission is for our students?

Uh, thank you, Joyce, and thank you so much for having me on to talk about the Bender Leadership Academy and Joyce Bender. And happy 20 years of doing this radio show and all the great guests you have had over the years. It has been, I am sure, an incredible journey for you. And hopefully you have another 20 to 25 more years doing this. And for Bender Leadership Academy, it is a nonprofit organization that we started in 2018. But we have been doing programs for students with disabilities for over 20 years now. And what we are trying to do is— or Our goal is to increase long-term competitive employment for students with disabilities, and we deliver competency-building programs such as our Student Leaders Program or our Work Readiness Program that will enable our students with disabilities to engage in educational and empowerment and work opportunities. And, you know, for all our students, we celebrate their successes, and we get to watch them set and achieve their career journey goals. So basically our job is to get students with disabilities and get them ready for the world of work.

And I wanted to ask you, Scott, how different are these students from when they start? Because I know they make a speech at every class. How different are they from when they start to when they end?

Oh my goodness. So for our student leaders class, we have our students, they meet monthly. And so from November until May. And at November, they're all sort of hesitant, nervous to speak on the, in the class, and maybe their speeches are a little bit short, just don't have that confidence. But each class they get a little bit better because each class they have to do a speech. And each class gets better and better. And by graduation class or the class number 7, I feel some of them could already take over my job and teach this class because they're that good.

Oh, I just heard one of the speakers, phenomenal, at one of the graduations. I'm going to tell you, I tell these students, one of the most feared, feared things across the world by people is public speaking. And here these students are, they're going to knock it outside, out of the park all the time. I mean, not afraid, right up there. It's so incredible. And I just want to tell you, and I'll tell you this throughout the show, you want to support these students. Bender Leadership Academy is a not-for-profit, so make a donation. Go to benderleadership.org and make a donation because these students deserve it. Students with disabilities, I love them so much, uh, and one wonderful young man is Jason DeSantis, who is with us. So Jason, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself and what it meant to you to be in the academy?

So thank you. My name is Jason DeSantis. I am an 11th grader from Ambridge, and the opportunity to learn at the Bender Leadership Academy has definitely changed my life for the better. Throughout the academy, I've learned tons of different new skills and have bettered my confidence in public speaking and my confidence in just talking to people overall. I appreciate the opportunity to learn here.

Wow, Jason, you didn't tell me you had radio voice. I mean, you went right through that. You were very good. I didn't know you had that radio voice. I can see why you were so successful. Scott, did you want to make any comments about Jason?

Yeah, so Jason is in our, um, we call it certification class. So Jason, you got to earn different certificates throughout the year, um, because you started in October and went all the way to May, just had your graduation. So can you tell me some of the certifications that you received?

Sure thing. So there's online collaborations, there's different ones like word processing or Excel spreadsheets or Access databases, there's cybersecurity, there's a wide variety of certifications on offer.

Yeah, and those are all great marketable skills, and you got a certificate for each one that you earn. And Ms. Bender and I had the opportunity to attend the graduation that they just had. So we never met Jason before, and each of the students had to give a speech. And Jason just knocked it out of the park. We want him on our radio show, or Joyce's radio show. So we appreciate that. He just did a great job. And we heard a lot of great things from your teachers about all the things that you were doing. So we appreciate it.

Yeah, let me say, the next time some adult says, oh, radio show, I'm nervous, I'm going to say, really? You better go listen to Jason. On my show. We ask him to do something, oh sure, there he goes, moving right along. And wait till you hear our next student, Brooklyn Walker. Brooklyn, welcome to the show. Oh, she's calling back.

She was having some technical difficulties, I think.

Okay, well, we'll wait till she calls us back. But in the meantime, we're going to go to break, and I want you to go to benderleadership.org. Read about this program, make a donation. My company, Bender Consulting, uh, we are supporters of the Bender Leadership Academy. Once again, it's a not-for-profit. It's not Bender Consulting. Uh, benderleadership.org. And with that, we're going to go to break. If you just joined us, we're talking to Scott Heimerstrom, the manager of programs and partnership at the Bender Leadership Academy, and Jason DeSantis, a graduate of the Bender Leadership Academy. This is Joyce Bender. We'll be right back with Scott and Jason. Don't go away.

Streaming live, the leader in internet talk radio, voiceamerica.com. Are you currently receiving SSDI or SSI and wanting to work? Did you know there is a free Social Security program called Ticket to Work to help you You try work without risking your benefits? My Employment Options is an authorized SSA Employment Network specializing in work-at-home and local job placement in 47 states. Our clients receive a personal counselor to help find the best job fit and a staff-certified benefits counselor for help with Ticket to Work protections. Ready to try working? Apply for free job placement help at myemploymentoptions.com. Since 1985, Bender Consulting Services has served as a national leader in advancing employment of people with disabilities, including veterans with disabilities, with private sector companies and federal government agencies. Bender assists customers with achieving their diversity and workforce inclusion initiatives by tapping into a talent pool of individuals seeking professional positions, including those in the STEM fields. In addition, Bender services include disability employment consulting, training, and technology accessibility through their high-tech line of service. For more information, please visit www.bender consult.com. Follow Voice America at facebook.com/voiceamerica for juicy updates from your favorite radio shows and podcasts.

You're listening to Disability Matters. If you have a question or comment, call in toll-free at 1-866-472-5788. That's 1-866-472-5788. Now please welcome back the host of Disability Matters. Here's Joyce Bender.

Hey everyone, welcome back to the show. We're talking to Scott Hammerstrom, the manager of programs and partnerships at the Bender Leadership Academy, and Brooklyn Walker and Jason DeSantis, students, graduates from the Bender Leadership Academy. And boy, that academy is so awesome. And you will see what I mean when you hear our next guest, Ms. Brooklyn Walker, who I just think so highly of you, Brooklyn. Welcome to the show. Uh, would you introduce yourself to everyone and tell us what you learned from the Bender Leadership Academy, but also what did it mean to you to win the Linda Dickerson Scholarship Award?

Thank you. Hi, my name is Logan Walker. I'm a 10th grader. What I learned from Bender Leadership Academy is gaining public speaking skills, practicing presentations for each session from the beginning of the lessons, meeting and learning about entrepreneurs, preparing for the When learning the Linda Davidson Scholarship— no, winning, sorry, winning the Linda Davidson Scholarship, I felt I never imagined myself ever achieving a goal like this in my life. I imagined my life to be basic. The reason why I say that is because I always wanted something meaningful that I'll impress myself and others. I also wanted to create a trophy collection one day because of my mother. After I got my scholarship, I didn't expect to be invited to a special event. I felt like I finally made it, especially at a young age.

Well, you deserved it, Brooklyn. What do you have to say about that, Scott?

Oh, I'm very proud of Brooklyn. She's just been an amazing young lady. And she is going to be a leader. You know, she went through our student leaders program, and then she is doing our advanced student leaders now. And she literally is a leader in the class and so supportive of everyone in the class. And anytime I have asked her to do anything, absolutely, she does it right away. She has just been a joy to watch grow and her confidence grow as we go through this past year.

And she can come back because she could be an assistant, as Jason can. At some of the other schools, I have assistants that come back. But I am proud of you, uh, Brooklyn. You have just done such a great job. And Scott, I wanted to talk for a minute about Slaughter Stigma and how our listeners make the pledge. And I am going to say, let me say, she is a friend of mine. I love her. And I am going to turn it over to you to tell more about Karen.

Yeah, absolutely. Thank you, Joyce Bender Leadership Academy. We have partnered with New York Times bestselling novelist Karen Slaughter to bring awareness and propose action to end stigma of all people, including people with disabilities. So we have the Slaughter Stigma Campaign, and what that is, is we encourage the use of truthful and positive portrayals of people with disabilities. We're educating the public on stigma and stereotypes of people with disabilities with a focus on breaking down the myths and we're empowering others to be allies of people with disabilities by identifying and committing to actions that they can take on an individual level to end stigma. So if you go to our website, which is benderleadership.org, and under the student section there is a Slaughter stigma path, and there's on there— you can watch a video of Joyce Bender, there's one of Carrot Slaughter, But right below that, there is a pledge. You want to pledge to treat others with love and respect, use language that is positive and empowering to others, educate others about the harmful effects of stigma on our society, and be an upstander when I see someone who is being bullied or marginalized, and being an ally to people with Disabilities. So we want everybody, not just students, we want everybody to take this pledge. And if you go to our website and look under Slaughter stigma, the pledge will be right there. You just fill out your name, takes less than 25 seconds to do. And the more pledges that we get, we'll be able to share this to Karen Slaughter and, and help with that stigma of that with, for people with disabilities. So thank you, Joyce Bender, for letting me able to talk about that. But I know she's very good friends with you And besides all the great books she has, there's also a television series on ABC each week with Will Trent.

Yes, Will Trent has dyslexia. He has a learning disability. That's how we became friends. She included people with disabilities in her books, but not pitiful, not weak. Not unable to perform. Will Trent is the profiler that catches the bad guys. He is the key hero, the champion, and he lives with a learning disability. And may I say, that show is great. Will Trent, ABC. What night did you say, Scott?

I believe it's Tuesday nights at 10 o'clock on HBO— I'm sorry, on ABC, and then the following day I believe it is on Hulu.

Okay. Also, Pieces of Her, a movie on Netflix, is based after her novel Pieces of Her. So I'm telling you this because you can see how famous Karen is. So I am asking you This has nothing to do with money. When you hear the word pledge, don't think pledge money. No money. Doesn't mean you're doing anything with money. Go to— listeners, go to BenderLeadership.org and take that pledge. The pledge of really being a good citizen. Take the pledge today. After the show. Okay, well, I am so excited about that, and I'm also so excited about the Linda Dickerson Academy. I have to ask you, Brooklyn, of everything in that class, what did you enjoy the most?

What I joined— what I joined the most was the entrepreneurship. It was with Miss Blackwell, the owner of Knoxland, and I asked a bunch of questions because I was invested in her life and how she ran her business. She's also a Black woman that sells bow ties, and I also met her in person at the DMV.

Right, that's right. Oh, she is phenomenal. She is really phenomenal. And I think, Mr. Hammerstrom, don't you have one of those top bow ties?

I do. Brooklyn. So I enjoyed her speaking as well. And she inspired me. We teach in our Advanced Student Leaders entrepreneurship, and she started her own business making bow ties and selling them all over the world and country. And people, I think, from— use her ties for the Academy Awards. And I had one commissioned for myself. With the colors of Bender Leadership Academy. So I wear that at all of our events that we have for disability mentoring or for Bender Leadership Academy. Oh, and I love that bow tie.

Beautiful. Yeah, it is. It is absolutely beautiful. I got to ask you a question. You, Brooklyn, you spoke in front of a lot of people. A lot at Disability Mentoring Day, and you did very well. So I have to ask you, what gave you this confidence to speak publicly and not be afraid?

How I gained my confidence was in the 8th grade. I just decided to ask questions and read paragraphs during history class because of my flaws. My flaws were lack of vocabulary because one, I have been reading a bunch of books. I used to read like a lot of books and I stopped doing it and I just realized how my vocabulary just wasn't there and I want to be more, be more sharp when I grow up. And I also suffer with a stuttering problem. And how I further my confidence is from the assignments from Better Student Readers. Each assignment required speeches, and I continued this, of course, in Bender Leaders, Advanced Leaders, and at the DMV.

Well, you did a great job, I'll tell you that. Uh, and you can tell. I just want to say, this is once again an example of a graduate of the Bender Leadership Academy that I hope you are supporting. These high school students with disabilities by going to benderleadership.org and make a contribution today for these students. Jason, I didn't ask you yet, what did you enjoy the most about the Bender Leadership Academy, and did this academy help build your confidence?

The one thing I definitely enjoyed about the Bender Leadership Academy was just how interactive everything was. Having the lessons teach you and then having, like, just step by step showing you what to do and giving you, like, examples on how to, like, complete said tasks. And I think that that's just really helpful because it just shows— like, it's not just showing you, it's letting you do it so that you retain in your memory better. I think that the Academy did build my confidence because it gave me more of a voice to be heard. It like eased me into everything and it would like slowly help me get like by giving me tips on how to like speak better, like facing people, speaking confidently. And for that, I do appreciate it. Thank you.

You're welcome. Well, you can tell you're a good speaker. That's very obvious. Hey, Scott. For our listeners, we have a program called Digital Access at Work. Could you talk about that?

Oh, yeah, absolutely, Joyce Bender. Digital Access at Work is something that we created a program because we felt that there was a need. So what it is, is we develop essential competencies in the emerging field of digital accessibility. So understanding the need to test mobile applications and websites to ensure everyone, including people with disabilities, can consume content and interact independently. Joyce, I think you mentioned, is it 90 to 95% of all the websites out there are not accessible to everybody?

97. 97, that's right.

97%. There are a lot of companies out there behind the 8-ball with making sure that their websites are accessible. This is a need. So we created this class. Typically, we do it in the summer, and they're like online. It's 10 2-hour sessions, about 20 hours of instructional content to teach the accessibility to young people with disabilities. And they get to understand how people with disabilities use technology, digital accessibility basics, use of assistive technology tools., you know, in standard accessibility analysis tools, because it's not just for somebody who's totally blind. It could be somebody who has a little vision. It could be somebody who is colorblind. You have to make sure it's accessible for them as well. So we have been doing this, and then last year a great company called AudioEye partnered with us, and so they were speaking at some of our classes during the summer., and then they have a need with their business of doing digital accessibility to hire people. So they're willing to— for our graduates— willing to take them on and to train them, getting paid, and teach them more stuff about digital accessibility. And then our students can get paid for that, and then they can do, as people call it, the gig economy, right? So they can do pickup jobs small projects whenever they have free time, and they can work on this and get paid for it. So it's a win-win for the— for AudioEyes. It's a win-win for our students because they get paid work experience. And we're so excited that we told this to PPG Foundation, Joyce, and they have given us a grant, and because they love what we're doing with digital accessibility, and they're going to be partnering with us, and hopefully and speaking in some of her classes upcoming as well. So we're very, very excited about that.

Yes, I, I was saying, Scott, sorry I got cut off there a minute. I was saying that first, thank you, PPG, because what you're doing is investing in the future of young people living with disabilities, high school students. That's what you're doing by providing this career opportunity to them, which is phenomenal. And thank you, AudioEye. You know, we get the investment from PBG Foundation, but we get the actual job opportunities from AudioEye. And Jessica, I want to point out something. You may have said, "What? All those websites, they're not all inaccessible." Well, yeah, they are, and here's why. I'll talk to someone and they'll say, "Oh, we're accessible." And we'll say, "Okay, do you have color contrast? Do you have accessibility for people with intellectual disabilities?" "Well, I'm not sure about that." In other words, they aren't. So there are people that— companies, they think they are, but they really are not. They have not checked all these boxes. So why we're talking about this? This means career opportunities for users, sighted testers, and that would be students who learn digital access at work. And President Biden is working to push through an executive order enforcing compliance to Section 508. And that would mean all federal contractors have to be accessible 100%. So there you go. That could be big job opportunities for you. And so that's why I'm so excited about it. And with that, time for our news break with our newscaster, Perri-Jude Radesik, who always does a fantastic job. Perri-Jude, welcome.

Joyce, thank you. Thanks for having me.

Of course. So what news do you have for us today?

Joyce, one of the pieces of information in the news, whether it's television or newspapers, is It's the debt ceiling, and the debt ceiling and budget negotiations are underway between President Biden and Congress. This is always a challenging time for disability advocates, and here's why: because we always have to react to proposals that want to cut Medicaid or limit funding for programs that support people with disabilities. Now, this afternoon House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is scheduled to meet with President Biden to pick up on negotiations that ended in February of this year. Now, part of the news we're all reading about is that the U.S. government is expected to run out of money and not be able to pay all of its bills on June 1st. So again, what does that have to do with disability advocates? Well, There's always debt ceiling bills that want to limit Medicaid in some way. So, we must send a message to our legislators that any funding caps, cuts, or changes that limit eligibility for the Medicaid program threaten us as people with disabilities, that threaten a safety net that would normally be there. And a promise to people with disabilities that here is a safety net for you if you need it. So we have to make sure our legislators know that they cannot agree to Medicaid cuts that amount to working against the health and safety of people with disabilities. The U.S. House of Representatives already passed a bill at the end of April that would raise the debt ceiling and slash federal spending, and it would impose work requirements on people with disabilities. Now, this includes people with disabilities who are unable to work, but they would have to get a doctor's certification to say that their disability prevents them from working to bypass this work requirement. So Joyce Bender, it's really rough out there. We know advocacy matters. Disability advocates need to speak up and tell Congress to stop cutting access to Medicaid and to keep Medicaid out of the debt ceiling negotiations. So how do you do that? Go to disabilityrightsPA.org. That's disabilityrightsPA.org. Today's Advocacy Matters segment is up on the home page. Click on today's Advocacy Matters segment, and in that segment at the bottom, you will find a link to the Arc's Action Alert page. There you can send that simple email to your legislators to support and protect Medicaid through the debt ceiling negotiations. When you're there, you'll also see a fact sheet from the Bazelon Center on Medicaid work requirements and people with disabilities, and an article from CNN on the House-passed debt ceiling bill from the end of April. So Joyce, we need people to get over to disabilityrightsPA.org, click on today's advocacy matters segment, and send that message to our members of Congress that this is not okay.

Uh, oh, it is definitely not okay. Perry, is there any read at all on, you know, how these negotiations are going or how they will go? I mean, is there any read on that?

Not right now. I think maybe when the president and Speaker McCarthy come out of their meeting later this afternoon, we might have a better understanding of where things are headed or if those negotiations have broken down. So we're going to just keep our advocacy up. And make sure that legislators know, don't put Medicaid in this negotiation.

It's not okay.

No, and it's taking lives. People with disabilities can die.

It is.

I mean, this is really serious. So make sure, listeners, make sure you go to Advocacy Matters and follow up with what Perry suggested that you do. And Perry, you'll have to keep us up to date on this.

No, absolutely I will.

Okay, have a great day, Perry.

You too, Joyce.

Take care.

Boy, that is, uh, that is a serious thing there, Scott.

Oh, absolutely, absolutely. It's important meetings, and hopefully they can get that resolved.

That's for sure. Um, so Scott, I wanted to talk a little bit about the hashtag #NotAshamed and, you know, the Mary Brooker Mental Health Initiative, you know, how they are tied together. So once again, this is at benderleadership.org, and everyone knows we're having a crisis in this country with mental health, and we need to do everything we can. So, Scott, how about if you explain it?

Yeah, so a few years ago we started the, the Mary Brocker Mental Health Initiative, and we're trying to incorporate it in all the curriculum in our programs. And we focus on mental fitness training, mental health advocacy, and we started a campaign called Not Ashamed. Which I'll talk to you about in one minute. But I wanted to share with you some of the statistics that I found. Because 1 in 4 adults have a mental health disability, and 7 of 10 teens report mental health struggles. And students with disabilities are at an increased risk of being bullied. And Joyce Bender, you— both you and I know that because in every one of our classes all of our students pretty much have been bullied. And bullying is a link to mental health concerns and increased risk for suicide-related behavior. And so we are trying with this campaign, the Not Ashamed campaign, to spread the message that we are not ashamed to be living with a mental health disability. That you have the ability to take power away from the centuries-old stigma and misconceptions about mental health and promote truth about mental health. We are trying to spread awareness that mental health fitness matters to everyone as a component of overall wellness, just like nutrition and physical fitness. And so we are asking everybody to, you know, to take a stand. People not— should not be held down or dismissed or bullied or belittled because they have a mental health disability. So we want people to join our mission to replace that Fear with knowledge, hate with understanding, and shame with pride. And what you can do is we are asking people to make a quick 15- to 20-second video to be on your cell phone and just saying like, hey, I am Scott Hammerscham and I have a mental health disability. I am not ashamed. Or if you are just an ally and want to support somebody, say that as well. And then we want to send it in to us and you can send it in to to myself at shammersfrom@benderleadership.org. And then what we will do is we will put it on Facebook and social media to get that word out there, that stigma, and that you are not ashamed. And we have had, we were very fortunate, a few weeks ago one of your guests, Ty Herndon, did a, was on your radio show, but he did a video, very well-known country star. We have had people from Congress, we've had PBS anchors, we've had students with disabilities, Brooklyn has done one, and so many other great people who have done one. And we're going to put them all on our website as well, get them out there on social media, and we want to get this Not Ashamed campaign all over the country and all over the world.

Yeah, and you know, Mary Brocker was the president at Joyce Bender Consulting, and one of my absolutely closest friends. And almost soon, 2 years ago, she was in a hiking accident and I lost her. The world lost her. Was devastating to all of us. And Mary lived with clinical depression for 40 years, and she loved high school students. With mental health disabilities. That's why it's named after her. But if you want to, you've got to do that. Not ashamed. Go to your cell phone when you hang up, bendyourleadership.org, and it'll tell you how to do it. Because as Scott said, you will be among Ty Herndon, Grammy-nominated country star, Valerie Jarrett, Advisor to President Obama, one, I think, two or three Congress people, and the top people from NPR, and most importantly, a ton of young people and people with disabilities. All you have to do, by the way, go to our website, you can see them all, and/or Go to YouTube and put in Bender Leadership Not Ashamed, and you will never believe how many videos will come up. We want you to be in that. We want you to be part of this national campaign so people see you. Oh yeah, Brett Hundley, who is an NFL star, he was on. So make sure you go, make sure you do this, because it's all about Supporting high school students with mental health disabilities. And Scott, one more time, how did they go to that dropdown?

For, you know what I mean, donation for a donation for what I do. If you just go to our website, Bender Leadership Academy, right up top, there is a donate button. You just click on that. And, uh, you could donate that way. Very easy to do.

And isn't there like a dropdown where it shows what you can donate to? Like, one for—

yeah, there's different amounts that you can donate, or to what program you're interested in donating to, or you can put other, but you can pick an amount that you want. So we make it real easy for you to do.

vendorleadership.org. Hey, when we were talking about bullying I wanted to ask you, Brooklyn, how many kids have you seen bullied, kids with disabilities?

Sally, I have not. I never came across that.

Not you, other kids in class.

No.

Because when we, when we go to our classes, As Scott said, and if we ask, "How many of you have been bullied?" You are really lucky, Brooklyn, because I would say almost the whole class raises their hand and says either in elementary, middle, middle school, someone called me names, someone did, said something terrible about me on social media, someone excluded me from events. The very first Bender Leadership Academy class that I did in Delaware, the entire class of 25 people raised their hand that they had been bullied. And Scott, isn't it similar with all these classes we have?

It is. It is very similar. You know, we asked, and I am proud of the students because it is not easy to talk about, but a lot of them were raising their hands and sharing the stories in front of their classmates of the times that they have been bullied. And it is not like when I was in school where you maybe get pushed in a locker. You know, nowadays bullying, it can happen 24/7 because of social media. So it is always there, and they, and they, and our students are struggling, which then causes mental health concerns, and it is a downward spiral. So We are doing everything we can to stop the bullying. We talk a lot about it in our classes.

Yeah. And that is what Slaughter Stigma is all about. Just a couple other things I wanted to go over, Scott. Valerie Jarrett Community Engagement. What is that?

The Jarrett—

Valerie Jarrett Community Engagement. Community engagement is another great partnership that we made because Joyce Bender, you were friends with Valerie Jarrett, who used to be a senior administrator in President Obama's administration. And so we wanted, we want our students to be very well-rounded. So one of the things we discussed is we wanted to talk about community engagement. We want our students to be advocates. They want, I want them to be self-advocates. And we want them to learn about their rights and especially about the importance of voting. So we talk about the importance of registering when you are becoming 18 to vote. And, you know, if they are going on to school, to be advocates for themselves if they need accommodations. So we are teaching them a little bit about the whole process, especially with voting, because sometimes they are not getting taught that at school anymore. So we wanted to make sure that our students are very well aware of their rights and about disability rights and talking about the, uh, the ADA as well.

Yeah, it's so wonderful. And one other thing, you guys won't believe all the great things we're doing at the Bender Leadership Academy. I know that many of you are upset about art being cut at schools which I am also. So Scott, what are we doing about that?

Well, going back to being a well-rounded student, we partnered up with the Pittsburgh DLO and we created a program which is called Artcessibility. So they are the experts in the art field and music and dance. So we have a class that some of our students can attend if they have that interest in the arts. And the teachers from CLO will teach them about music and dance and getting them involved in the arts. And we just had our first class that just finished up in March, I believe. It was very successful, and we hope to continue on doing that with the Pittsburgh CLO for additional classes coming up.

Oh yeah, it is so awesome. It really is. Hey Brooklyn, I want to ask you a question. If you would talk to someone, another high school student with a disability, and they're interested in the Bender Leadership Academy but they aren't sure, what would you tell them?

I'll tell them to like give it a shot or like ask the ones that are running the organizations to do like a 1-day trial.

And what would you tell them why? Why should they do it? How would it help them?

It will help them learn more about their disability and give them like great opportunities and help them like connect with people with other disabilities.

That is so true, because when you go through this class, it's all about raising the bar, not lowering the bar. And I feel it makes a tremendous difference. And Mr. Hammerstrom and I, we are on our way tomorrow to Delaware to attend the graduation ceremony for the students at Network's Bender Leadership Academy. And how excited are you about that, Scott?

I am very, very excited to see these students because I've been in every class so far for the Delaware students, and I am so looking forward to meeting them in person and taking a tour of all the things that they do. And it's going to be a great couple days.

Well, I want to ask you, Scott, what, what have you enjoyed the most about Bender leadership?

Well, working with the students, but one of my favorite things is when you and I, Joyce, we get to give away a Linda Dickerson scholarship to a student for $1,000. So Each year— this year we're giving away 16 $1,000 scholarships. So we surprise the students and we get them on a call with you and I, and we try to make sure that their parent is nearby, and we get to extend the— that they won. But they have to go through an application process and do a couple essay questions, and then we get all the applications in, and then we have this big panel who reviews all the applications. These are executives from different corporations.. And so it is not easy to win, but when we get to offer them and they are just shocked because sometimes they never won anything before. They do not have the financial resources, so $1,000 is a lot of money to help them with going to school or getting ready for the world of work. And sometimes you see the students cry in joy or the parents cry in joy. And then sometimes the parents do not realize what their child can do, you know, that they can accomplish things. And it's one of the great things I get to do.

Oh, it is. You know, it is a wonderful thing. And you know what, if you would go to these graduation ceremonies, you would never believe how thrilled these young people are when they get that certificate. And to me, the best thing about this is the students. I'm with you 100%. And oh, that Linda Dickerson Scholarship, I always feel as I'm giving someone like a $70,000 scholarship by the reaction of the recipients. So I just want to say one more time, you know, go to benderleadership.org, uh, and make a donation. One other thing before we go, we have a great program going on, Partners for Youth with Disabilities. Scott, would you share that in case anyone listening wants to be a mentor?

Yeah, we're so excited. We, we're working with Partners for Youth with Disabilities, PYD, and they received a large grant from the Department of Justice. Joyce Bender. And so we are a subawardee, and we are in Pennsylvania going to be starting a, it's a vendor mentoring initiative. And we are up and running right now. We are just getting everything, the logistics built up. But we are looking for mentors and mentees. So youth with disabilities, you know, between 11 and 17, you know, who sometimes get in trouble with the law because they have a disability or whatever, or truancy, or bad home life situations. We are trying to get them mentors. So we are looking for mentors as well to help mentor these young students with disabilities and get them on the right track, to tell them about school being important and to work hard so they can be successful. So we are looking for mentors who have an interest in mentoring our students 4 to 5 hours a month. It is a very small commitment that, you know, you could do it virtually. You can go in person. Go to a ballgame with them or whatever their interests are. We will match them up with your interests between mentor and mentee. And we are asking for people to volunteer for this for 1 year to help these students who are in dire need of some mentors.

OK, so if you're listening to the show and want to be a mentor, it isn't that much time. How much time is it again, Scott?

4 to 5 hours a month.

4 to 5 hours a month. That's all it is. And it can be virtual. So if you are interested, make sure you get back in touch with us. Scott, how should they reach you?

You know what, you can, uh, easiest way is to contact me. My phone number is 412-446-4448, and I'll be glad to get you to the right person, and we can explain a little bit more about the program. Or you can email me at shammerstrom@benderleadership.org.

All right, make sure you check it out. Well, it has been a pleasure being with you Joyce Bender. Today I love talking, love talking about the Bender Leadership Academy and how awesome all of these students are. And by the way, how awesome you are by supporting us and allowing us to grow that academy, but also by listening to the show because you can spread the news to someone else. Scott, Thank you for being with us and Brooklyn.

Thank you, Brooklyn. Thank you, Joyce Bender.

You're welcome. And we end every show with a quote, and today this is one of my favorite quotes. As a matter of fact, I just said it in one of the last graduations. Never bend your head, always hold it high. Look the world "Look straight in the eye," said the great Helen Keller. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters, at voiceamerica.com. Talk to you all next week, and in the words of Mary Brooker, choose joy.

Voice America would like to thank you for tuning in. Please join us next Tuesday at 11 AM Pacific time and 2 PM Eastern time for another installment of Disability Matters, right here on the Voice America variety channel. We are the leader in live internet talk radio. VoiceAmerica.com.