Hammerstrom/Rubin: The Bender Leadership Academy Prepares High School Students with Disabilities for the World of Work

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, hello, welcome to the show. This is Joyce Bender with Disability Matters on Voice America. Joycemcclure.com. I hope everyone is having a great day, but I have to start by saying thank you. Thank you. You know, right now you don't know how much it means to me that I have such loyal listeners. I mean it. Thank you. And to those around the world, we have over 137 countries with listeners. From China to Australia to Saudi Arabia. Whoever that one person is in Saudi Arabia, boy, you're there on a big day because I know this is the peace talks between the United States and the Ukraine. Sorry, I had to think about that for a minute. But I always say, and Perry, you've heard me say this so many times, Even if it's one and only one listener, you can make a difference. What you need to do is go to other people with disabilities, have them go, uh, to any, like, NGOs where they have English-speaking people, uh, where you can let them hear this, because you're helping change lives. And especially Shout out to Germany. You are the largest listening audience. And although my father 100% Italian, my mother was 50% German. So, hey, there you go. Thank you so much, though, for your listening. Yoshiko. Oh my God. Yoshiko Dart, you're going to love this show because it is your one and only favorite thing, the Bender Leadership Academy. So, you all know this, you know, on Facebook, we have a Bender Lead On team, which is high school and college students. If you were just now building it up, so if you're listening, jump on Bender Lead On team on Facebook and put out any comments that are motivational that will help other people. Again, Bender Lead On team. On Facebook. So, I called Yoshiko Dart. Her husband, who passed away over 10 years ago, was the late, great Justin Dart Jr. And Justin was— who lived with polio and used a wheelchair— was the general. He was a giant behind getting the ADA signed and so many other things. I only wish I spent more time with him, but hey, I'm close to Yoshiko, so the spirit of Justin is still there. But I called her because Justin's famous saying is "Lead on, lead on no matter what." And I said, Yoshiko, could I use that lead on for the Bender lead on team? And she said, of course. But you know what? She was always behind the Bender leadership. Leadership Academy. She is the most wonderful person. I'm so honored to have her in my life, and she loves young people living with disability. So I give her a special shout out every show, and I have for years, probably as long as you've been on, right, Perry?

Yes, absolutely, at least that long.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And also, thank you, Highmark, who is our sponsor. And this is the 30th anniversary of Bender Consulting Services, and the company that helped me get started was Highmark. I'm— I always say Highmark sets the high mark for other companies to follow. So Special thanks to you, Highmark. Now, this is one of my favorite things. Mr. Hammerstrom knows this. Mr. Scott Hammerstrom, I'll call you today Mr. Scott. I like it. Mr. Scott, Mr. Scott knows how much I love the Bender Leadership Academy and these high school students with disabilities. As a matter of fact, Mr. Scott, Paula and I are driving tomorrow to Delaware to the very first ever Bender Leadership Academy class. And you know what? I get so excited. I do have the— oh, I get to see them tomorrow. I love them. And I love you. I love all of the students in the Bender Leadership Academy. But hey, let's get started with you, Mr. Scott. How about if you introduce yourself to everyone and tell them who you are and what you do.

Well, Joyce, thank you so much for, uh, for having us on the, the radio show today. I'm Scott Hammerstrom. I'm the manager of programs and partnerships for, uh, Bender Leadership Academy, and I've been working full-time on the nonprofit side since 2020, but I've been working with you since 2007, so 18, 19 years. And, uh, um, and I have the opportunity to work with some great, great young people like CJ and Alex, uh, that you're gonna get to hear today. Um, I just love the opportunity. I love seeing our students, um, grow from class number 1 to our graduation, um, and that the confidence that they gain and all the soft skills that they gain, and they get the feedback after they graduate and, and go to— going to school or finding a job for the first time, um, you know, the successes that they have, it's just absolutely amazing. So, uh, you're going to hear a couple stories today, um, so we're excited to be here.

And you know what, we're blessed to have you. Mr. Scott is the most wonderful person, and you know, you can have— I always say you can teach anyone certain skills, but not passion. You either have it or you don't, and he has it. Uh, okay, Miss Rubin, it's so nice to see you. Miss Bonnie, how are you today?

It is nice to be here. It's great to be on the East Coast, so, um, I know what time it is. And my name is Miss Rubin, and I am the senior program specialist, so I coordinate all the delivery of service for all of our programs. But I am blessed that I get to teach these young people about getting ready for the world of work, and I am passionate about it, and I love these students almost as much as Ms. Bender. I learn from her, I watch her, and I am just so excited to be here with these two. These are superstars. These students are awesome, awesome. And so I am so excited that you invited me to be here as well.

Another blessing in my life. Let me tell you what about Miss Bonnie Rubin. She is so passionate. I mean, she loves this, which she does. She loves it. And I love her. And she is really epitomizes having gratitude, which is so important today. Um, okay, CJ, who are you? Where do you live? Where do you go to school? Let's hear it.

Uh, so I'm CJ Rick. Um, I'm a senior at Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School, a cyber charter school in Pennsylvania. Um, I'm not sure the best way to describe myself.

Sorry, but, uh, where do you live? Where do you live, CJ?

Uh, I live in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.

And where is that? Is that closer to Harrisburg or to Pittsburgh?

That's closer to Pittsburgh, I believe.

Okay, well We're happy to have you here with us today, CJ. Can't wait to talk to you more. Uh, and do you go by Alexandra or Alex?

I go by Alex.

Alex. I love Alex, except she went to Westminster College.

Yes, I do.

The rival of Geneva College. Actually, Alex, my CFO Kelly went to Westminster, and she was a little thing on her desk that says Westminster. I keep going in, turning it over when she's not here. Um, but Alex is just the most delightful young woman. So, Alex, where do you go to school? Where do you live? What are you doing?

I'm from Manaca, Pennsylvania, a little bit outside of Pittsburgh, and I'm currently a sophomore at Westminster College, and I'm double majoring in political science and professional communications and leadership.

Oh, there we go. You know what, the senators that I know, and like, like, um, Tammy Duckworth, uh, or former congressmen like Tony Coelho, or senators like Tom Harkin, uh, or my close friend Ted Kennedy Jr., do you know what they talk about all the time? We need young leaders to follow all of us, you know, in the disability political realm and run for office. So here we have Alex, political science. I'll be watching you. I'll be watching you. Um, and Perry is our anchor. Perry, tell everyone what you do as the CEO at Disability Rights PA.

Joyce, uh, it's a pleasure. I, I lead 51 staff people from across Pennsylvania with offices in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Harrisburg, and folks who work remotely. And our job is to, uh, really investigate abuse and neglect and, uh, prevent discrimination and then provide legal advocacy services for people who have been discriminated against. And that's what we do, and it's terrific work. Our work includes education, housing, employment, transportation, voting, really you name it, that's what we do as long as it's a person with a disability with a legal-related issue. So, yeah, and our services are free, and so we love to maintain that, and it's a wonderful staff, so thanks for asking.

So, you know, if you're in Pennsylvania and you have a disability rights issue, There it is. Um, your—

what— your website, Harry, is Disability Rights Pennsylvania— DisabilityRightsPA.org. That's DisabilityRightsPA.org.

And you're my co-anchor. You're my news anchor, I should say. Um, and she is so great. Well, here's how I want to start. I want to start Mr. Scott, if you could tell everyone, what is the Bender Leadership Academy? What is it?

So we are a nonprofit organization. We started in 2018, and our mission is to empower students with disabilities to address bullying, pursue their education, and achieve their career goals. And our, our vision is a future where every student with a disability reaches their full potential through inclusive, equitable, and employment opportunities. So what we do is we work with young people with disabilities and prepare them for the world of work. And our ages are between 11 and 22 years of age for all the students. Focus mostly in Western Pennsylvania, but we have CJ, who's in cyber school, so all over Pennsylvania. And as you mentioned, Ms. Bender, we're going to Delaware where we first started. We have a class on Thursday. So we have a bunch of different programs from work readiness of student leaders, advanced student leaders. We teach digital accessibility. Um, Ms. Ruben's going to be talking a little bit about our two new programs, which is our, um, program for middle school students, and we have a Ready to Lead program. We have a mentoring program, and we also have education to employment. So we're teaching them the skills to get a job, but we're also giving them real-world experience, uh, working for our place as well. So we, uh, we're trying to a full-service nonprofit organization to help students with disabilities succeed.

Wow, that is so— and it's so important. You know, there are so many young people out there that need help, and you know, we can't reach everyone, but I always say, but one person, it's worth it if it's even one person. And by the way, everyone, where we go in Delaware, Newark, Delaware, is only about an hour from Philadelphia. So that will be, uh, you know, visiting schools. That will be our next chapter, going east. Even though we don't like the Eagles, we will go. No, I'm just kidding, just kidding. Actually, I was happy they won because no one should win 3 times, so I was happy that they won.

Okay, Joyce, if you're going to be in Newark, Delaware, you better get an Eagles jersey.

Well, guess what? They— you don't have to worry. I knew this. So the last time I went there, we took— was it cupcakes, right? Or was it a cake? I can't remember now.

We had cookies that were green to celebrate the Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, for the students.

Hey, it's still Pennsylvania. Right? Still, so I told all of them, I cheered for you. So remember, when the Steelers are in the Super Bowl, you have to cheer for them too. And I know they would. So, Miss Rubin, we only in the past worked with high school students.

That is right.

And now we were so excited in a new frontier. Do you want to talk about that?

Oh my God, I would love to talk about it. So we started getting some requests from middle schools about the need for work readiness because it is something that they want to start early. So we talked to some people and we created a curriculum. Now the curriculum focuses more on healthy mind habits and preparing students for the challenges that they will face as they, you know, move out of middle school into high school. But every day we have a word of the day, a work word of the day. So initiative or teamwork or accountability, gratitude. But then we also focus on healthy mind habits, how to deal with peer conflict, how to deal with, deal with bullying, how to be an upstander versus a bystander. And each student gets a book called The Mindfulness book for teens, and there's all kinds of activities in there and scenarios that help them to start to learn how to navigate the challenges that they're going to face. And also teaching them about emotional intelligence, to be aware of their emotions, to talk about them, to name them. And it is going so well. We just got a testimonial. I don't know if Mr. Hammerstrom has that, that he can share at least a sentence or two, but The kids are so engaged. I happen to be driving to Florida and my sister was in the car and she heard Liza and I teaching this class and it happened to be the bullying class and the students were sharing their stories. I'm getting the chills right now. And it was so powerful and she is going to write a testimonial and she has never, you know, heard the teaching or heard the kids. She was so impressed. With how these students express themselves and the power of our program. So I just am so excited about the possibilities of moving this program into other schools. It's 10 sessions. They're 1 hour long. They seem to be the perfect length. We, we have, you know, interactive videos. We have you, Ms. Bender. We always show a little bit of Ms. Bender. She did some videos. And if it's appropriate, we show a little bit of Ms. Bender. And, um, you know, starting to plant the seeds of work, but also dealing with the biggest challenge in middle school, which is mental health and dealing with their emotions and all those things.

And, uh, Mr. Rubin, I do have the testimonial. So, Ms. Bender, we received a testimonial from the teacher who helped coordinate, um, from their school, the, um, Insight PA Cyber Charter Middle School. And so they wrote a nice email to us, says, "This program has been a monumental success through the uniquely designed curriculum created by Bonnie and Liza, through the empathy, encouragement, and openness they express towards our students during the sessions. Our 5 stellar junior leaders have grown immensely since the start of the program." It goes on and on, but they just absolutely— the teachers are overwhelmed by this program. And the success of it and the growth of the students. And they're already talking about doing this for next year and, and continuing on with our Ready to Lead program, which we'll talk about in a little bit. But it's great to hear the feedback that we're getting for this program.

Oh, that is so— I'm so excited about that. And Miss Rubin, I can imagine because Mr. Hammerstrom, I've been with you when the students speak up and you know what I tell them? What do I tell them, Miss Rubin? What are they?

You are awesome.

She's got it. That's right. So speaking of you are awesome, Alex, you'll have to come off mute. Okay, so Alex, tell us when you went through the Bender Leadership Academy. And, you know, how that impacted you.

I went through the Bender Leadership Academy when I was a senior in high school, so it was still online, but we had our meetings once a month. And I think the thing— I was talking to my parents about this a little bit last night— but I think what I gained the most from it was just feeling so supported and feeling such a sense of community, having so many other students around me who were sharing their same experiences and kind of learning about having a disability and how that affects other people and kind of being able to see how we all kind of relate in one way, whether or not we knew each other. So I think that was kind of the biggest thing I gained from that, just that feeling of support and community with other people.

Well, that is— that makes me so happy. See, this is what I always say. As everyone knows, I live with epilepsy and I'm hard of hearing. And when I was the national chair and now the local chair, I have no words to tell you what happens to a child with epilepsy when they meet another child with epilepsy. Because the disability has so much stigma that to them, they think there isn't anyone like them. And when they're going through school, no one like them. Imagine having a seizure in 7th grade in the hall. I mean, can you imagine what you go through? No, even I cannot imagine. But then when that person meets other people their age with epilepsy and they say, "Oh, let me tell you what happened to me. I was speaking and right in the middle I had a seizure," or whatever it is, it changes things just like you said. Alex, hearing about other disabilities, it is so different. Same thing with the deaf community. That's why everyone loves Gallaudet and NTID, because all of a sudden you're not the minority, you know, you're in with other people with the same disability. And I do believe that. I believe that. How about you, CJ? What would you say impacted you the most? And you have to— there you go.

I would say going through the Bender Leadership Academy, it's just been really helpful to be with other students my age and, you know, understand their struggles. And we have such a supportive community. I would say it's really like— I feel like I would just be ripping the words out of Alexandra's mouth, but it's just having such a supportive community and knowing that we can talk about these things and learn from each other and get a new perspective and, you know, realize we can build our strength from our weaknesses because our weaknesses are still our strengths.

That is so true, CJ. So I have to ask you another question, CJ. How nervous were you when you had to give that first speech?

Quite nervous.

But did you notice how it changes, you know, as you go along doing it? How about you, Alex? Were you nervous the first time?

I was very nervous. Yeah. But I noticed like each time I would give a speech, I felt better and better about it.

Yeah, it is amazing. Mr. Hammerstrom, how do people change from class 1 to graduation?

It is night and day. So the first class, you know, some of the students are afraid to even get up to speak, or they're whispering, or their speech is only like 10 seconds long. But by the, you know, the 4th class or 6th class, they're They're giving 1 to 2 minute speeches. They project, they are confident. Sometimes a lot of students don't even use notes or just use them frequently. It's just, it's night and day between class 1 and graduation. And it's just amazing. I have no words. It's just amazing to see the growth in all of our students.

Yeah, first class you have maybe 1 or 2 people that when I say, okay, who would like to come up first, raise their hand. But by second class, ever, you know, more people. And by third, everyone. People even say to me when I walk in, they'll say, can I go first? I want to go first. Can I go first? And it is just remarkable that when you believe in someone that they realize their greatness, just like CJ and Alex. How many people do you think there are in the world that get on a radio show? Not a lot. And here you two are being heard all around the world, and that is— you should be proud of that. You should tell people that I was on an international radio show You know, Germany, all those countries I told you. And how many kids you know are— I bet very few are on an international radio show. And with that, hey, we're going to get ready to go to our news break with Perry Jude Radesik, which, Perry, I can't imagine which thing you're going to talk about today. But I'll turn that over to you, Joyce Bender.

You know, there's so many things going on in DC right now. The Senate has to still deal with the budget reconciliation package. The House is dealing with the continuing resolution, so hopefully they'll figure out how to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year. There's so much going on, but you know what also is coming up The deadline to file taxes. We can't miss that. The deadline to file taxes is April 15th. That's right around the corner. So it's important to remind your listeners about the accessibility of the Internal Revenue Service because it has such an impact on taxpayers across the United States. And the IRS has been working for years to improve their accessibility for people with disabilities so that that the tax system is fair and efficient for all of us. And that's more than just physical access to the offices. It's also about getting information. How easy is it to get information that I need to file my taxes? How easy is it to get information so that I can understand my tax obligation? And how easy is it now for me to file my return? Because the IRS now offers free tax filing. So on their website. So we've got to make sure that that is an accessible method for people with disabilities. So as I said, over the years they've improved accessibility through its online presence. They have a website that serves— if you've been on there, you know how comprehensive the IRS website is, and it offers a range of tools from the tax forms itself to the instructions to more specific guidance about any issue you might have about filing your taxes. The website is compatible with screen readers and other assistive technology, so that's great. And then they have tax forms and publications that are accessible. So if you go to the website and you want a particular tax notice, uh, and it's not already accessible on the website, you can call the IRS and ask them to send you that form in an accessible format. This is the number. It's 800-TAX-FORM. That's 800-TAX-FORM. Easy to remember, and you can ask for anything in an accessible format. We have to remember the IRS is still subject to Section 504 and is still subject to the 1973 Rehabilitation Act and other civil rights laws, include including the ADA. So it's really important that you have access to it in any manner in which it is accessible to you. So Joyce, advocacy matters. If any one of us or someone we know needs accessible formats to file their taxes, go to disabilityrightsPA.org today Click on today's advocacy matters segment. Halfway down the page is the segment, and you will find the link to the IRS webpage that has all of their accessible tax products. So accessibility is important, and the IRS really does help to ensure that all of us can meet our tax obligations, Joyce. So that's disabilityrightspa.org. Click on today's Advocacy Matters segment for a link to the webpage for the IRS that has all the accessible information.

Thank you, Perry, but I have to tell you, we did a webinar yesterday for free for people with disabilities and the people without disabilities because of so many people, you know, losing their employment. On how to write a resume, how to interview, and we will continue doing that. But during this time, I've also had questions for you. Sure, Kerry, on the radio show, what have you heard about Medicaid?

Yeah, uh, so even as of the start of your show, the president had insisted there were not going to be any cuts to Medicaid or Medicare. He's not— no matter what Mr. Musk says, the president says he's not supportive of any cuts to Medicaid and Medicare. That being said, that's fine to say you're not cutting Medicaid, but what about work requirements? What if you're going to put in place work requirements that could end up being a cut to services? So they're out looking for fraud, waste, and abuse, and they think that's gonna— that's how they're gonna find $2 billion in— or $2 trillion in the United States budget. I don't know how they get to that number. This is when we have to be— pay closer attention, Joyce, is after April, because right now they're working on the continuing resolution. The Senate has to take up the budget reconciliation in April.. And then after they pass a reconciliation bill, then the House and Senate committees will start to figure out how to find cuts necessary to meet, uh, to meet $2 trillion. And that's when things are gonna have to heat up a little bit around Medicaid for all of us, for sure.

Wow, very happy to hear that news about Medicaid and Medicare. I would say to everyone to heed Perry's advice. You need to watch or listen to the news. It will impact you right now, so you need to be on it. You need to be listening. And thank goodness we have so many great things such as the Vendor Leadership Academy. So, um, I have a question for you, Miss Rubin. Joyce Bender: During this time, what have you learned the most from the students? Like, how have they impacted you? I guess is what I'm saying.

Joyce Bender: You know, it's interesting, because when Alex and CJ were talking, the thing that impacts me the most is the community that is created organically, the way the students from different schools— because virtually we combine different schools, even in person now we combine different schools. And the way they support each other is just— first of all, it was fascinating to me. I didn't expect that to happen as much as it did. But the way that they support each other and create that community. When AJ was selected, I mean, CJ was selected to be the student speaker for his group for the graduation of his class. And the first thing he asked me was, can I talk about the other students in the class and how they've affected me and how they're doing in the class? I said, "Absolutely, CJ," because they do exactly what CJ and Alex both refer to, is they get a different perspective and they also realize how many other students have similar challenges to them, and that gives them confidence. And like you said, Ms. Bender, when a student with epilepsy meets another student with epilepsy, how that changes them. And I think that what happened without us knowing it— so we have all this curriculum and all this stuff we teach them about work. But what happens in the chat and what happens between the students, I think, is the thing that impacts Liza and I the most. I can't tell you how many times I cry, and Liza is worse than me. And because we are so touched by their stories, but also by their grace. By the way they present themselves, no matter what their disability is, I think the grace in which they share and the vulnerability that they show is the thing that impacts me the most.

And how about you, Mr. Hammerstrom? And I agree with you, Ms. Rubin. It's—

Well, I can definitely confirm about Ms. Rubin and Ms. Widop crying in just about each class. Not each class, but it seems like it. But yeah, it's just, um, I, you know, what Bonnie said is exactly true. It's just, I'm just, you know, just so proud of all the students. And, uh, I think I get— I learn from them as well. And it's just, uh, I just love each class. Each class is a little bit different because we teach different things. And, uh, Like I said, I get a lot out of it as well. And just, just proud that I get to be a part of this.

It's not sad tears. It's proud.

It's happy tears. Proud tears.

Proud tears. It's like, I'm so proud of them. Like, they step up, you know, almost all of them. There are a few that have a difficult time because they're shy or they're introverted, but most of them will step forward. They'll step up. They'll step out of their discomfort and they will, you know, go, go beyond their comfort zone. And that is CJ, Alex represent that so much because they're so articulate. But, you know, it's hard to get up in front of people that you don't know and it's hard to— but the growth in both of them. So CJ's only been in Student Leaders and Alex we've known a little longer, but The first speech is everybody, even the most articulate, even the most extroverted, even the most, you know, confident. That first one is tough, right? And they just, they do it.

And Miss Bender, we've seen that in person at our host site, Highmark, for our student leaders class. We were there last week, and one of the students, you know, the first time she didn't want to speak at all, or couldn't, and then Second got a little bit better, and the third, she's making progress. And, uh, and it's better. I'm not sure if you want to talk a little bit more about that, but you, you saw it firsthand, this, the impact that we're actually—

I thought about that with two students, but the first one that Mr. Hammerstrom is talking about, uh, is a person with, uh, significant autism and other disabilities where she has great fear and anxiety. And the first class, she did not want to go up. Then, you know, I had to go up and stand in front of her like she couldn't see the audience. Now this class walks right up, sits down by herself, not with the teacher. And although she read the speech by looking down, it was like monumental change from the beginning. And another student was used to— she always sit in the back of the class the first time. It seemed like she wouldn't be that involved, and she went from that to being the most involved. Wouldn't you say, Mr. Armstrong?

Yeah, absolutely. And the other thing that I noticed, you know, the first class, you know, young people, they're not volunteering to speak. Nobody wants to raise their hand, and there's very few who do, like 1 or 2. But each class, as you move forward, everybody's raising their hand to volunteer to speak. Like, you know, we don't have to choose anybody. They, they all just raise their hand and want to do it.

Oh, I've had classes where I never had to choose anyone.

Yeah.

You know, every person raised their hand, which is amazing. I just want to say, and I tell them all the time, There are executives that would not want to get up there and speak. I mean, there are business people that would say, "Ah, I don't want to do that." But you do, which is so amazing. Alex, when you see now today, or if you would hear about students with disabilities that are bullied, what would you say to them?

Um, I mean, I think there's a lot like I learned from this class that I would say, but I think one of the biggest things is to lean on the people around you. Just hearing so many other students that were so supportive of me, I think was very important. But also another big thing that I learned from this class that I've kind of noticed in my own growth is just the change in mindset of having a disability, where I think when I was younger, I thought a lot about what jobs can't I have, what can't I do? And then kind of, and I now as a result of this class, more of a mindset of, you know, how can I prepare for this career? How can I advocate for myself? So just kind of having that shift in mindset, I would definitely say focus on how to live kind of not around a disability, but live with it and through it and learning that this isn't something that's going to go away, but it isn't something that sets you back either.

Oh my goodness, you are so polished, young woman. And that answer, oh man, what a great answer. So if you're listening right now and you're a high school student with a disability, and by the way, say you're listening and you have a nephew or a niece or a brother or sister or son or daughter, whatever it is, and you know they're being bullied at school, you can get this show. Just go to Spotify tomorrow or Amazon, and you can hear it. You can hear it on Audible. Disability Matters with Joyce Bender on voiceamerica.com. Because you never know how much hearing these two young people could be impactful in ways you can't imagine. Joyce Bender: How about you, CJ? What would you do to— what advice do you have for someone listening right now who is being brutally bullied?

CJ Davis: I would say that for those who are being bullied out there, do not give up hope. That is the main thing to do. Do not give up hope. Sorry, I am getting my words mixed up a little bit. It is very important that you do not give up hope because just from like what, you know, my peers have told me in the student leaders program, hearing their stories, it's all been about hope getting them through them and hope getting them through these experiences. And from the people I've helped, you know, when they've been bullied and that really you need to be, be there for others. And if you need others, you need to find someone who can be there for you. And it can be very hard to express yourself. You can be very, um, hard to open up, depending on what it is. Um, but do not give up hope and never give in because you are you know, valued, and you have the worth of a human being.

Wow, CJ is going to become a motivational speaker or pastor, don't know which thing. But when you talked about hope, you can't give up hope. You can never quit. You can't quit. You know, there is one thing If you sit around and you're thinking and you're afraid, that's not going to help you. Action will help you. You've got to move. You've got to have action. You've got to keep going. And you've got to remember who you are. Always tell students, think of a remote control. When you don't like something on TV, you change the channel. When someone says something to you you don't like, you do the mind switch. You change the channel. You don't have time to hear that. You don't have time for them. You know you're awesome. That's what you do— change the channel. Because every day when you get up, you know who decides if you're going to have a good day? You do. Attitude is a choice. When you get up, you make that choice. And I hope you are listening to these two dynamos, Alex and CJ, because they're just both so outstanding, so excellent. I don't want to forget, Mr. Hammerstrom, to ask you about some of the other programs that we have. What else, what other things do we do at the Bender Leadership Academy.

Well, for us to— I want to talk about a couple of events, Ms. Bender, that are coming up because, you know, without raising money, we can't help CJ or Alex. And we want more people like them. You see how amazing that they are. So we have two events that were coming up. One is called the Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community on Saturday, June 14th, here in Pittsburgh. There is a 5K and a 1-mile walk. 100% of the money proceeds go to the nonprofit organization. And if there's anybody interested, we would love you to support Bender Leadership Academy. You could go to our website, which is benderleadership.org. There's a calendar of events. You click on the, the walk and you can sign up to be a virtual walker or in-person walker. Love to see you there. It's disability accessible and it's also pet friendly and it's a lot of fun. And we also have the, the Mary Brocker Memorial Golf Outing, which is on Saturday, August 16th. It's at Rivers— River Forest Country Club, which is in Freeport, PA. Same thing, you can go to our website, benderleadership.org, go to our calendar events. You could sign up for the golf outing. We're always looking for golfers. We're looking for our dinner guests. You can help sponsor, be a whole sponsor, or we're also looking for people to donate gift baskets for raffle items. And that, um, that golf outing helps support the Mary Brocker Mental Health Initiative, which is an important program, Miss Bender. And as many of you know, Mary Brocker was an important part of our lives, and That event, we're celebrating her legacy through this health initiative and our Not Ashamed campaign. Because Mary lived with a mental health disability and we addressed the mental health stigma and its intersectionality across the diverse communities. And with that money that's raised, we put it in our programs. We discuss mental fitness training. Mental health advocacy. And again, that Not Ashamed campaign, which anybody could do. You could just do a short video on your cell phone and say, "Hey, I'm Scott Hammerstrom. I have a mental health disability. Not ashamed." Or if you know somebody, you could be an ally and say, "You know somebody with a mental health disability. Not ashamed." Because we want to reduce the stigma around mental health disabilities. So thank you so much for letting me talk about that. We also have the Gerrit Community Engagement, which we talk about advocacy and self-advocacy in our classes as well. So we do a— and we have— we partnered up with the Pittsburgh CLO and we do Art Accessibility. I think we have 3 or 4 students who are taking classes at the Pittsburgh CLO who are interested in the arts. So we do a lot of different things for our students because we want them ready for after they graduate to be to be successful.

Yes, and I just want to say, you hear how we're helping young people, but just as Mr. Hammerstrom said, you can sit back and say how wonderful it is, but we need money. See, a not-for-profit, really, it's no different than a for-profit. You know, you need money to run the organization. I'll never forget what the executive director of the National Epilepsy Foundation said one day, and I was the chair many years ago, and he said, "I can use millions of dollars for our restricted fund, but I can't turn the lights on." Yeah, what he meant is, you know, you need money from an operating perspective to run the organization. So, if you go to benderleadership.org, You can make a donation and always remember, no donation is too small. Benderleadership.org. Um, we want to help more kids, so, you know, make a donation. Um, I did want to ask the, uh, plans, Mr. Hammerstrom, for this year. I know we have a Disability Mentoring Day. How many students go through that?

So our Disability Mentoring Day program, we have around 500 high school students with disabilities who participate each year. It's always on the third Wednesday of every October. We work with about 45 to 55 different school districts, about 30 different businesses or organizations, and the school districts or the students, they get to go to a business for the day from 9:30 AM to 1:00 PM and get to learn a little bit about the world of work and get to learn the different types of things. Like we work with Calgon Carbon or Covestro. They get to learn all the different science things that they do. We work with Cisterson, who does accounting or taxes. Banking, you think of PNC Bank, you think of just tellers or maybe a bank manager, but there's so much more. You can learn about their IT and finance and human resources, all the different types of jobs there. So we have one of the largest in the country, Disability Mentoring Day. I've been coordinating it since 2007, I believe. And then we have a big reception we celebrate in October prior to the Disability Mentor Day where we have about 150 people in attendance and we recognize our Linda Dickerson Scholarship winners at that event. We give away between 10 and 15 scholarships each year. Alex, did you win at one time this Linda Dickerson Scholarship? I believe.

Yes.

Yeah, we have a winner of the Linda Dickerson Scholarship here and she's in college right now, so I'm sure that $1,000 was helpful for you.

Absolutely.

Yeah. So, and we, we have an Educator of the Year. We have our student speakers. We'll speak in front of all 150 people and they're rock stars at this event. And it's just a wonderful opportunity to celebrate all of our students and all of our programs.

I want to say that there is intersectionality between the LGBTQ community and students with mental health disabilities. They sort of go hand in hand. And State Representative Dan Miller has had several events I participated in, but most recently, a year and a half ago, it was losing people to suicide through this. So we are having a Pride event here in Pittsburgh for the Bender Leadership Academy at the Rivers Club in downtown Pittsburgh. When is that, Mr. Hammerstrom?

Yes, so, so we are having, uh, or it's called Allies in Pride event, and it's to be, uh, on Tuesday, June 17th. And it's an early breakfast event. It's gonna be at 7:30, and it's gonna be at the Rivers Club. So we have Maria Town from AAPD that will be coming in as our featured speaker. And it's— this is our third year doing it. It gets bigger every year. So we're looking forward to that event as well.

Yes, and if you're here, make sure you register. We'd love to see you. At that event and tell everyone else you know, especially, you know, if you're a young person and, uh, you know, you're from the LGBTQ community and you are, you know, dealing with a lot of hardship, have a mental health disability, they go hand in hand, please get in touch with us, benderleadership.org, and go to this event. Well, do you have any last words for us, Alex?

Um, just thank you to everyone involved. Um, I have a lot I owe to the Bender Leadership Academy. I definitely have noticed a lot of growth in myself as a result of it. So I'm very happy to be here. Thank you for having me on.

Oh, I'm thrilled to have you on. I got my eye on you, Alex. Um, okay, CJ, do you have any last words?

Uh, well, again, don't want to just copy Alex, but, uh, you know, it's been an honor to speak here and to, uh, speak to all of you. And really, just, uh, all of you listeners out there, you're awesome.

Yes, Miss Rubin, what are you?

I am awesome.

That's right. And everyone else is on here and all of you listening. We end every show with a quote. So today it is: Education is the most important and powerful weapon which you can use to change the world, said the great Nelson Mandela. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters, at voiceamerica.com. Talk to you all next week with CEO Ellen Duffield from Highmark Whole Care. And in the words of Mary Brocker, when you go out today, remember, choose joy.

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