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Tuesday, March 22, 2011

We have an app! How cool are we?


There has been lots of excitement around the KIT office, and lots of travel to faraway places to spread the word of inclusion. I am hoping that some of our busy trainers will contribute their journals to this blog in the near future, but until then I interrupt our regular programming for a commercial for our new iPhone app!

One of the many reasons I love working for KIT is the way we can have an idea and then get it off the ground quickly. This ability is directly related to the diverse team of talents we have here. It took a village to make an iPhone app, and we are thrilled to offer it to you for FREE! Many thanks to the Special Hope Foundation, who made this possible.

Click here to download it for your iPhone. The app includes many just-in-time training tools, like short instructional videos, booklets, FAQs and access to our training calendar. You can also link to our various social media outlets through the app.

We did start with the iPhone, but we plan to secure more funding to create apps for the other smart phones as well. Hang in there Android and Blackberry users!

Inclusion is...leveraging the latest technology!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

KIT Receives Award from MEAF


MEAF Director Kevin Webb with Torrie Dunlap of KIT

Please forgive this post if it looks too "braggy." KIT received a great honor last Friday in Washington, DC and I'd like to share it with you. For the past six years KIT has been fortunate enough to receive both financial and moral support from the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation (MEAF). Their mission is to provide grants that support the full inclusion of children and youth with disabilities in society, and thus, KIT and MEAF have partnered in numerous ways to promote inclusion. We have greatly appreciated the MEAF model, which intentionally creates partnerships between organizations, for the benefit of both. Thanks to MEAF, KIT was able to enjoy a mutually-beneficial relationship with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, for instance. Now for the braggy part...

Last week at their 20th Anniversary Luncheon MEAF presented KIT with one of 8 Inclusion Champion Awards. The award was presented by Dr. Carol Kochhar-Bryant of George Washington University. It was a very meaningful presentation, as Dr. Kochhar-Bryant has been an advisor for MEAF since their beginnings and she knows a lot about KIT's work. She suggested that KIT had influenced MEAF's understanding of inclusion and they way they approached their own work. I was very moved by that statement. I was also so grateful to have the opportunity to accept the award on behalf of my colleagues, our board of directors and the many organizations we have partnered with throughout our time as a MEAF grantee.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Taking the Message of Inclusion to the TOP!



One of the highlights of my career happened last week- I got to go to the Pentagon on official business to discuss KIT's work with US Military Child & Youth Services. I really can't say more than that...but I can tell you that there is a Starbucks and a Best Buy inside the Pentagon. I had no idea!