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.