 A QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER FOR THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY
New Horizons Un-Limited Inc. (NHU) is a non-profit organization based in Milwaukee with a mission to make information and life experiences accessible to people with life-long disabilities, their families and caregivers. To learn more about our mission and activities, please visit the New Horizons Un-Limited website at www.new-horizons.org or e-mail horizons@new-horizons.org.
6th Annual Flower Bulb FundraiserOur bulbs will not only bring beauty to your home, but opportunity and hope to hundreds of individuals with disabilities in Southeastern Wisconsin. VanBourgondien, our fundraiser partner, delivers the most brilliant spring-blooming flower bulbs around! Our satisfied “customers” come back year after year to order these magnificent bulbs. Our 6th annual Flower Bulb Fundraiser offers a terrific assortment of Tulips, Daffodils, Alliums, Lilies and more! Each package of bulbs costs just $10, with 50% going to New Horizons Un-Limited. Help us make this year’s sale the best yet! Contact your friends, family and neighbors and ask them if they have a spot or two in their gardens for flowers that will not only bring beauty for years to come, but also support programs for our community members with disabilities. To request a fundraiser packet, please contact us at (414) 299-0124 or download the packet from our website at www.new-horizons.org/08bulb.pdf.
5th Annual Benefit Golf Outing; Another successful day, on and off the courseHere we are, at the close of another successful New Horizons Un-Limited Benefit Golf Outing. Each year we add a few more golfers, a few more sponsors and are thrilled to see a great deal of smiles and laughter on and off the course. Thanks to repeat Gold and Silver Eagle Sponsorships from Johnson Controls and Miller Engineering Information Technologies Group, as well as sponsorships from dozens of other companies and of course, the generosity of our golfers, our 5th Annual Outing proved to be the best yet! We'd like to extend a special thank you to all of our generous sponsors.
National InterestWith the primary season at a close, the nominees for this year’s Presidential election are presumptively set. Barring an extraordinary turn of events, Barack Obama will represent the Democratic Party, and John McCain will represent the Republican Party. It is up to you to decide who is the better candidate to lead our country into the future. Visit the candidates’ websites. Barack Obamawww.barackobama.com Contact the campaign: (866) 675-2008
John McCain politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008/issues/index.html See a side by side comparison on McCain’s and Obama’s positions on abortion, climate change, economy/taxes, health care, housing, immigration, and Iran/Iraq. health08.org www.health08.org/sidebyside.cfm See a more in depth side by side comparison of the candidate’s positions on health care. taxpolicycenter.org www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxtopics/election_issues_matrix.cfm See a more in depth side by side comparison on how the candidates’ stand on tax-related issues. American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) 2008 Presidential Election Action Center www.aapd-dc.org/News/election/peac2008.php See how the candidates compare on disability-related issues. Check out the following web resources for the latest candidate and election news. CNNPolitics.com Election Center 2008 www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008 C-SPAN Politics www.c-span.org/Politics See and hear recent interviews and speeches. Fox News Election Headquarters elections.foxnews.com GET OUT THE DISABILITY VOTE! People with disabilities continue to be one of the most underrepresented populations at the polls. It’s time to buck the trend! Join other disability advocates in “getting out the vote”. Contact the AAPD Disability Vote Project at (800) 840-8844 (V/TTY) to learn how you can join in this movement. Working from home, a trend worth looking into In recent years, the concept of telecommuting, otherwise referred to as working from home, has become more acceptable, and in many cases encouraged within corporate America. The idea is that employees will be able to accomplish more without the stress of having to travel to and from the office. Of course, given the transportation barriers many people with disabilities face, it is only natural that telecommuting has become a goal of many workers with disabilities. There are many different types of work from home opportunities. Some common work at home positions may include:
Wisconsin InterestVoting in Wisconsin: A Guide for Citizens with DisabilitiesIf you’ve never voted before, this is the year to do it! If you’re not quite sure how to vote, this is the guide to read! Voting in Wisconsin: A Guide for Citizens with Disabilities, details everything you need to know to ensure that your vote is counted in this year’s election. The guide, produced by Rehabilitation For Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Coalition of Independent Living Centers, and the Wisconsin Council on Developmental Disabilities, explains the four different ways of registering, how to vote by absentee ballot and polling place accommodations, among other topics. To read the guide online, visit www.rfw.org/ADA/Voting/Whyvote.htm. If you do not have access to the Internet, contact Rehabilitation for Wisconsin to request a printed copy, (608) 244-5310.ACCESS makes finding assistance programs easier ACCESS, an online resource of the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, is a quick and easy way for people in Wisconsin to get answers to questions about health and nutrition programs. More specifically, you can take a “quiz” to determine if you may be eligible to receive:
If you are serious about working from home, you will want to check out the Wisconsin Telework Program. This program provides loans to Wisconsin Residents with Disabilities for the purchase of equipment needed to work from home. More specifically, the loan can help you pay for such things as, computers, software, printers, fax machines, telecommunication devices, office furniture, and home modifications to create an accessible home office, or assistive technology. Loans will only be considered for equipment used specifically for the purposes of working from home or starting a home-based business (with an approved business plan). Approval is based upon your ability to repay the loan. A poor credit rating or prior bankruptcy may not necessarily eliminate you from this program. To learn more, download the Wisconsin Telework Loan Program brochure by visiting, dwd.wisconsin.gov/dvr/pdf_files/telework_brochure.pdf. You may also contact the Telework Coordinator at Independence First via phone at (877) 463-3778.New Wisconsin accessible cabins officially open for business While thinking back on the development of the first wheelchair accessible cabin at Mirror Lake State Park in 1990, Arthur Miller, founder of New Horizons Un-Limited, recalled, "We believed that this was only the beginning and that more [cabins] should be built throughout the state." What Art and others had started as a seed of an idea has grown now to include the 6th and 7th accessible cabins for the Wisconsin State Parks. The original cabins have become the Tom Sawyer fence that others have embraced and continue to expand upon. The cabins at Richard Bong State Recreation Area near Burlington and Kohler-Andrae State Parks in Sheboygan, will hopefully serve as inspiration for other groups to continue to open the outdoors to people with disabilities via accessible cabins in even more Wisconsin State Parks. If you would like to stay at either of these cabins, contact the Richard Bong office at (262) 878-5600 or the Kohler-Andrae Office at (920) 451-4080. To learn about all of the accessible cabins available in the state parks of Wisconsin, visit the DNR website: dnr.wi.gov/org/land/parks/access/bigcabin.html.
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If you have questions or ideas, information and solutions that you would like to share with us, we can be reached by e-mail at: horizons@new-horizons.org or to use our NHU E-Mail Form or NHU Community Discussion Board, click on the links below.
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