BY MELANIE ULLE
Colorado, I love you so. You make me want to be a better woman. You have taught me so much about inclusivity, and what it means to care for (and sometimes even fight for), one another. You remind me that when we team up and advocate for each other, we all win. Today, there are a few organizations I want to celebrate because they each make a big difference in our beautiful state and simply make us better humans. Special Olympics Colorado, ARC Thrift Stores/Arc of Colorado, and Goodwill Colorado all work relentlessly to create a state where everyone feels valued and recognized.
Special Olympics Colorado gives athletes with intellectual disabilities a place to shine. With their sports training, year-round competitions, and sense of community, they fill our hearts with joy. This joy erupts viscerally and palpably somewhere inside the ribcage area with each moment of shared triumph at the finish line. It’s euphoric. If you’ve ever participated or volunteered, then you know what I’m talking about. Their work has an impact way beyond sports.
ARC Thrift Stores, run by the Arc of Colorado provides job training and employment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Learning retail skills, working with customers and giving folks a sense of purpose, they remind us that when we include people with disabilities in our workplaces, everyone benefits. In speaking with parents with kids who work at Arc, I feel their powerful (and very contagious) sense of pride when their child learns the building blocks of a fulfilling career.
Landing a job is a big event for any young adult, but for the parent of a child with an intellectual disability, it feels like a major mother of a victory. It’s a powerful validation of their child’s abilities and a testament to years of tireless support and advocacy. It means independence, a sense of accomplishment, and the potential for a fulfilling future that may not have always seemed likely. This first job becomes a symbol of inclusion, a badge of honor showing the world that their child can contribute and be a valued member of the workforce. Thank you, Arc of Colorado, and ARC Thrift Stores for changing the lives of kids and their parents in Colorado.
Then there’s Goodwill of Colorado. Like ARC, they help people facing all sorts of challenges find a way forward. With their job training, and the affordable goods at their stores, Goodwill of Colorado is a nonprofit powerhouse dedicated to transforming lives across the state. Their commitment to employment and independence shines brightly through their super-duper impressive stats.
Last year alone, Goodwill trained and mentored over 26,000 job seekers, and directly placed over 1,300 individuals in community jobs. If that’s not impressive enough then first, you are quite hard to impress and second, you should know that they provided essential support to over 11,000 residents, offering assistance with daily living needs and transportation services. Goodwill empowered nearly 600 individuals with disabilities to achieve greater independence.
Why, you may ask, is this kind of inclusion important? Diversity makes us stronger as a community. Come on, you know it when you see it. It’s that true neighborhood spirit, where everyone’s working together, marching to the same drum even if the march looks different sometimes. With more voices at the table there are always more and better solutions. For instance, a design team which includes someone with a disability brings a whole new perspective.
An example of a design addition that was made for folks with a disability but that makes lives easier for everyone is closed captioning. It was primarily intended for those who were deaf and hearing impaired, and now it’s used almost exclusively by me because apparently, it’s easier for me to read than to listen to my TV. Particularly if what I’m watching includes British comedians because what are they even saying?
Colorado is becoming a leader in inclusion and the organizations above are key players in this work. We can learn from them and do better in our own teams, and within our neighborhoods and families. If we practice inclusion, we get better at it and raise our collective vibrations and maybe even tiptoe closer to enlightenment.
You can also make a difference by supporting these incredible nonprofits financially, shopping at their thrift stores, or by volunteering your time. I suggest starting with the shopping part.