5.12.2008 - 10:19am ET

(CSRwire) PR Newswire -- May 12, 2008
Accessibility And Full Participation For People With Disabilities

ISLANDIA, N.Y.,May 12/PRNewswire-USNewswire/--NEC Foundation of America today announced grants totaling $222,250 to seven organizations that engage technology to remove barriers to communication, participation and independence encountered by people with disabilities.

"These grants demonstrate our ongoing commitment to technology in support of human potential on both an individual and societal level," said Hisashi Kaneko, president of NEC Foundation of America. "Some twenty percent of the population has a disability. Any one of us might develop a disability at any time. The application of technology to insure the education, employment and enjoyment of this largest minority group is imperative."

Organizations receiving grants are:

AED (Academy for Educational Development)$25,000
Educational Equity Center at AED
New York, NY

For preparation of web-based guidelines and materials, including assistive technology suggestions, for national dissemination of After-school Inclusive Math (AIM), a partnership between science/ technology museums and inclusive after-school programs. AIM gives young people with disabilities opportunities to work together with same-age peers on real-world, inquiry-based math activities. Target group is grades 3-8. www.aed.org www.edequity.org


CompTIA Educational Foundation $25,000
Oakbrook Terrace, IL

For the first phase of a national online IT training, mentoring, certification and job placement assistance program for youth with disabilities as a component of the Creating Futures program. The goal is to offer these free services to 65 high school students with disabilities in the first twelve months of the effort.
www.creatingfutures.us www.comptia.org


disABLEDperson Inc. $25,000
Encinitas, CA

For expansion of Virtual Online Job Fair for Disabled College Students Transitioning from School to Work to Texas. Based on a California pilot virtual job fair, and using disABLEDperson Inc.'s online job-matching software, recruitABILITY, this mutual opportunity for students and public and private sector employers alleviates issues of mobility and cost and helps to address the high rates of unemployment for people with disabilities, including college graduates with disabilities.
www.disABLEDperson.com


Illinois State University $42,250
Special Education Assistive Technology (SEAT) Center
Normal, IL

To develop and implement training in assistive technology for school psychologists nationwide. In collaboration with the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), this initiative will enable school psychologists who are involved in assessing students' special needs and developing individual education plans (IEPs) for students with physical and learning disabilities to understand how AT can meet these students' needs on an individual basis. www.seat.ilstu.org


Music and Arts Center for Humanity (MACH)$10,000
National Resource Center for Blind Musicians
Bridgeport, CT

For the 2008 Summer Institute for Blind College-bound Musicians, a residential program at which musicians study Braille music code, strategies for studying music theory and performance, and the use of the computer for composition, as well as gaining experience in college independent living. A small portion of the funds -- $2,000 - will be used for a variety of purposes, including developing mentorships, promoting the Institute to prospective students, and identifying alumni who might need technical assistance. www.blindmusicstudent.org


Straight Ahead Pictures $45,000
Conway, MA

Toward a $1.3M project called Becoming Helen Keller (BHK) to achieve three goals: 1) create online education materials, 2) disseminate them via www.disabilitymuseum.org and 3) meet matching National Endowment for Humanities funding requirements. The project has two distinct but integrated products: a PBS broadcast (and DVD) documentary biography that places Keller's life and her legacy into cultural context, and a set of four modules of online teaching materials for secondary school and higher education. www.disabilitymuseum.org


University of Missouri - Kansas City $50,000
Institute for Human Development
Kansas City, MO

To research, test, demonstrate and market a fully accessible online community for people with intellectual disabilities, OurSpace: Online Community for Self-Advocates. This research and development project will employ a participatory action research model whereby persons with intellectual disabilities are co-developers and co-researchers.
www.moddrc.org www.ihd.umkc.edu

For more information about NEC Foundation of America, including application guidelines, please call 631.232.2212, or visit www.necfoundation.org. NEC Foundation of America was established in 1991 and endowed at $10 million by NEC Corporation and its United States subsidiaries. Income generated by the endowment is donated to nonprofit organizations in the United States in support of programs with national reach and impact in the arena of assistive technology for people with disabilities. Through its grants, NEC Foundation of America underscores its philosophy of advancing society through technology and enabling individuals to realize their full potential.