GOODWILL INDUSTRIES OF DALLAS, INC. ANNOUNCES ITS ANNUAL GIRL SCOUT DISABILITY AWARENESS DAY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DALLAS, April 18, 2003 -- Goodwill Industries of Dallas, Inc. will hold its annual Girl Scout Disability Awareness Day on Saturday, April 26, 2003. Each year, staff members volunteer their time to help Girl Scouts learn about some of the challenges that individuals with disabilities face. The event is both interesting and educational for the young scouts. The activities are scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m.

There will be six stations focusing on the most common disabilities. The girls will divide into groups and rotate from station to station. The activities will include:
·   Visual Impairments – a seeing eye dog demonstration will be conducted by the Texas Commission for the Blind
·   Mobility Impairments/Wheel Chair Rally – the girls will navigate through a course in a wheelchair
·   Manual Dexterity – the girls will put socks on their hands and attempt to accomplish some tasks of daily living
·   Learning Disabilities – the girls will try to order from a menu written in Greek
·   Visual Impairments/Blind Walk – the girls will be blindfolded, and will try to identify numerous items
·   Hearing Disabilities – the Deaf Action League will discuss hearing disabilities, teach the girls sign language and show them how difficult it is to read lips

These activities are designed to be an interesting learning experience for the girls. Last year, we had 55 girls attend, and this years numbers should be similar" says Jennifer Sheafer, Vice President, Vocational Services at Goodwill Industries of Dallas. This is a very rewarding event to be part of."

Goodwill Industries of Dallas, a United Way agency, is about jobs – the mission is to provide job training, employment and personal growth opportunities for people with disabilities and people with other barriers to employment, including welfare dependency, illiteracy and homelessness.

For more information, call us at 214.638.2800, or log on to our web site at http://www.goodwilldallas.org

Contact:
Rodney K. Ginther
President

Goodwill Industries of Dallas, Inc.
3020 N. Westmoreland
Dallas, Texas 75212

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