It’s a Wrap: Summer in Review
While we just recently welcomed a new fall season, we did not want to miss the opportunity to share with you the wonderful highlights of our summer season.
Over the course of the summer of 2021, so much has happened at Diverse Ability Incorporated. From facilitating online training conferences such as Arizona Youth Leadership Youth Leadership Forum (AZYLF) and AZYLI Statewide Capacity Building Conference to other leadership events such as Emerging Me: My Life Matters; this summer was absolutely packed. For those who have had their curiosity piqued, we would like to briefly share what these events are all about. Maybe we will even see you or someone you know at one next year!
Our AZYLF conferences are all about embracing disability as a catalyst for personal growth, leadership development, career exploration, and more. The majority of the presentations and activities are facilitated by people who have disabilities, many of whom graduated from AZYLF themselves. The multi-day experience concludes with all AZYLF Delegates (participants) creating a Personal Leadership Plan with the knowledge that they gained to start planning their future. Overall, AZYLF is a great way to learn how your life experience can benefit your community. Delegates from all across Arizona participated.
Many AZYLF graduates want to continue to expand on what they learned, following the experience. This is where the Arizona Youth Leadership Initiatives (AZYLI) Statewide Capacity Building Conference comes in. This conference offers a deeper dive into self-discovery in the area of health and wellness, pre-employment skill development, and completion of Arizona Youth Engagement Academy (AZYEA), which enhances skills gained during AZYLF, for the purpose of preparing youth to assume leadership roles in their lives and communities. Many alumni pass their refined skills on, when providing peer-based training, navigation, and support services to others. Emphasizing topics such as diversity and cultural competence, establishing your personal brand and more, which are conveyed within a dynamic learning environment, AZYEA ensures that everyone involved moves forward a little wiser, and better prepared to seize new opportunities.
Emerging Me: My Life Matters is a curriculum which explores and celebrates diversity. Designed as a shared experience for groups of tweens, Emerging Me offers opportunities for youth to engage in unifying activities that help them develop an appreciation for who they are, and for their common life experiences. Along with our summer youth leadership and engagement conferences, Emerging Me: My Life Matters was delivered virtually in 2021. Diverse Ability Incorporated hopes to resume in-person workshops, when it is safe to do so, and looks forward to again facilitating Emerging Me: My Life Matters in community settings such as youth clubs, and schools.
MANY THANKS. YOU ARE APPRECIATED.
Of course, none of these events would be possible without a team of highly motivated individuals. We are truly thankful for their dedication to our mission and the services we provide.
A special thanks to our two interns, Jordan Brown and Emma Sonntag, for choosing our mission, for their internship experiences. We appreciate your hard work and commitment during our busiest season. We wish you continued success as you each near completion of your degrees.
Finally, we would like to thank you, yes, YOU, for being a member of our community. We are honored to have your continued support which contributes to our success each year.