Think Good, It’s Friday! 7.31.15

This past Sunday, July 26, people across the country celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Here in Chicago, the Trust is supporting a year-long initiative called ADA 25 Chicago—a network of more than 160 partner organizations leveraging this milestone anniversary to increase access and inclusion for people with disabilities through substantive new projects and initiatives.

While there is much to celebrate in the historic results of the ADA, we must also focus on the remaining work ahead. ADA 25 Chicago is designed to create lasting legacies that will improve the lives of people with disabilities for years to come. ADA 25 Chicago’s legacy projects are designed to address areas of need for metropolitan Chicago residents, as Executive Director Emily Harris talks about in this interview with ABC7 Chicago.

In honor of this week’s anniversary, we’ve gathered some ADA-related good news from around the Web:

• Chicago law firm McDermott Will & Emery has partnered with Equip for Equality and Equal Justice Works to sponsor a new fellowship for Chicago-area law students with disabilities.
• Watch how President Barack Obama celebrated the 25th anniversary of the ADA.
• Inside Philanthropy wrote about the Leadership Institute for People with Disabilities, which will help to facilitate the full participation of people with disabilities in all facets of Chicago’s civic leadership. Applications for an intensive training for a first Fellows class are being accepted until August 15.
• Access Living has been advocating for disability rights for 35 years now. This ABC7 Chicago segment focuses on the difference Access Living has made for Chicago’s disability community, and how they are continuing their efforts.
• Join the Chicago Architecture Foundation every Sunday in August for LEGO® Build Workshops to explore universal design. Use LEGO’S® to explore the design process and create architecture for people with differing abilities.
• The AT&T and New York University Connect Ability Challenge winners were announced Tuesday. Kinesic Mouse, a software solution that uses a 3D camera to detect facial expressions and head rotations so that users can operate a PC hands-free, won the grand prize as well as the “Best Mobility Solution” prize.

Thank you for letting us celebrate the anniversary of the ADA by sharing stories and profiles with you this week—click on the “ADA25” tag below to see more. Please keep sharing your stories of philanthropy at cct.org, by sending an email to trust100@cct.org or on social media using the hashtag #Trust100.