Reflections on hope and resiliency

Desmond Tutu said, “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” For billions around the world, 2020 has been a dark year. Despite the darkness there continues to be evidence of bright lights of hope and resiliency across the disability employment community. At SourceAmerica, we have successfully navigated many of the challenges of staying connected – both to one another and to those who are a part of this community.  

Here are some of our favorite moments in 2020: 

Announcing the National Achievement Award Winners 

SourceAmerica announced its National Achievement Awards in June, marking the first time that these prestigious honors were revealed virtually. People with disabilities, veterans, nonprofit agency executives, federal employees, and corporate partners were among the honorees in 2020. 

Celebrating the 2020 Design Challenge 

SourceAmerica’s Design Challenge is one of the top national engineering competitions each year for high school and college-aged students. It gives them the opportunity to provide solutions and assistive technologies to improve everyday challenges for people with disabilities in the workplace. The 2020 Design Challenge saw some of the most creative solutions yet, with winners announced in August. 

Recognizing National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) 

October marked the 75th observance of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. SourceAmerica commemorated the event with press releases, features on front-line employees keeping our nation operating safely, and videos highlighting a Day in the Life of an employee with a disability. We also shared proper etiquette with service animals and how one nonprofit agency is helping to keep our soldiers safe so they can focus on their missions. 

Appreciating a Legislative Correction 

After a protracted period of joint advocacy between SourceAmerica and several of its stakeholders, House Resolution (H.R.) 4920 was passed in July and signed into law in August. This law corrected a policy at the Department of Veterans Affairs known as the “Rule of Two” that had inadvertently threatened the jobs of thousands of AbilityOne Program employees. 

All of us at SourceAmerica look forward to many more bright spots in 2021.  

The spirit of our organization is rooted in the mission to be a champion for our partners, to amplify the capabilities of our network, and to increase employment opportunities for a supremely talented sector of the workforce - people with disabilities.   

For more information about SourceAmerica, contact customerservice@sourceamerica.org.