By Staff
Rights for the disabled have come slowly. The Americans With Disabilities Act is only 16 years old, being signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H.W. Bush.
Changes have come not only in the work place but also in our schools, as better tools for education for children with disabilities are sought.
The Nov. 7 election marks the first federal election since the deadline of the Help American Vote Act, signed on Oct. 26, 2002, by President George W. Bush.
All polling places are to be handicap accessible and have at least one voting machine that can offer a private and independent vote for those with disabilities, like hearing and vision loss.
The work of one former Niles resident to help people with disabilities lives on today, even after her death a year ago.
Corrie Listenberger Bair died on Oct. 29, 2005. Her husband, Nathan Bair of Edwardsburg, has set up a fund to remember her and keep her passion of helping others with the monetary gifts that followed her death.
Presently, he is searching for a recipient of the first annual grant from the Corrie Listenberger Bair Fund.
The fund helps bring about a world where equality is the norm and everyone sees that discrimination is unacceptable – "Corrie's World."
Individuals, groups or organizations with a project are eligible for funds. He is looking for those who promote equality and respect for persons with disabilities in southwest Michigan.
The Corrie Listenberger Bair Fund is a fund within the Michigan Gateway Community Foundation.
"The purpose of the fund is to serve the donor's charitable objectives, which include serving the needs of people with disabilities and to benefit the community served by the Foundation, defined as Berrien and Cass County. It is the expressed preference of the donor that organizations or other recipients of grants from this fund employ, and utilize as volunteers in programs and governing bodies, people with disabilities."
Bair added these requirements:
Only non-profit organizations may qualify;
If an organization's mission is to serve persons with disabilities, the majority of their board should be persons with disabilities to qualify.
A general service organization might receive a grant if the project is very good and the organization shares Corrie's vision of equality and anti-discrimination;
Corrie valued sustainability so preference will be given for systems change projects working towards self sustainability;
Preference will be given to projects that serve persons with disabilities in rural communities.
Corrie had helped with Habitat for Humanity and on home design bills, Bair said, where a percentage of public housing would include standards with accessible rooms.
He is interested in seeing what ideas are presented to use this fund to benefit people with disabilities in Berrien and Cass counties.
Contact Bair at the Corrie Listenberger Bair Fund: CorriesFund@valhallais.com.