CONCORD, NH —Thanks to a winning essay about his career goals, Miles Forma, a nineteen year old student at Crotched Mountain School, was selected to spend the morning of October 18^th in the office of Governor John Lynch as part of Disability Mentoring Day, an internationally recognized initiative that promotes career development for students and job-seekers with disabilities through job shadowing and hands-on career exploration. Forma, whose family lives in Mamaroneck , NY , has cerebral palsy. He uses a wheelchair for mobility and communicates using a DynaVox speech-output device.

In his essay, Forma stated "I want to be a professional fundraiser and someday and help people in Africa ." He explained that he was inspired by the movie Hotel Rwanda , the story of how a brave man named Paul Rusesabagina saved thousands of Tutsis during the 1994 genocide by the Hutus. In response, Miles conducted a benefit for orphans of Rwanda in July, 2005 and, the following month, had the opportunity to meet Mr. Rusesabagina during an appearance in Bedford , NH . Since then, Miles has conducted another fundraiser for the refugees of Darfur . To date, Forma has raised more than $2,500 for African relief efforts through the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, a charitable organization based in New York , NY .

Forma was accompanied by his teacher, Clair Abel, and teaching assistant, Mariah Coruth. Upon their arrival, Forma and his guests were greeted by the Governor. "At first, I was a little nervous," remarked Forma. "Governor Lynch was very friendly and quickly made us feel welcome." Next, the group received a tour of the State House. Then Forma spent the rest of the morning learning how Amy Harrington advocates for citizens through her role as special assistant for citizen services. Afterwards, Forma met up with other local mentees at NH Vocational Rehabilitation's administrative office in Concord for a luncheon hosted by transition coordinator Tina Greco who coordinated the Disability Mentoring Day activities in the capital city.

Altogether 44 youth participated in Disability Mentoring Day at different sites throughout New Hampshire. In addition to Forma, Crotched Mountain was represented by Megan Bishop, a student from Nashua , NH . She spent the morning with her residential counselor, Joanne Elliott, at the Peterborough office of Monadnock Developmental Services, a human services agency that has been supporting people with developmental disabilities living in southwestern New Hampshire for twenty years. "Next year," states Greco, "we hope to have even more businesses participate so that we can have enough sites to accommodate the growing interest among student applicants."

"Many individuals and organizations worked together to ensure the success of Disability Mentoring Day here in New Hampshire ," remarked Denise Yerardi, transition planning and family services specialist at Crotched Mountain . "Our office worked closely with case managers, teachers and school administrators here at Crotched Mountain , as well as with vocational rehabilitation and Monadnock Center for Successful Transitions personnel."

Disability Mentoring Day is officially commemorated on the third Wednesday of every October. It began as a White House initiative in 1999. Since then it has grown to involve more than 12,000 mentees, 250 local coordinators, and more than 2,600 employer mentors in all 50 states and Washington , DC , plus Puerto Rico , U.S. Virgin Islands and 20 countries. With leadership, coordination and resource materials from the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), local communities around the country organize their own activities that bring students and employers together for informational sessions about career opportunities and one-on-one mentoring with volunteers at public and private places of employment. Further information is available through the Disability Mentoring Day website: www.dmd-aapd.org.

Crotched Mountain School is a private residential and day school providing educational and therapeutic services to students with developmental and physical disabilities, grades K-12, since 1963. For more information about Crotched Mountain please visit their web site: www.crotchedmountain.org.