Dear NIH,

In 1988, the United States Congress declared the entire month of October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), to raise awareness of employee contributions with individuals of all disabilities. As part of the NIH family, The Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) will be launching its annual "Cultivating Inclusion: Honoring NIH Champions and Allies of Disability" ceremony on Wednesday, October 14, 2020, at 10:00 AM on NIH VideoCast.

We will be using this event to observe NDEAM by recognizing individuals within the Disability community and allies who contribute to advancing accessibility at the NIH.

At the NIH, we want to make more significant strides toward increasing diversity and utilizing resources to improve inclusion. In recognition of NDEAM, it's important to highlight the significance of inclusivity in the workplace. Under the theme "Impacting Scientific Discovery Through Disability Inclusion," we look to celebrate those in the disabled community who have made an impact here at the NIH.

Throughout October, we ask that you participate and share our "Accessibility Matters: Accessibility matters because…" campaign. We have attached flyer templates that you can use; you choose to either take a picture or send a video of why accessibility matters. Also, please use the hashtag #AccessibilityMatters #NIH and send your submissions to David.Rice@nih.gov.

Follow EDI on Twitter and Instagram at @NIH_EDI. All staff members are encouraged to participate, as this campaign marks awareness of accessibility at the NIH and further solidifies NIH's commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion for all.

Sincerely,

Treava Hopkins-Laboy

Do you have a story idea for us? Do you want to submit a guest blog? If it's about equity, diversity, or inclusion, please submit to edi.stories@nih.gov.

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