Push Day 2011: A Powerful & Productive Day!

It was a windy, cloudy,  blustery spring day in the Capitol city yesterday, but you wouldn't know it from the hundreds of energetic, cheerful, and enthusiastic participants at Push Day!  We kicked the day off with a victory lap around the Capitol.  What were we celebrating?  The completion of our efforts to "Walk Around the World"!  After completing the walk, participants gathered back at the rally site to hear from a variety of speakers.  We heard from many special guest speakers including Representative Jerry Henry, Representative Bob Bethell, InterHab Board President & Executive Director of JCDS, Maury Thompson.  We also heard from Kathy Lobb, Self Advocacy Coalition of Kansas, who spoke to the needs of adequate funding and service for persons with developmental disabilities.  Ron Pasmore, President/CEO of KETCH, also rallied the crowd on critical employment issues facing Kansans with developmental disabilities.

At the end of the rally InterHab staff announced the final total for miles completed on behalf of the "Walk a Mile in My Shoes: Walk Around the World" statewide effort.  Early efforts indicated that we would surpass our goal, but all participants and event organizers alike were surprised and pleased to learn that we collectively completed 128,188 miles on behalf of Invisible Kansans.

This overwhelming figure is reflective of the interest, enthusiasm and passion that people across the state of Kansas have for issues affecting Kansans with developmental disabilities.  It is also reflective of years of effort put forth to raise awareness of the challenges that exist for Invisible Kansans and the Kansas DD support system.  Thank you to all of you who have become such powerful and effective advocates for this cause.

As a result of your collective efforts to host events in your communities for the last month and for bringing hundreds of participants to yesterday's rally, we got tons of coverage for Push Day!  Check out the pictures and footage below: