In addition to their teenagers, Richard Mariello and his wife Lynn have fostered more than 20 children in the last 12 years. None of them have ever been to an NFL game before, and here’s how Richard and Jeremiah ended up at the biggest game of all this year: Century 21 has been a national sponsor of Easter Seals for over 30 years. They were also a major advertiser during this year’s Super Bowl. They were given a thank you package including tickets, flights and hotel accommodations for the game, and they donated them to our adult representative, Army Specialist and Afghanistan War Veteran Richard Mariello.

For a firsthand idea of what the experience was like, I’ll leave you blog readers with an interview with Richard from the Century 21 blog. Thanks, you guys!

C21: What was your favorite part of being there, live for the game?

RM: Everything! Honestly, I’d have to say the best part was getting the full, behind-the-scenes experience. We watched the players warming up. We got to see the kickers making 60-yard field goals during practice.

When you see the players running on TV, they look fast, but in person they are even faster.

Sitting as close as we were, we could hear the tackles, hear the yelling. We were right in the 49ers’ end zone.

We were also amazed with the half time show crew. They set up Beyonce’s entire set in three minutes and took it down in five minutes. That was really incredible. We really got to see the reality of the whole game experience.

C21: Aside from the game, did you explore New Orleans?

RM: We did. We got in the Friday before the game. On Saturday we spent about four hours at the World War II Museum. We also walked the entire length of Bourbon Street and explored the French Quarter. People in New Orleans are so friendly. They really understand hospitality.

C21: New Orleans is known for their food. Did you sample any of the traditional treats?

RM: We did. It’s hard to pick a favorite. We loved the gumbo, the beignets and the pralines. We also had a great time at a chicken shack where we ordered delicious fried chicken.

C21: Did you visit Café du Monde?

RM: We did! We even brought beignet mix to bring back home to the family.

C21: There were quite a few celebrities in town for the game, did you have any sightings?

RM: We did! My son physically ran into Michael Phelps. Michael was on his way to an interview and literally walked into Jeremiah. We also saw Julie Chen, Hines Ward and the cast of “Duck Dynasty.” Everyone wanted to take pictures with the Duck guys!

C21: Tell us, how long have you been working with Easter Seals?

RM: Since I was deployed in 2011. My family hooked up with Easter Seals right before I left. When I came home in 2012 I spoke at an Easter Seals event and someone wrote an article about my talk. It kind of snowballed from there and now I am the Easter Seals National Adult Representative and Veteran Representative.

C21: What are your responsibilities in this new role?

RM: I travel all over the country to talk about the Easter Seals Veterans Program. In fact, I will be at the CENTURY 21 Global Conference next month in Las Vegas.

I speak about the importance of helping veterans and their families. When our veterans come home sometimes they need help finding a job, or they have stress or anxiety issues and they need to seek support. Easter Seals helps make that happen.

Richard ends the interview saying he accepted the role as the 2013 Easter Seals Adult Representative “for all the veterans who do not have the chance to take a stage and express how necessary these programs are. I am doing this for all of us. Not everyone gets this chance.”

The panel took place one day after the Pentagon announced that the U.S. military will be lifting its ban on women serving in combat. When Mitchell was asked to comment on the Pentagon’s decision, she pointed out that as a Navy veteran, she knows women have been serving side-by-side with their male counterparts for years. Referring to the Pentagon’s announcement as a “watershed moment for our country,” she said it recognizes the capabilities, valor and achievements of all service members.

“Opening combat roles to females should not be lauded as a bold step but rather a normal progression towards equality,” she said. “The military’s mix of gender, races, creed, lifestyles, and backgrounds makes it a bellwether of society. This decision should not be used as an opportunity for demagoguery, but rather a chance to acknowledge our military’s ability to fight and win our nations’ wars.”

Mitchell — along with Dixon Center and Easter Seals — urge policymakers to collaborate with the myriad of resources in the civic and private sector. She emphasized the need to support and dedicate resources to all military service members — women and men alike — and their families and the families of the fallen when they return home from their deployments. “We need to consolidate local efforts in communities and find synergies for the delivery of services or to services,” Mitchell concluded. “We as a society need to focus on enabling their potential, and not create more cookie-cutter solutions. This is our mission at Dixon Center.”

Easter Seals is a valuable resource to military service members, veterans and their families. Call Easter Seals Community One Source at 866-423-4981 to find local support if you’re a military family or if you want to learn how to make a difference for military families.

Additionally, it’s important the bill minimizes the impact people who take itemized deductions for charitable contributions and continues the critical Medicare therapy cap exceptions process.

While disappointed the bill repeals the Community-Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act, the new long-term services and supports commission appears to be a serious attempt to address the issue of access to long-term services and supports for people with disabilities and older adults.

As the across-the-board cuts are only postponed until March, there is still much work to do. These automatic budget cuts will affect almost all federal programs serving people with disabilities. The consequences to children and adults with disabilities and their families are significant if the sequester is allowed to go forward:

• Fewer infants with cerebral palsy will have access to speech or physical therapy.
• Fewer teachers will be trained to meet the special needs of students with autism.
• Fewer high school students with disabilities will get the resources to get a job or go to college.
• Fewer people with disabilities will get employment supports.
• Fewer children with autism will get essential health services.
• Fewer veterans will get needed supports like job training and employment services.

These programs provide vital — even life-saving — services to millions of kids, adults and families living with disabilities. Moreover, they are wise investments — leading people from lives of dependence to lives of independence.

Easter Seals is committed to working with our nation’s leaders to avoid devastating cuts to such important programs while still being fiscally responsible.

Inouye lost an arm in World War II combat, and he paid special attention to the needs of military service members, veterans and wounded warriors. In 2011, Easter Seals affiliates Serving Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC honored Sen. Inouye with its Advocacy Award, and in his very poignant acceptance speech during that awards dinner Senator Inouye humanized how difficult the experience is for military families when their loved ones leave for combat and they are separated.

As Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Inouye directed our nation’s resources to investments in children and adults with disabilities and their families. In his 53 years in Congress representing Hawaii, he contributed to the passage of major legislation that ensures people with disabilities can live, learn, work and play in their communities, including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1975, the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 and countless other civil rights laws for people with disabilities.

Thank you for a life of service, Senator Inouye. You will be deeply missed.

Easter Seals and other organizations have worked for many years to finally get to this vote, and you can link here to see how your senators voted.

Easter Seals worked hard to try to fight opposition that was spreading misinformation, and we did it by staying focused on the facts:

• The Convention does NOT mean we have to change or abide by any law but existing U.S. law.
• It does NOT allow other nations to meddle in U.S. law or with U.S. citizens.

This information comes from top bipartisan legal scholars including Dick Thornburg, who was U.S. Attorney General under George H.W. Bush.

I was sitting in the Senate gallery with many of my colleagues and friends from the disability community and it was painful to watch how the vote was affecting people. Many in the gallery were in tears by the end of the vote.

Easter Seals supports the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The CRPD is critical to expand the rights provided people with disabilities in the United States (through landmark civil rights law like the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) to the rest of the world. In addition, it would help protect Americans with disabilities who work and travel abroad (including disabled American veterans and military family members) from discrimination.

When the 113th Congress convenes next year, we will continue to push for ratification of the Convention. This is not over yet.

Staff Sergeant Donnie D. Dixon

Dixon Center is named in honor of Staff Sergeant Donnie D. Dixon. He was a career soldier — and a husband and father — who was killed during his second tour of duty at the age of 37 in Baloor, Iraq. Dixon’s mother said, “he died doing what he always wanted to do … serve his country.”

It’s a unique project: under the leadership of COL Sutherland and Kimberly Mitchell (I’ll be telling you more about Kim in a post coming up soon) Easter Seals gets to be a huge part of a nationwide network of collaborative, community-based services and supports for military service members, veterans and their families.

An article in the Washington Examiner refers to a white paper COL Sutherland co-wrote while serving in the Pentagon. That white paper reports there are more than 400,000 registered websites for donors and organizations supporting service men and women. The article explains how Dixon Center aims to become a clearinghouse for finding the best local, state and regional services. COL Sutherland is quoted about why this is so important:

“We realize that there are some things that government just can’t do that independent groups in communities can … More than anything else, we’re looking for community leaders to connect with those who have served.”

Before hearing COL Sutherland speak last May, I didn’t know much about what is going on overseas and felt very removed from military-related issues. After hearing him tell several real-life stories about his friends who just needed a little help with reintegration in order to thrive, I came to the realization that these people have faces, families, injuries that need care and communities that can help. His talk completely transformed the way I think about the military and veterans. I am thankful for their continued service and for my heightened awareness around the difficulties so many American families face. Thanks to them, we all have a lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving.

Con-way Truckload delivers much needed supplies for East Coast veterans

The pro bono shipment of first-aid kits, food, toiletries, blankets, shoes, coats and other clothing items arrived via a 53-foot Con-Way Truckload truck at Easter Seals New Jersey, fittingly, on Veterans Day. Program participants, staff, and families are working to repackage the much needed supplies to share with area veterans groups from the New Jersey and New York metro area this week.

Here at Easter Seals Headquarters in Chicago, it was heartwarming to watch this unfold. AllHumanity Group LLC, a group dedicated to solving humanitarian problems, wanted to donate goods for veterans in need, but had no means of transporting them from South Carolina up to Easter Seals in New Jersey. The donation became a reality when Con-way immediately stepped in to help, providing seamless transportation for the 24 pallets of supplies.

In the midst of disaster, Con-way came through! Thank you.

This year Richard will be travelling to all sorts of events to share his story and speak about the importance of services for members of the military, veterans and their families.

Most importantly, Richard and his family will be providing a human connection to what is happening overseas. When we hear firsthand from veterans, their work becomes real to those of us who are removed from the military. We learn why it’s important to care, and what a valuable resource Easter Seals is.

To find local support if you’re a military family, or want to learn how to make a difference for military families, call Easter Seals Community One Source at 866-423-4981 or email us at veterans@easterseals.com.