Inside this Issue

Young Man with CP Breaking Down Barriers...
on the Golf Course

PGA Logo

Are you a golf enthusiast? Even if you're not, make sure you check out the PGA Tour Web site to learn about D.J. Gregory, a young man with CP who has decided to walk every PGA Tour event during the 2008 regular season (38 weeks of travel and 37 events) and blog about it!

D.J. Gregory When D.J. was an infant, doctors told his parents he would never walk. Now 30, D.J. walks with a cane, holds a master degree in Sports Marketing, lives independently, works as an entrepreneur and lets nothing stand in his way. D.J. is truly living his life without limits and wants the world to know that people with disabilities can do whatever their hearts' desire. D.J. has already secured numerous sponsorships for his upcoming adventures, including underwriting from the PGA Tour, Southwest Airlines and Ashworth.

Don't miss this opportunity to read about D.J.'s adventure and support him and all people with disabilities who are living full, independent and productive lives.

20/20 Helping the World See
Through the Eyes of People with Disabilities

Kevin Connolly and his Web site, the Rolling Exhibition
Source:
Kevin Connolly's Web site,
The Rolling Exhibition

Last month, the ABC News magazine, 20/20, featured three different stories focusing on the experience of people living with disabilities. All three were interesting and generally positive. However, one story is especially provocative.

Kevin Connolly is a photographer who traveled the world and photographed people staring at him because of his disability. His Web site, "The Rolling Exhibition", features photos of his journey and the people who stared. On his Web site, Kevin writes, "Everyone tries to create a story... we want to know how someone different, strange, or disfigured came to be as they are. Everyone does it. It's natural. It's curiosity. But before any of us can ponder or speculate—we react. We stare... [it is] more reflex than conscious action—that makes us who we are and has been one of my goals to capture over the past year. Looking at each face, I saw humanity. Rolling through their streets, I found the unique cultures and customs that created an individual."

See the 20/20 story about Connolly to learn more and to watch part of the segment that aired on television or visit the main 20/20 Web site for further coverage.

A Rolling View:
A Unique Perspective from the Seat of a Wheelchair

Photo of Galen Buckwalter with a camera mounted to his wheelchair.
Galen Buckwalter,
a clinical psychologist
with a camera mounted
to his wheelchair

What do people in wheelchairs see? This was the topic of NPR's "Talk of the Nation" program on January 10th, as they discussed a new documentary entitled Rolling. Physician and filmmaker Gretchen Berland gave video cameras to three Los Angeles residents in wheelchairs and asked them to document their everyday lives by mounting cameras on their wheelchairs. The result is a view from the participants' angle everywhere they go—home, work, and general everyday situations. This documentary sheds light on life from a unique perspective seen through the eyes of an individual living with an alternative form of mobility.

Watch the film, Rolling.
Watch the film, Rolling.

Not every experience is a positive one and oftentimes frustration was the end result. From finding necessary goods on the top shelf at the grocery store, to attempting to get into one's own home, each experience challenges the perception of common everyday encounters often taken for granted by the general population. Galen Buckwalter, a clinical psychologist who was paralyzed at 17, said that through the experience he was frustrated, not only because he is defined as disabled, but because he is also expected to "feel and act disabled." Berland hopes to convey that "in the end, it's really about life. It's not about feeling sorry for someone with a disability."

A total of 212 hours of footage taken over two years has been edited down to a one-hour program that will air on various public broadcasting stations in February.

For more information:

Recycling Cell Phones: An EPA Sponsored Opportunity

Fabrizio Costantini for The New York Times: Used Cell Phones
Source: New York Times

On January 8th the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a public campaign, in partnership with many retailers, manufacturers and service providers, to educate cell phone users about the benefits of recycling their old cell phones. Eleven companies — AT&T, Best Buy, LG Electronics, Motorola, Nokia, Office Depot, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Sprint, Staples and T-Mobile — are partners in the campaign. The EPA estimates that as many as 150 million cellphones are taken out of service each year and of that 150 million, only 20 percent are recycled or reused. Cellular phones contain metals, plastics, glass and chemicals, all of which require energy to mine and make, and could be hazardous if they end up in landfills and leach into the ground.

BCS Recycling Specialists Container Box

This announcement provides a wonderful opportunity to support UCP as well as the environment. The UCP-BCS Recycle program is a quick and easy way for end users to recycle cell phones as well as other electronics, such as laptops, used printers, inkjet cartridges and PDAs.

The EPA's campaign, "Recycle Your Cellphone. It's an Easy Call" targets 18-35-year-olds, the population segment that upgrades to new cell phones most often. Matt Hale, the director of the EPA's office of solid waste said, "Our key role is to get the message out, that recycling cellphones is easy and convenient." View a New York Times article addressing the campaign.

For more information on the UCP-BCS Recycle program, please contact Emily Dolenz at (800) 872-5827 or visit the BCS Recycle Web site.

» Take Action on Facebook or Change.org and help spread the UCP mission — a life without limits for people with disabilities.

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