UCP-SEW Scores Big With Good Eats, NFL Coach

The aroma of Milwaukee's finest food filled the reception hall at the United Cerebral Palsy of Southeastern Wisconsin (UCP-SEW) 25th annual Taste of Milwaukee. The affiliate invited participants to "experience the flavor of our diverse and wonderful city while contributing to a worthy cause."

Only the best restaurants in Milwaukee were invited to participate, each providing the staff and food at no cost to UCP-SEW. This year, 22 of the finest restaurants in the city accepted the offer.

The evening began with a pre-dining reception, where guests mingled and enjoyed cocktails while previewing items for the live and silent auctions, which took place after dinner. The Nick Contorno Orchestra played throughout the night.

Mike McCarthy, the head coach of the Green Pay Packers football team, was the master of ceremonies, as well as the event's guest of honor. He was very accessible to the guests and showed great interest in the event and United Cerebral Palsy. And with Milwaukee clearly in "Packer country," McCarthy could not have been better received.

After dinner, event participants were welcomed by a sports reporter for the local FOX News Channel and Coach McCarthy. A radio deejay then presented the live auction and awards were presented by Fred Hesselbein, Executive Direct of UCP-SEW.

Five hundred people participated in Taste of Milwaukee, helping to raise about $45,000 for UCP-SEW. Hesselbein credits the success to good planning and a "tradition of excellence" which keeps restaurants, volunteers, sponsors and participants coming back year after year.

Headlines

Cerebral palsy not stopping Gregory from living a dream
USA Today, 5/20/08
The "sports nut" from Savannah, Ga., is following his dream to live life on the Tour, driven to navigate every hole of every round of every tournament with a different player each week this year.

Walking tall for United Cerebral Palsy of Michigan
Muskegon Chronicle, 5/20/08
How Neil Sauter walks and sleeps piqued the children's curiosity.

Nonprofits offered free captioning
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 5/20/08
Nonprofit groups have a chance to spread video or DVD messages to the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities for free, thanks to an offer from a Washington County captioning company.

Disabled Riders Question Need For MetroAccess Recertification
Washington Post, 5/20/08
Her disability is permanent.

But every three years, she must go through a time-consuming process that will cost Metro more than $1 million this year to prove a basic fact of life for her and thousands of other riders: Her disability makes it difficult for her to ride Metrorail or Metrobus and therefore qualifies her for curb-to-curb MetroAccess service.

Judy Woodruff to Moderate Presidential Forum on Disability Issues
JF Activist (Blog), 5/19/08
Late Friday, news anchor and journalist Judy Woodruff of "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer" confirmed that she will serve as moderator for the National Forum on Disability Issues, featuring the 2008 Presidential Candidates (invited) on July 26, 2008 in Columbus, Ohio.

Walking Tall for a Good Cause
ABC News, 5/16/08
Good Morning America Video only.

Pistorius wins appeal, can run for Olympic spot
Fox Sports, 5/16/08
His Olympic dream suddenly revived, Oscar Pistorius can get back to what he loves most - running.

Siblings make beautiful music together, despite disabilities
The Arizona Republic, 5/16/08
"If you believe you'll fail, you'll fail," adss Scott. "People with disabilities can accomplish things like this - if you set your mind to it."

Ramp up to better life
Lake County News-Sun, 5/15/08
The Waukegan law firm of Salvi, Schostok and Pritchard has sponsored events for United Cerebral Palsy in the past and wanted to help build a ramp for a local family, said T.J. Saye of Lake Villa, the chief administrative officer for the law firm.

Artists with Disabilities Registry a Springboard for Success   Rusty Redfern, an artist from Stone Mountain, Georgia, creates award-winning pen and ink drawings with his right foot. He was born without any arms. Using a deliberate, delicate technique called "stippling" or "pointillism," it takes Rusty at least a month to complete a drawing. Example of Rusty's Work Rusty is just one of more than a thousand artists with disabilities who have joined the VSA arts National Artists Registry, a computerized directory of visual, performing, and literary artists. The site is a useful tool for artists with disabilities to be recognized for their talent, and joining the registry is free. It is searchable by the public, and provides space for artists to post an image or headshot, a brief biography, and contact information. Please share this rewarding opportunity with the artists with disabilities you serve. To view the online Artists Registry or to download an application, visit www.vsaarts.org. National Public Radio Story States Underserve Disabled Foster Kids, Study Says by Rachel Jones  All Things Considered, May 4, 2006 · State foster-care systems neglect the needs of disabled children -- and the foster parents who care for them -- according to a national analysis of the child-welfare system. More than one-third of the more than 500,000 children in America's child-welfare system have disabilities, according to the report, the first of its kind. NPR's Rachel Jones reports.   Learning to Live With Cerebral Palsy  StoryCorps: Recording America   Vicky Page, left, with her friend Terrence Hicks, suffers from cerebral palsy. An estimated 500,000 have the condition. StoryCorps Morning Edition, May 20, 2005 · Cerebral palsy has changed Vicky Page's life. As she tells her friend Terrence Hicks, it was particularly difficult being a teenager who relied on a wheelchair. Page says that the issue of acceptance -- by her friends back in school and by herself today -- is one she's still reconciling herself to. And the question of intimacy has its own complications. Vicky Page's story comes to NPR from the StoryCorps project, in which the oral histories of ordinary Americans are recorded. The project, currently at the Library of Congress, is beginning a national tour this month.   Adults Who Live With Learning Disabilities   Talk of the Nation, June 8, 2005 · We usually think of learning disabilities as issues for children. But that's not the whole story. Learning disabilities don't go away as people grow older. They present a new set of challenges for living in an adult world. We discuss how adults live with learning disabilities. Guests: Glenn Young, learning disabilities impacted his life from childhood to adulthood; consultant and advocate for low-income adults with learning disabilities Arlyn Roffman, professor of Special Education at Lesley University in Cambridge Massachusetts; author, Meeting the Challenges of Learning Disabilities in Adulthood Henry Winkler, actor, writer and producer; diagnosed with dyslexia as an adult; created children's book series about a fourth-grader named Hank Zipzer who has dyslexia.