Trenton, NJ – Allies Inc., a statewide nonprofit organization and the New Jersey State Coordinator for National Disability Mentoring Day (DMD) has lined up several companies who are going to participate in Disability Mentoring Day by hosting small groups of high school students with disabilities on October 15, 2008 for a half day of career exploration.

Various types of companies, big and small, throughout the state: Ernst & Young LLP, Novartis, Trump Entertainment Resorts, Centrastate Healthcare Systems, Schering-Plough, Lawrence Toyota, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Good Nature Health Foods, Dellridge Health & Rehabilitation Center, Double T Ranch, The Earle Companies, Easter Seals Paper Mill Playhouse, Bristol- Myers Squibb, WAWA, NJ Sports & Exposition Authority, Trenton Thunder, PSE&G, Henry H. Kessler Foundation, Franklin Township Police Department, Carteret Fire Department Carteret Police Department New Jersey City University Hunterdon County Community College, Applebee’s, Olive Garden, Jackson Twp Recreation Dept,.Jackson Municipal Complex, Jackson Police Dept, Rutgers University, and more, have signed up to date.

They report directly to the company which they have been assigned with chaperones from their school and an Allies representative. From about 9AM-12PM they receive career education about that particular company. This can include a tour of the facility, introduction to the job functions of employees, and also time with employees so students may shadow them or interview them about their job.

National Disability Mentoring Day began at the White House in 1999 as a program to increase the profile of National Disability Employment Awareness Month which is celebrated every October and has since grown to include participation from 13,000 students and job-seekers in communities throughout the U.S. and twenty-four additional countries.

Disability Mentoring Day will begin with a kickoff at the Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf located in Lawrenceville, New Jersey on October 14th 2008. If your company is interested in learning how they can participate please contact Wendy Sturgeon at (609) 689-0136, extension 125 or Wsturgeon@alliesnj.org
Please visit the Allies Inc. website at http://www.alliesnj.org

ABOUT Allies, Inc. – Allies, Inc. is an independent nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization helping people with special needs lead fulfilling lives in the community. Allies, Inc.’s purpose is to provide innovative residential, employment and advocacy programs for people with special needs based on their choices and needs.