What is the White List?

[Ravyn Crescent]

The White List is our honor board.

It is not about gay or straight rights, black or white power, Asian, Hispanic or any other trivial matter.

This is a place to honor the people who fight back against segregation. Those who fight for the innocent people that are being tortured for being who they are.

Do you know someone who, despite a disability, strives to live their lives and help others?

Do you know a store in your area who prides themselves on being accessible to anyone? Do they have menus in brain and a ramp for people in wheelchairs? Do they make a note not to hire anyone who seems racist toward anyone based on their age, color, disability or sexual preference? Then honor them by telling us their story!

Do YOU have a story? Did you see someone being attacked and ran to their rescue? Did you see a business that refuses to serve people of a certain sexual preference/color/disability/etc. and refuse to enter their establishment? Tell us. Once a month, I will pick a person who stands out and honor them with a Star Award. A Star Award gets your name on the Star List and gets a special star icon in your signature, placed there by an admin or moderator. If someone who has not earned a star award attempts to post one in their signature, it will be removed.

I do not care what religion you are, or if you are not religious. I feel honored by having you all here, because I know you are all good people and you do not hate without reason. I know we are all warriors fighting to end the pain caused by segregation against innocent people.

If someone is doing no harm to another or themselves, and yet they are being attacked for it, I know the warriors of this forum will do their best to stop it.

Thank you, all of you, for your conviction and your hearts.

[marzaally]

Well here is about my mother and my brother.

My mother is what is known as a Para-Professional. Her duty is to help mentally and physically handicapped (I don't know the current term, is it still "differently able?") in their daily live at school. Some of the other children she helps are also discipline problems due to family circumstances and such. She's been doing this job since I was in high school and is a wonderful example of what a Para-Professional should be. She's kind and supportive and gets the children actively involved in learning. She's turned many lives around in an incredibly positive manner and I'm so proud of her. She even got the kids to help her sew a quilt with her!

My brother got a degree in Industrial Organization Psychology with a minor in Japanese but his career began in child care. He worked at the state developmental center where he helped to care for children who were so badly abused they were taken away and are not able to even go to foster care. All the children loved him there, but unfortunately he had to leave them (I don't remember why). He then worked at a middle school as a social worker for children similar to the ones my mother helps. There was a woman who worked with his predecessor who complained that Bryan didn't see here enough (even though he didn't even have to see her at all) about the children and she got him fired. So now he works with the government to ensure that people who are HIV positive and who have AIDS are able to get everything they need be it food and shelter or medication.

These two people have given themselves to help those in need and ensure that the are not taken advantages of or neglected and I am so proud of them.

[Ravyn Crescent]

WOW! Those are two amazing stories!!!

[munchinmonster]

Ok, I need to explain a few things first.

A year and a half or so back the British government decided to start slowly closing down special needs schools and the children were going to attend mainstream education. The only problem with this is that it took a lot more to teach these children then it did others without the disabilities. The government assigned SEN (special educational needs) co-coordinators to each school but even with these people helping to teach the children would and were still falling behind of everybody else. They are now learning less then what they would have in a special needs school.

A previous employer of mine, Sue, during August last year decided to close down her very profitable nursery and turn it into a special needs school/center for her local community (the special needs school in that area got closed down a month beforehand). She didn't charge the parents like the old school did so it was bringing no money since government funding had stopped completely. She got teachers from all the local schools to give up a day a week to come and teach at the special needs school, she also gained volunteers from local nurseries and childcare agencies to come in and work there part time (It was during this time I worked with her). All of the equipment is given to them by children's charities and the school's fun days which she organizes every quarterly. She now earns no money from the place and has to work in another nursery part-time to earn some money. She gave up her business just so the children in the area she lived had a place to go where they could learn at a pace to suit them and not be dragging behind.

The children at her school are on track with other children their own age, and ahead of the special needs children who go to mainstream schools.

[marzaally]

Aw. she sounds like a great person.

[Ravyn Crescent]

that is an amazing story, Munchin!!

[munchinmonster]

Jul 8, 2008 15:13:49 GMT -5 marzaally said:

Aw. she sounds like a great person.

She is a great person. The best I know.

[Ravyn Crescent]

If you guys give me their first and last names, I'll add them to the list. And you'll both be given a star as soon as we have them made