DNC Volunteers Will Include People With Disabilities
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The Democratic National Convention will have a new and unique feature this year.
Among the local volunteers will be people with disabilities.
"Today we have made history that we have never made before," Shawn Aleong said. He has quite the resume for a 20-something.
He's in Temple's student government, a board member at ARC, and chairs an NAACP committee. He hasn't taken his opportunities for granted, noting it wasn't so long ago that people with intellectual disabilities, like his, weren't allowed in public places.
Now, he says, they'll be front and center at a huge public event:
"Being at the DNC will show delegates, will show everyone, even though we have a disability, we are still capable of being a success story."
Host committee chair Ed Rendell says recruiting the disabilities community is part of making the DNC the most diverse ever:
"We want to leave the best impression we can of Philadelphia."
They'll be a small part of the 12,000 volunteers, but they'll contribute to that goal.
Rendell says the volunteers will have jobs ranging from greeting delegates and helping to answer their questions to working computers and support roles at big events.
