Music

Building for the future requires us to take different pieces and combine them with others pieces.

KEY 7. Integration

The Resource Key Joins The Valuable Directory for Disability Inclusion

The Restaurant Redefining How to Build Community

  321 Coffee is a “coffee shop and roaster providing meaningful work opportunities to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”

Equipping youth to process and tell their stories through photography.

A United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) funded program that provides support, education, and assistance to ranchers and farmers with disabilities.

Providing career skills training and employment services to individuals with disabilities to assist them in developing the skills they will need to secure a career within the entertainment industry earning a competitive wage.

Yes I Can Unity Through Music and Education

Technology-centered inclusion solution and employment platform for job seekers with disabilities, mental health conditions, and chronic illnesses. 

Photography and video exhibit – both online and in-studio – that showcases the food-related stories of eight disabled Canadians, eight Canadians from culturally diverse backgrounds, and eight Cowichan Valley food and beverage producers.

Cowichan Valley Disability, Culture and Food Through Art Exhibit

Input from the disabled community is a critical part of any company’s inclusivity efforts. Here’s how to seek out their perspectives.

How to include workers with disabilities in your DEI initiatives

THE Project Why is what comes to mind when starting, agreeing or pursuing any project.

Events have the capacity to bring about change, to create spaces to develop relationships to bring about change, and gather new information to use to bring about change.

Authentic Representation is so important.  Authentic is key because you can have representation without it being authentic. 

Music can be such a powerful tool for activism in the community, leadership through lyrics, and communicating authentic messages. 

Who are we designing for? What are we considering when we are designing? So many more questions that come to mind when designing and more importantly inclusive and accessible design. 

Stay Connected takes on a whole new meaning depending on the person, context, and environment.

Improve your social media presence with The Resource Key's free webinar replay on 4 Ways to Make Your Social Media Inclusive and Accessible. Learn about using alt text, image descriptions, color contrast, and hashtags, as well as best practices for accessible content creation and strategies for creating an inclusive online community. Receive a webinar replay, transcript, PowerPoint, and reference outline with resources for free. Start creating a more diverse and equitable online community today.

4 Ways to Make Your Social Media Inclusive and Accessible - Free Webinar Replay

Inclusive Starter Keys:  Inclusive and Accessible Social Media.

Free Inclusive and Accessible Social Media

The Resource Key Featured Brand this week is Yes I Can Unity Through Music and Education (YIC).

YIC is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in Santa Clarita, CA. YIC provides career skills training and employment services to individuals with disabilities to assist them in developing the skills they will need to secure a career within the entertainment industry earning a competitive wage. The Yes I Can program was started by Bret Lieberman, Founder and Executive Director of YIC, along with his partner Kirsten Fitzpatrick as Deputy Director.

Why did The Resource Key want to feature YIC?

According to The Ruderman Family Foundation, while 20% of the U.S. population has a disability, fewer than 2% of all television characters do.  It is imperative that people with disabilities are included in the entertainment industry. YIC “helps individuals with disabilities obtain real-world experience and skills within the entertainment industry that will aid them in securing meaningful careers earning livable wages, improving their quality of life and increasing their independence.”

Authentic representation can be achieved by ensuring people with disabilities are in front of the camera and behind the cameras in roles ranging from actors, producers, choreographers, audio engineers, makeup artists, casting managers, voice-over artists, to name a few roles. YIC provides the following valuable supports for students:

Students receive comprehensive training in 21st Century Career skills taught by YIC’s Masters level educators

Partnerships with a variety of educational institutions

Paid Internship Program (PIP) to gain work experience aligned with entertainment employers

Guest speaker sessions where students can network and learn from industry professionals and hiring managers.

Industry partnerships with direct access to industry internship/job opportunities. 

Internship Opportunities , Donate, Join Their Team , Corporate Sponsorship, Apply For The Board

 Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Website

“YIC believes individuals with disabilities should have the same right as non-disabled individuals to have access to a full range of available employment opportunities and to earn a living wage in a job of their choosing based on their talents, skills, and interests.”

— Yes I Can Unity Through Music and Education (YIC)