Dear All:
We are so excited about the press conference we have set up for Friday, 9/14/12 at 11am on the
steps of City Hall. We have invited City Council members, Senators and members of the Assembly,
the Mayor, Borough Presidents, and other City officials. We also invited our congressional
representatives but have learned that they’ll be in session in DC next Friday. Of course we are also
inviting the press and ask that if you have any press connections, or relationships with elected
officials, that you contact them to encourage their participation.
We are hoping to have a City Council member as the MC and have a variety of other speakers.
Margaret Puddington has agreed to speak on the importance of our workforce and provide the
family perspective. We will have 4 Direct Support Professional speakers hopefully accompanied by
the people they support who may also speak. Families of service recipients and the DSP speakers
are also welcome to attend.
Please participate if possible. This is a wonderful opportunity to thank your staff in a public way
and to create some positive media attention for a change! All staff and program participants and
their families are welcome. All DSP’s will be given a white carnation to wear. Please bring signs
made by people in your programs to show how they feel about direct support professionals and the
support they provide. This will serve as an interesting backdrop for the pictures that the press will
take and hopefully publish.
Have your groups show up between 10:30 and 10:45 am and come directly to the steps where
we’ll be waiting to hand out flowers and get everyone organized. Let me know how many people
you plan to bring, particularly the number of staff so we have enough carnations. Feel free to
invite your union reps if you want to!
As always, please call or email if you have any questions, and thanks, in advance, for your support
of this exciting and worthwhile initiative!
Wini
Directions below: By Subway: #4, #5, #6 trains to City Hall/Brooklyn Bridge #2, #3 trains to Park Place W, R trains to City Hall C, A trains to Chambers Street By Bus: M15 to City Hall/Park Row Driving Directions to City Hall: From the East Side: take the FDR Drive to the Manhattan Civic Center Exit From the West Side: take the West Side Highway to Chambers Street Exit Please note: No Parking is available at City Hall.