By Paige McKay Kubik

We all know the Frazer Center is an inclusive community. It’s in our mission statement, highlighted in our brochures, and what attracted many of us here in the first place. If we don’t have an immediate member of our family with a disability, then we all know someone that does. But sometimes in the hustle and bustle of our more immediate familial and professional responsibilities, we may either take for granted or simply stop noticing the astonishing, heart-warming stories of inclusion taking place at Frazer every day.

Let’s all take a lesson from Frazer—embrace inclusiveness in our daily life, and begin to shape a more inclusive world together.

It’s our adults putting their unique gifts to work in the community by volunteering to welcome visitors to Fernbank Museum, assisting with landscaping at the Olmstead Linear Park, or producing vegetables in the Frazer gardens to help feed men who are homeless and staying at Clifton Sanctuary Ministry.

It’s the emergency drills we do each month, where preschoolers help their friends who use wheelchairs to evacuate, or comfort a child with autism who is agitated by the alarms. It’s the laughter of a child, or Jonathan’s “Best Day Ever” that turns a hard day around for a staff member. It’s all the adults with disabilities who volunteer in the community, who are loyal employees and customer service experts who set the bar for their teammates with their positive attitude and work ethic. It’s the neighbors, families, volunteers, and friends of Frazer who share this space together each day and give all of themselves to help make our work possible. It’s all of this and so much more.

But we are never satisfied. We are always pursuing more effective and efficient ways to broaden our inclusive mission in both the Adult and Child Development Programs. Furthermore, we want our mission to extend to the outside world. So, the next time you leave Frazer to head to work or home for the evening, try taking a piece of the Frazer mission home with you. Be cognizant about the needs of individuals with disabilities, adopt the person-first language, and read up on the Americans with Disabilities Act. Let’s all take a lesson from Frazer, embrace inclusiveness in our daily life, and begin to shape a more inclusive world together, one where people with and without disabilities can gather, learn, and flourish.

Paige McKay Kubik is the Frazer Center CEO.