Muskingum Co. Board of Developmental Disabilities Hosts March for Inclusion

ZANESVILLE, OH – March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.

To help shed more light on this topic, the Muskingum County Board of Developmental Disabilities hosted their second annual March for Inclusion next to the Courthouse.

Jenna Conaway, the Board of DD’s Public Relations and Community Outreach Coordinator, said the purpose behind the march was to show that even though a person might look or act differently, they still deserved to be included.

“It’s so important for our folks, I mean really, they’re just like anyone else in the community and we want them to have all those same social interactions,” Conaway said. “It’s amazing when other organizations and businesses come out and march along with us, the Commissioners are coming out, so any extra social interactions we can get, it’s all the better.”

Conaway said many different organizations and day centers were invited to attend the march and also said she was blown away by the turn out.

Alyson Peairs, the President of Muskingum County People First, was invited to speak and talked about the importance of continuing their message.

“To speak to everyone, to allow Muskingum County to know that everyone is the same and people with disabilities can make a difference and we can encourage people to stand with us,” Peairs said. “It meant a lot to get out and to show people that we have a voice and that we’re able to make a difference.”

“It’s such a blessing to be a part of the Muskingum community,” Kellie Brown, the Superintendent with the Board of DD, said. “Everybody in Muskingum County is so positive and they look at people for their abilities and not their disabilities.”

Plans are already in the works for next year’s March for Inclusion.