Hills and Dales clients take on staff in annual basketball game

Sportsmanship, teamwork and the friendly spirit of competition was on full display Wednesday during the annual Clients vs. Staff basketball game at Hills and Dales Training Center.

The facility's gymnasium was packed for the game, with family members, staff and students, as the two teams competed in the friendly competition.

This week, Hills and Dales, along with the Highland County Board of Developmental Disabilities, will kickoff the celebration Nation Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, for the month of March.

This year's statewide theme is, “Our Community is Better Together,” and encourages communities to welcome individuals’ differences, as well as their similarities, according to a release from the Ohio Board of Developmental Disabilities.

Locally, the city of Hillsboro, and the Highland County Board of Commissioners are each scheduled to make proclamations commemorating National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, on March 1 and March 7, respectively.

The Ohio Statehouse Atrium will host the annual celebration of Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month on March 1 from 10 a.m. until noon. The Statehouse Kickoff event will focus on the many opportunities emerging in this spirit throughout the state, and raise public awareness of the many abilities that people with disabilities have. In 2011 nearly 500 attendees from all across Ohio were hosted at the Statehouse.

Self advocates from throughout the state will be spotlighted throughout the program, and will share their unique experiences, underscoring the 2012 Awareness Month “Together” theme. Professionals within Ohio’s developmental disabilities system, which serves more than 80,000 individuals, also will participate and represent many service providers and support organizations.

According to Lon Mitchell, Executive Director of Ohio Public Images (OPI), “Each year, the statewide kickoff event reinforces the fact that once we focus on the abilities of all citizens, we all benefit. By welcoming people with disabilities as equal community partners in the workforce, as well as in our schools and neighborhoods, our communities will be stronger.”

For more information, visit www.dodd.ohio.gov.