Commissioner Sapolin, MOPD Staff, Art Beyond Sight's Carrie Sherman and I.D.E.A.S. Executive Director Lisa Dennett are joined by Yankees Manager Joe Girardi on the field at Yankee Stadium.

"As we do every year, I am pleased to present Certificates of Appreciation on behalf of the Mayor to New York City entities that help improve the lives of people with disabilities. This year, we are delighted to honor two outstanding organizations, Art Beyond Sight and I.D.E.A.S., both of which have shown a dedication to the inclusiveness of people with disabilities in culture and the arts," said Commissioner Sapolin. "I would like to thank the New York Yankees for continuing our partnership in their Disability Awareness Night, which continues to provide a platform for our message of inclusiveness and diversity for people with disabilities, and look forward to continuing this endeavor in the years to come."

Interactive Drama for Education and Awareness in the Schools (I.D.E.A.S.) was recognized for their work in theater arts with youth with disabilities both in-school and after-school. Founded in 1999, I.D.E.A.S. was established to offer drama programs at the heart of a well-rounded education that focuses on the individual, using drama as a teaching and learning tool. The populations of youth I.D.E.A.S. works with include those with physical, sensory and cognitive disabilities as well as other disadvantages, be they social, economic or geographic, ages 5-21, providing equal access to participatory drama opportunities. I.D.E.A.S. has an office in Brooklyn, NY, though teaching artists bring programs to the youth wherever they are in the City of New York. I.D.E.A.S.' drama programs were designed for experiential learning, where youth with disabilities are not just audience members, but actors themselves, learning directly from theater professionals.

•  Creative Drama. Students learn the basics of improvisational drama techniques: thinking quickly, listening to each other, using their imagination and working together. Youth learn creative drama practices and structure: how to create theatrical scenes without a script, cooperative group interaction and ensemble-building. Youth also learn new vocabulary specific to drama as well as expressive literacy.

•  Sociodrama offers an emphasis on handling social situations such as bullying, gossip, peer pressure, violence, and more. I.D.E.A.S. strives to instill a confidence in youth with disabilities that is a "can do" attitude. We start from who they are and focus on their abilities and strengths. From there, they can tackle nearly anything.  

For 25 years, Art Beyond Sight (formerly Art Education for the Blind) has been working to make art and culture accessible for all. The organization has created teaching methods and materials that are used by museum educators and special education instructors in New York, as well as across the country and around the world. Art Beyond Sight's methodology, initially created for people with vision loss, has proven equally effective with people with developmental and emotional disabilities.

In addition to the wide variety of programs offered by Art Beyond Sight, one is New York Beyond Sight (www.nybeyondsight.org), a program which makes NYC landmarks accessible to blind and sighted New Yorkers through recorded visual descriptions. Among the recordings is Yankees' announcer Michael Kay's verbal description of Yankee Stadium. Other Art Beyond Sight programs include:

•  Multi-modal Approaches to Learning International Conferences, cosponsored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and hosted at the museum.
• Art Beyond Sight Laboratory for Learning offers a unique hands-on multimodal program for children and teens with visual impairments, developmental and emotional disabilities.
•  Art Beyond Sight Awareness Month is an international initiative and a network of over 250 institutions that works to bring public attention to the need for and benefits of making art and visual culture accessible to all.

The Mayor's Office for People With Disabilities (MOPD) Commissioner Matthew Sapolin is partnering with Art Beyond Sight on Project Access New York, an initiative to bridge the gap between New York City's accessible arts organizations and people with disabilities. I.D.E.A.S.is one of the founding partners of the Project Access New York. www.projectaccessforall.org.