1/28/08: Irving K. Zola Center Creator Receives Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund

(Boston) – Boston University Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences rehabilitation counseling graduate student, Donna Suskawicz recently received the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund for a new project she has created to help women with disabilities. The Fund awarded Suskawicz $5,000 to support her new program, which will be run out of the Irving K. Zola Center for Persons with Disabilities at Brigham House located in Newton Highlands, Massachusetts.

 Suskawicz’s program will work to empower disabled women through the use of a community amateur radio station to deal with the often isolating effects of living with a disability. She plans to install this radio station at the Zola Center and run a training workshop for those interested in participating. The workshop will teach the basics of “ham” radio and prepare participants to pass the amateur radio licensing test. After receiving the license, the women will be able to use their new skills either at the Zola Center or at home.

 As a woman with lupus, Suskawicz personally understands the needs of women with disabilities. She founded the Zola Center to create a place for persons with disabilities to use as a “social drop-in center to cultivate socialization and community participation among this rather isolated group.” The “ham” radio program will further work to nurture a sense of community for these women.

 “Women with disabilities can be extremely isolated. Some women are afraid to go out – and frequently they don’t have contact with anyone at all,” explained Donna. “The Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund will allow me to combat this isolation and provide a way for women with disabilities to feel like they too are a part of society.”

 TheAvon Hello Tomorrow Fund awards $5,000 each week for one year, ending April 2008, to a deserving individual who has created a program, project or idea to empower women in one of three areas: business development, community service, or awareness and outreach. Local Hello Tomorrow Fund programs have also been created by Avon in 18 other countries worldwide. Winners are selected through an application process.

In addition to running the Zola Center, Suskawicz is currently a graduate student in rehabilitation counseling at Boston University Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. She will graduate with distinction in May 2008.

 Boston University (BU) Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences is an institution of higher education, research and clinical centers whose premier academic programs prepare dynamic health professionals and whose research and leadership in the health and rehabilitation sciences strive to foster critical and innovative thinking to best serve the health care needs of society.  As reported by US News and World Report, all professional graduate programs are ranked within the top 15% in the country. For more information and to learn about degree programs in physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech, language and hearing sciences, health science, athletic training, and nutrition, visit https://www.bu.edu/sargent.