Megan Hoorn & Sarah Mueller: Difference Makers In The Community
YPSILANTI (WWJ) - Eastern Michigan University students Megan Hoorn and Sarah Mueller are using their educational experience to deepen their life experience.
The pair belongs to "Best Buddies" on the EMU Campus.
Hoorn said the group's purpose is simple: "What we wanna do is create a friendship between a young adult with a disability and a college student," she said.
Hoorn and Mueller took the idea a step further, though, organizing something special this spring.
"So, what Sarah and I wanted to do was have a way for us to work together with them, so that we could bring an inclusive group of both college students and people with disabilities on an alternative Spring Break trip and be doing inclusive community service," Hoorn said.
The Best Buddies alternative Spring Break group worked at several nonprofits.
"It was a really awesome opportunity for some of our buddies who have disabilities to be the givers of service, rather than the receivers of service," Hoorn said.
Hoorn said the participants with disabilities gained a special sense of accomplishment when they got a chance to serve others, and the college students felt as if they helped change how others view those with disabilities.
"One of the college students on the trip said, 'I want people to see us as abled — all of us'," Hoorn said.
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Do you know someone in your community that has made a difference to benefit others? WWJ Newsradio 950 is seeking out individuals who are making a difference, big or small - people who have inspired positive change and those who have made an impact in the community.
Each month, WWJ will honor a person as the Difference Maker in the Community. This person will be highlighted on-air and on cbsdetroit.com for their positive contributions. All monthly Difference Makers will be invited to join at a special luncheon in the spring of 2013 to recognize the positive contributions. Click here to nominate someone you know. WWJ Newsradio 950 Difference Maker in the Community program is presented by Baker Tilly Accountants and Advisors and sponsored in part by Family Heating, Cooling & Electrical.
