ABOUT
Productive and prosperous communities rely on all its members having the opportunity to participate in and contribute as fully as possible to their community.
The 8th Business DisABILITY Awards of Australia aims to acknowledge those within our buisness community who are helping to achieve this aim.
The Awards provides a platform to recognise businesses and individuals in the Toowoomba and Darling Downs region who support, educate and employ people with a disability.
Due to an increasing awareness of the value and importance of disability access and inclusion, the Awards has grown significantly in size and profile since its inception.
This year, we are pleased to have as our Event Partners four leading organisations within the local disability support industry. Their involvement is a significant step in our event's development and professionalism.
2020 Event Partners
The Committee
The 2020 Awards Committee is comprised of:
Paul Wilson, Founding Committee Member
David Wallis, Founding Committee Member
Kim Stokes, Founding Committee Member
Gail Yates, Program Manager - Disability Support, YellowBridge QLD
Jodie Collins, General Manager Disability Services, YellowBridge QLD
Lyndel Bunter, CEO, Warrina Services
Leanne Hardcastle, Marketing & Communication Specialist Arafmi QLD
Greg Luck, CEO, HELP Employment & Training
Sharon Potaka, General Manager-Disability Employment, HELP Enterprises
Mike Loft, Event Manager - Con-Sol
The History of the Awards
The Toowoomba West Special School P&C is progressive and forward-thinking. In 2012, they saw the need to recognise those businesses that support, educate and employ people with a disability in the Toowoomba region. Thus the Toowoomba Business disAbility Awards were born.
The Committee has a strong commitment to the future of its students, and indeed to the overall employment of people with a disability in the mainstream workforce – as both a community benefit, and a viable commercial decision.
They believe in encouraging engagement between local businesses and people with a disability, to gain meaningful employment in the community.
About the Toowoomba West Special School
Toowoomba West Special School (TWSS) aims to provide a supportive learning environment where individual students achieve educational outcomes to assist them in their transition to their secondary education and, ultimately, their post school life. TWSS is located in Gladstone Street in Newtown, Toowoomba.
Students at TWSS are of primary school age – Prep to Year 7. The school has adopted a needs-based approach to program delivery with programs being developed to best meet students’ individual learning needs. The school is organised into four learning teams delivering different educational programs and teaching strategies designed to meet the particular learning characteristics and needs of the students in each learning team.
The Functional Movement Centre (FMC) delivers programs based on the principles of Conductive Education. These programs are delivered to students with multiple disabilities. This unit is designed to facilitate increased movement in students with significant physical and multiple disabilities.
The students are involved in extra-curricular activities such as horse riding, swimming, camps etc
It is the intention of the P & C Association to continue to raise much needed funds to assist the students receive the education that they deserve. The school is in constant need of special equipment that is specifically designed for children with varying degrees of disability.