Wendell Foster has launched our “Spot the Ability” campaign in honor of National Developmental Disability Awareness Month in March! The campaign aims to shift how people see disability—from focusing on limitations to recognizing ability, individuality, and potential.
Kara Howard, Vice President of Development and Community Engagement at Wendell Foster, said Spot the Ability focuses on seeing beyond disability, and highlights what a person can do versus what they can’t do. “In our society, a person’s disability is often noticed first. With Spot the Ability, we’re changing that,” Howard said. “This campaign encourages the community to shift their perspective and spot the unique strengths and characteristics that define each person.”
The campaign features Spot the dalmatian as its mascot. Dalmatians are known for their distinctive spots, with no two spots looking exactly the same. In Spot the Ability, spots represent the abilities and qualities that make each person unique. Spots can include strengths, passions, talents, dreams, and personality traits. “Our mascot, Spot, encourages the community to slow down, look closer, and discover the abilities that are often right in front of us,” said Howard.
Howard said the campaign is multi-faceted, with social media engagement, school curriculum for grades K-12, and “Spot Sightings” in the community. The school curriculum features age-appropriate lessons on topics such as recognizing differences, developing empathy, strengthening social awareness, understanding different perspectives, and analyzing barriers for individuals with disabilities. Each lesson includes corresponding activities, worksheets, and discussion prompts for classroom use. “It’s important that students grasp these concepts early in life, so they carry inclusion and acceptance with them into adulthood,” Howard explained. To engage the community in the campaign, Wendell Foster has hidden miniature figurines of Spot throughout the Owensboro area for people to discover. Each “Spot Sighting” includes a figurine, a Spot the Ability sticker, and a card with more information about the campaign. Those who find Spot are encouraged to share their sighting on social media using the hashtag #SpotTheAbility and tag Wendell Foster (@wendellfosterdifferencemaker).
“We hope that when someone shares a Spot Sighting, they’ll also highlight a unique ability they’ve noticed in themselves or in someone else,” said Howard. “They can choose to keep Spot as a reminder of the campaign, or re-hide him in a new location for someone else to find.”
Wendell Foster encourages the community to follow along on its social media pages during the month of March for additional campaign content. “What we love most about Spot the Ability is that it’s applicable to everyone,” Howard shared. “As people, we all have traits that make us special, and this campaign shines a light on that. Our goal is to promote a shared language of inclusion—something each of us can practice every day in the way we see and support one another.”