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Wheaton Rotary Helps Enable the Disabled

Lives of people with disabilities will continue to be changed thanks in part to a recent donation from the Wheaton Rotary Club to Donka, Inc. A $4,000 check was presented to Donka by the immediate past-president of Wheaton Rotary, John Wilt. "It is great to see the difference Donka is making in the lives of so many in our community living with disabilities," said Mr. Wilt.

Donka is the only computer training program of its kind in the Chicagoland area that teaches persons with various disabilities to use computers to read, write, continue an education or advance skills needed for the workplace. "Donka depends on loyal donors to keep our program operational and at no-cost, or, very low cost for the students we serve each year. This generous donation will allow us to grow our education efforts and invest in more needed assistive technology devices for our students," said Leanne Stavenger-Vos, Executive Director of Donka. "Our instructors keep a wish list for technology they want to teach including I Mac to teach persons who are blind to use "voice over" features, chrome book tablets for students with disabilities to use who are attending area grade schools and high schools; and then we have more expensive purchases that include replacing our current network server to be "cloud" based."

In 1987, Donka began with one computer station in a space not much larger than a closet. Now it is a state-of-the-art training enterprise with 20 workstations, two lab locations, remote training services, a visual services program, professional training services, and an assistive technology loaner program. Donka is the only program of its kind in Illinois offering one-on-one individualized instruction for persons with disabilities.

Donka relies on community support to help offer the assistive technology computer training program. If you are interested in volunteering, donating or enrolling in the program, please visit www.DonkaInc.org.

"I see first-hand the need for Donka's services and the dramatic impact our support can have," said Mr. Wilt. "That is why I knew right away where I wanted a portion of our proceeds to go after our annual fundraiser last year."

Wheaton Rotary's annual fundraiser, Christmas Inn, is their major event to raise donations that benefit local, national and international service projects. This year Christmas Inn will be held on Saturday, December 5, at The Abbington Banquets in Glen Ellyn, IL. For more information, visit their website www.wheatonrotary.org.

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