Sacramento is "The City That Works For Everyone."
For us, that slogan starts at home, in the Mayor’s Office.
The Sacramento mayoral support team has been fortunate to be assisted
by two wonderfully dedicated interns from the WE Include program, an
effort created and led by California First Lady Maria Shriver and Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The program brings people with intellectual and developmental
disabilities into professional work environments. They learn new
skills, make significant contributions and build lasting friendships.
The Mayor’s Office WE Include interns for the past few months were Jaylene Johnson
and Michael Valentine. Most mornings, they were the first team members
to arrive at City Hall, greeting the rest of our crew as they arrived.
Jaylene and Michael worked on various projects, including
administrative tasks and assisting the Mayor’s executive support team.
Their positive spirits and non-stop pride set high standards for
excellence and motivation among every city staffer they encountered.
Since completing their work at City Hall, Jaylene and Michael have
graduated high school and I’m pleased to announce that both will be
attending college in the fall. In addition, Jaylene has already started
working for California Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro.
We in the Mayor’s Office are thrilled and proud to continue to provide
work opportunities for Sacramentans with developmental disabilities in
City Hall.
Maria has waged a crusade to change society’s negative perceptions
about people with developmental disabilities into an image of hope,
inspiration and accomplishment.
Next Wednesday (June 23), Maria will continue her family’s legacy of
supporting Individuals with developmental disabilities with an event in
Sacramento to raise support and awareness for Best Buddies
International.
The First Lady will be joined by TEAM MARIA for this event and they will participate in the September 11th Audi Best Buddies
Challenge: Hearst Castle. It’s a 100-mile bike ride from Carmel to San
Simeon to support Best Buddies International, and is one of the
program’s biggest annual fund-raising events.
Best Buddies is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating
opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and
leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental
disabilities.