Overstuffed Hearts

By John Samuel

We are coming up on my favorite time of the year, Thanksgiving!!! I love everything about it… from the time with friends and family to the food!

As a kid, I would stuff my face with turkey and all the delicious sides that my Mom would make, with only taking breaks to toss the football around with my friends! Then, when I got my first job out of college, and moved out to Bangalore, I tried to bring the same traditions to my new home. So, I flew in a turkey, spent hours cooking the bird, and then put it in a cooler to transport it to my friend’s house… not realizing that it was continuing to cook in the airtight cooler! The turkey was over cooked, but I still had an amazing time with my friends!

Nowadays, food is secondary to spending time with my friends and family, and I spend more time reflecting on all the things that I’m thankful for. And as we come out of the month of October, celebrating National Disability Employment Awareness Day, I’m reminded of how grateful I am for all our partners and supporters!

Each year, I’m blown away by the ever-growing number of organizations and partners, who invite us to join them in celebrating the contributions that people with disabilities bring to the workforce, including Ulta Beauty, who announced how our Disability Inclusion trainings were rolled out to all their 55,000+ employees! Then Infosys invited Parrice Leach, an Ablr Works alumnus, to take part in a podcast to share her experience in the Infosys Instep internship program! Not to mention, RWJF, who is one of our long-lasting partners, invited me to contribute a DEI Efforts blog to highlight how prioritizing accessibility strengthens our communities and makes it possible for more of us to live our healthiest lives!

These are just a few of the ways our partners included the Ablr team in their celebrations in October! And this is why we have the best partners, clients, and supporters in the world!!

So, this year, in between throwing the football to my own kids, I’ll be giving thanks to the entire Ablr community, and a special thank you to my team, who show up every day, and without them, none of this would be possible! Thank you for stuffing my heart with all you do!

From all of us at Ablr, Happy Thanksgiving!