The Dan Van Hecke Award

07/30/2018

Happy birthday Medicaid and Medicare!

On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law. Fifty-two years later, both programs stand as shining examples of gover...

04/18/2018

Disability advocacy and service organization breaking down barriers and serving Chicago

03/07/2018

If we want more people to attend the Disability Pride Parade, then we NEED to advocate TODAY!!!

Action Alert! Ask Congress to Pass the EMPOWER Care Act S.2227/H.R.4275 Would Help People Go Back to the Community Money Follows the Person (MFP) is a Medicaid program that has helped over 75,000 people with disabilities and seniors move out of nursing homes or institutions and back into their commu...

11/15/2017

Fight Against Attacks on People with Disabilities in Tax Reform Tax Cuts Could Mean Disability Cuts Right now, Congress is discussing an effort to lower taxes. While paying less taxes is attractive to many, the current proposal also contains a lot of things that would hurt people with disabilities a...

07/23/2017

Congratulations to Nancy Litke. She is the 2017 recipient of the Dan Van Hecke award. Stay tuned and stay aware of other potential recipients for this award in 2018.

07/17/2017

Less than a week away from the Disability Pride Parade and our Dan Van Hecke Award Recipient has been selected, notified and is ready to be amplified when they are announced. Come to the Disability Pride Parade event at Daley Plaza to find out who this year's recipient is. Program starts at noon after the Parade arrives at Daley Plaza.

06/12/2017

Hey everyone, it's that time again. Please consider your nominations of people in the Chicagoland area who excel in the following areas:
• Disability – Must be a person with a disability, a family member, friend or ally to the disability community.
• Leadership – Displays the ability to motivate and inspire others.
• Initiative – Demonstrates ability to take charge by creating or developing a local program, project, or activity that impacts the disability community.
• Creativity – Develops/proposes creative ways to accomplish goals and objectives.
• Integrity - Deals ethically in relationships. Maintains a fair, honorable and open environment.
• Empowerment - Empowers other by sharing responsibility, authority, effort, enthusiasm, information, vision, talent, and credit

Private message Scott Nance or this page for an electronic nomination form.

07/26/2016

Congratulations to Linda Hall and Barbara Tobias on receiving the 2016 Dan Van Hecke Award. Well earned. Learn more about their organization at the link listed below.

Connect to Community is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to finding and facilitating purposeful employment and enjoyment for adults with developmental disabilities. Further, in an effort to help these adults live the lives they desire and deserve within the community, we will provide person-c...

07/13/2016

The recipient for this year's Dan Van Hecke Award has been selected and will be announced at Daley Plaza between noon and 3 pm on Saturday, July 23.

06/17/2016

Today is the deadline for nominating that awesome person for this presitgious award. Message Scott Nance at ssnance@hotmail.com. Late nominations may or may not be accepted....

05/18/2016

05/18/2016

Good morning everyone!

Again, it STILL ain’t that warm but I swear summer has got to be coming soon, which means…

…Disability Pride Parade is coming July 23rd!

Last year was great and part of what was so great was Candace Coleman accepting the Dan Van Hecke Award. Please share with your groups because I know there are leaders in this building both on staff and consumers who deserve the recognition.

Hint to folks doing the nominating: the award is as much a reflection of the person doing the nominating as it is the person being nominated. Take time to reflect and share all of the awesome attributes; it is not enough to say the person is really good and done a lot.

Thanks in advance for sharing with your networks and groups!

01/12/2016

This page is intended to promote nominations for an Award honoring a great person but it should not be limited to this. As it is appropriate, folks may share stories here about Dan, the Award, the Parade and whatever else may be related to Disability Pride. Please share and if you have someone who meets the criteria for the Award, please message Scott Nance for an application or make the request here. I would prefer nominations be private and not posted here.

01/12/2016

01/12/2016

The Dan Van Hecke Award was created in 2009 to honor the work of a man who dedicated his life to empowering the disability community. Dan, a major organizer of the Disability Pride Parade, was also an accessible taxi driver and spearheaded the Taxi Access Program in Chicago. His inexhaustible efforts to create more avenues of independence for and invest in people with disabilities are reflected in this award.