Wheel:Life, Comfort Medical, and Rolling With Me is excited to announce that Comfort Medical will be sponsoring Rolling With Me’s Second Annual “Each By Name,” conference. This conference informs, engages, and empowers women of all abilities. Each By Name is Hosted by La Mesa Church of Christ in La Mesa, California, and is organized by Margarita Elizondo, CEO and Founder of Rolling With Me, and Mendy McClure a professor at SDSU who teaches a GS420 course, Disability and Society. Margarita also serves as one of the Wheel:Life ambassadors, where she contributes to Comfort Conversations.
The focus of the conference is to empower women of all abilities to be strong leaders and advocates in the community, while at the same time encourage inclusion on college campuses, community clubs, activities, and events. The ways they do this is by including able-bodied leaders to participate in the logistics of the conference as volunteers, and be participants of the conference themselves. This gives women of all abilities the opportunity to learn from each other and the opportunity to create a network of resources and peer support. Each By Name teaches the following:
Margarita Elizondo has dedicated the following poem to the conference. This poem embraces the powerful message of this inclusive conference. It is also a perfect message for our country right now and should be spread worldwide.
You are not black, white, or brown
You are not lame, retarded, handicapped, or disabled.
You are not the size of your bank account.
You are not the “N” word and you definitely do not deserve to be enslaved, deported, or locked away simply because you are different.
You are not defined by the color of your skin, your seen or unseen limitations, the size of your clothes, or your sexual preference.
You are not a label.
You are not a statistic, a stereotype, or a racial slur.
You are not what society has defined you as nor what that negative voice in the back of your mind echoing your childhood bully’s tournaments.
You are each by name perfectly and purposely made just as you are.
You are each by name given to you at birth by your parents who truly love you.
You are each by name given to by your stature, smile, and essence.
You are each by name given to by your adventures and your accomplishments.
You are each by name given to you by a God who knew you before you were created and with one breath spoke you into existence.
Flashback 2016 Speakers & Workshops
Thanks to the advocacy of the late Rita Desire a former member of La Mesa Church of Christ and her mission to make churches more inclusive, their inviting facility has been modified extensively for wheelchair access throughout the property. The church has accessible restrooms, ramps, clearly marked accessible parking spaces, and most recently (designed specifically for Each by Name) a wheelchair accessible stage. Pastor Graham Clifford and his congregation have kept Rita alive through their love and outreach to people of all abilities.
Participants and volunteers alike participated in the 4 session breakdown of the conference which will include:
Session 1- Speakers:
Tayloure Marcella, Ms. Wheelchair California 2017
Mary Thompson, LCSW SHARP Medical Social Work
Angela Van O,
Niki Yoshimo, Accessible San Diego
Margarita Elizondo, CEO/Founder
Session 2- Workshops
Emily Dolton- Art
Luda Gogolushko - Self Publishing
Angela Van O - Parenting from the Lap
Dr. Jacqueline Jackson - Employment Development
Session 3- Adaptive Sports
SDSU Adaptive Sports
Triumph Foundation
Inclusive Dance
Adaptive Boxing lead by Carlos Gonzalez, Jr and Youth Athletic Gym
WCMX lead by Robert Thompkins, Gretchen Nagel, and Quinn Waitley
Session 4- Grand Finale
Abilities Art Show
Resource Fair
Rolling With Me, Wheel:Life, and Comfort Medical want to continue the peer support. Margarita is a Wheel:Life Comfort Medical Ambassador and offers four focus topic articles a year on her personal experience as a Spinal Cord Injury Survivor. Please visit her articles and comment with your thoughts.
Rolling With Me has created a Facebook group page for Each By Name where participants and other women can stay connected and update each other on how they apply the leadership skills to create inclusion in their community. It is also a way to network and support each other. You may also book Margarita or any of the Each By Name, presenters for your next event! For sponsorship or vendor/exhibitor opportunities contact Resource Fair Coordinator, Tesia Canseco.
For continued updates on the Each By Name conference, follow the Facebook page and Margarita @rollingwith_me on Twitter and Instagram.
Based in Coral Springs, FL, Comfort Medical, LLC is the leading national mail-order provider of urological and ostomy supplies. Comfort is committed to supporting the needs of patients and healthcare professionals by providing a diverse product offering, convenient home delivery, education and support. Comfort Medical, LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Liberty Medical Holdings, LLC. Learn more at ComfortMedical.com or call 1-800-700-4246.
