The William W. Picard Inspire For
Life Foundation
- This Foundation is under
- the umbrella of the
- National Heritage Foundation
Superintendent's letter, Presentations outline, Comments and/or questions, References, Resume
Dear Superintendents,
My name is William Picard, and I am a motivational/educational speaker with cerebral palsy. I graduated from Leavitt Area High School, and then went on to get a B.S. in Business Administration. I am developing a unique program that I would like school systems to consider. I recently started my own nonprofit organization called "Inspire for Life” for motivational-educational speaking. I have done assemblies and in-class lectures to grades K through 12 in school systems throughout Maine. The teachers and students will benefit from my presentations because seeing and hearing me talk about my many physical and learning barriers will allow them to see that if this severely disabled "young" man can accomplish such a great deal in life, then they can as well! Also, through my experiences and my humor, the students will have a better understanding of how to act appropriately around people with disabilities, and therefore, become more aware of all people as individuals with feelings, needs and goals.
Doing my presentation is a unique way to address several components of the Maine Learning Results. Such as, “Recognize scientific and technological contributions of diverse people including women, different ethnic groups, races, and physically disabled;” “Students will demonstrate an understanding of how words and images communicate:” as well as many other aspects of the Maine's Learning Results.
Schools and colleges love to have me, although often do not have the money to pay me. Money is tight in all school systems so I came up with a unique way to address components of the Maine Learning Results without paying extra money. By next school year, "Inspire For Life" will have non-profit status so we can apply for grants to supplement the substitute teacher income. High school and middle school classes meet about every hour, so I would be able to present my diversity speech to a lot of students over the course of one day as a substitute teacher. Hopefully, the grant will also cover expenses for elementary schools, so I can speak to the class while the teacher is there.
In my ten years of public speaking, I have presented information in classes and conferences at the University of Maine, where I got my B.S. in Business Administration. I also have experience speaking to public schools throughout the state of Maine. When I completed a practicum at Unum Corporation, I spoke to employees by using my talking keyboard about issues related to persons with disabilities. For two years, I was a Project Specialist for the Opportunity To Completion grant, at the Center for Community Inclusion at the University of Maine. I did presentations all over the state of Maine in hope of inspiring students with or without special needs to go on to higher education.
My portfolio shows why my presentations have so much impact on school children by letters from the students, principals and teachers. I also will be starting to work with the Sabattus, Lewiston, Auburn and SAD 52 school systems to setup this program for next school year. I would love to add more school systems to the list so please take a moment to fill out the questionnaire. I am hoping that the information you provide will assist me in the grant process.
For more detailed information, log on to www.billpicard.com/inspireforlife/home.html. The ideal way to contact me is through e-mail. My address is: info@billpicard.com. If you cannot contact me through e-mail, you may call and leave a message at my home number: (207) 782-5184. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have about length and types of presentations or other matters. Thank you very much for taking the time to read about Inspire for Life. I am looking forward to hearing from you and getting your questionnaire.
Sincerely,
- William Picard B.S.
- Motivational/Education Speaker
- Executive Director
- Inspire For Life
- www.billpicard.com
The presentations will be age appropriate.
Alignment with Maine's Learning Results
- K-12 Schools:
- K through 2nd- talk about the differences between people and ask if there really is a difference. What is friendship? Show the students how the symbols on my keyboard work. Get them to interact with me by asking questions. These things will help the students “develop effective ways to interact with others during school and after-school activities;” “make valid observations about the use of words and visual symbols” as well as many other aspects of the Maine's Learning Results.
- 3rd through 4th- talk about the differences between people and ask if there really is a difference. What is friendship? Show the students how parts of speech and the symbols work on my keyboard. Get them to interact with me by asking questions. These things will help the students “develop effective ways to interact with others during school and after-school activities;” “attention to the proper use of adverbial forms and conjunctions.” as well as many other aspects of the Maine's Learning Results
- 5th through 8th- talk about the differences between people and ask if there really is a difference. What is friendship? Show the students how parts of speech and the symbols work on my Pathfinder. Get them to interact with me by asking questions. These things will help the students “Recognize scientific and technological contributions of diverse people including women, different ethnic groups, races, and physically disabled;” “Students will gain a deeper understanding of both their native language and of the way language works by discovering patterns among language systems..” as well as many other aspects of the Maine's Learning Results.
- 9th through 12th- talk about the differences between people and ask if there really is a difference. What is friendship? Show the students how the parts of speech and the symbols work on my Pathfinder. Also talk about going on to higher education to show the students that anything is possible. Get them to interact with me by asking questions. These things will help the students “Demonstrate an understanding of how humans change and adapt technology to their benefit.” as well as many other aspects of the Maine's Learning Results.
Comments, suggestions, and/or questions that people had.
How would you keep from talking to the same high school students?
- My presentation would blend in great with the English classes and all students have to take four years of English. So I can do the presentation in the English classes without having the same students. For example, if I only substitute in seventh and tenth grade English then the students will not hear my presentation many times. As you saw in my outline, I have four different age groups that I speak to. If I do this for the Lewiston and Auburn systems, I think this will be a good start to see how it goes.
How would you deal with someone that does not want to listen or deal with problems?
- Most students are shocked at first then after I get started they think my equipment is cool and they listen. As for the problems that will come up, I will have a helper with me. If they get to out of hand we will send them to the office just like any other substitute would.
How about elementary schools?
- As I said in my letter, the grant will hopefully also be for elementary schools so I can speak to the classes while the teacher is there. If elementary schools want to donate to the Inspire For Life mission they are welcome to, but it is not required.
If you have anymore comments, suggestions, and/or questions I would be happy to answer them!