Reflecting on 2024, our JJ’s List team is proud of our many accomplishments! Our Disability Awareness Trainings trained many organizations throughout Chicagoland in 2024, including Goodman Theatre, Eicoff Advertising, Lincoln Park Zoo and Argonne National Laboratory. We were also thrilled to see our team expand and our NeurodiVERSED workshop grow! Read on for our full 2024 recap.  

Disability Awareness Trainings 

In 2024, we trained 803 people through 20 Disability Awareness Trainings! We additionally onboarded new Players and added content to our training, including information on deaf/hard of hearing and service animals. In 2025, we look forward to building new relationships and deepening our existing connections as we hire a full-time staff person, our Trainer, dedicated to training organizations. 

We are proud of the impact we have had over the last year. All audience members are asked to evaluate the training after completing it and share at what level they will use the information provided. Some of the data from 2024 includes: 

• 99% of employees said they feel more disability aware after the DAT, 

• 97% of employees would recommend the DAT, 

• 96% of employees said they would use person-first language, 

• 96% of employees reported that they would use the concepts in their interactions with co-workers. 

NeurodiVERSED 

We continued to pilot NeurodiVERSED workshop this year at the Chicago Public Library, Pierce School and the Hyde Park Art Center. Our NeurodiVERSED workshop delivers a better understanding of neurodiversity, different communication styles and how to support neurodiverse people. We also onboarded a new Trainer, Anthony! Some feedback we received about NeurodiVERSED this year includes the following: 

• “Anthony was a wonderful co-host who provided his own life experience in the training, which was very helpful.” – Chicago Public Library. 

• “It covered and introduced very important concepts that are valuable and necessary to consider, not only as educators but as citizens of the world.” – Hyde Park Art Center. 

Over the next year, we will grow NeurodiVERSED through our Trainer position and a new video, coming soon! Learn more about NeurodiVERSED here. 

Hop on the Bus 

Through 11 Hop on the Bus trainings, we reached 313 students and 94 staff. One audience member shared with us, “For those students who have not used public transportation, they learned a great deal. Those who already use it were able to learn new things!” We can’t wait to share transportation tips with more people throughout Chicagoland in 2025. 

As we reflect on 2024, we are grateful to the many organizations that partnered with us for our training. Their support and collaboration were instrumental in our success. We are excited to increase our reach across Chicagoland in 2025 and continue our mission to promote inclusivity for people with disabilities. 

Interested in learning more about JJ’s List and how to bring us to your business? Contact Sarah Armour at sarmour@search-inc.org. 

Thank you for your support this year!