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Foundation brings spokesman for disabled to Charleston
By Kim Chen Wiseman
Contributing Writer
The Gavalas Kolanko Foundation, a local foundation that provides scholarships to disabled college students, is bringing David DeTonaris, a nationally recognized spokesperson, to Charleston.
The foundation, which will hold its annual James Island Connector Run on Nov. 5 to raise scholarship funds, has recruited DeTonaris to make community appearances and heighten awareness about the foundation and its mission.
DeTonaris, who is from New Jersey, knows too well the roadblocks along the path to finding work as a disabled person. At four years old, he was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a rare genetic disorder that eventually leads to loss of sight.
By age 19, he was legally blind. After graduating college with a degree in communications, DeTonaris, like many of his peers, could not find work.
He began speaking to small groups, like schools and churches, about the personal and professional challenges he faced. A motivational speaker was born, and he did what he often teaches; he turned an obstacle into an opportunity by starting a motivational speaker business.
Today DeTonaris runs a successful business that aims to instill hope in others facing the everyday challenges of physical disability. He has addressed Fortune 500 companies and has been featured in USA Today and The Washington Post.
Beyond his business success,
DeTonaris has broken many barriers by becoming a radio personality, author and two-time World Power-Lifting champion.
Nick Gavalas and Ron Kolanko, founders of the Gavalas Kolanko Foundation, met DeTonaris earlier this year at an industry conference. Upon hearing his story, the two men hired DeTonaris to bring his message to the Charleston community.
“His entrepreneurial spirit and his message was so high impact that we believed he would be a perfect candidate to help us heighten awareness about the problems the disabled face in our community,” said Gavalas.
On a recent trip to Charleston,
DeTonaris addressed a number of community, business and media groups, including the Charleston Rotary Club, Charleston Convention and Business Bureau Travel Council, Women at Work and a career fair sponsored by the Disabilities Resource Center.
“One of the biggest challenges young people with physical impairments will face is finding good work,” says Gavalas. “Our hope is that the foundation can help the business community overcome common misperceptions about the disabled and begin to see them as assets.”
DeTonaris says he thinks that the physically impaired are an untapped job resource for employers.
“Through technology, there are today many opportunities for employing persons with disabilities,” he said, adding there are also many advantages. “They stay on the job longer, and they tend to truly be positive thinkers because they have had to overcome personal challenge.”
Of the 10,000 students at the College of Charleston, 700 students have certified special needs and 80 of them are physically impaired. Charleston Southern University is home to 52 students with special needs, Gavalas says.
One past Gavalas-Kolanko scholarship recipient said that the foundation is both unique and special because it focuses its attention on helping those who may be handicapped physically but won’t be denied mentally.
The Gavalas Kolanko Foundation was established in 1999 with the goal of supporting education for students with special needs and serving as a resource for their families and educators.
To learn about sponsorship opportunities for the James Island Connector Run, call 442-5628.
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