Letter from Leadership: The Chance to Make Life Better for Georgians with Developmental Disabilities

My name is Leslie Ann Thornton, and I am the Chair of the Grants Selection Committee for the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities. This work has taught me something important: a grant is never just a grant.

On paper, a grant can look like numbers, forms, deadlines, and money. But behind every dollar is a real chance to make life better for people with developmental disabilities across Georgia.
That is why this work means so much to me.

GCDD gives out grants to fund projects. These projects help build a Georgia where people with disabilities can live, work, learn, talk with others, and take part in their communities in ways that matter to them.

Community living is about more than just where someone lives. It is about having choices. It is about having a voice. It is about being able to join in and be part of everyday life.

It means being able to go to work. It means going to school and using technology. It means making friends, joining in activities, and speaking up for yourself. It means making your own choices about your own life. In short, it means getting to be a full person in the world. Not just someone who receives services.

GCDD is finishing its current Five-Year Strategic Plan. This is a good time to look at how these grants have helped make that vision real.

Grants can support projects in technology, jobs, education, and self-advocacy. These projects can create chances that last far beyond one grant.

Technology can open doors. It can help people talk with others, learn, work, and live on their own. Job projects can push back against the idea that people with disabilities should settle for less. Instead, they help people find good, fair work. Education and advocacy projects help people learn their rights, feel more sure of themselves, grow as leaders, and use their voices.
To me, one of the most important parts of this work is simple: people with disabilities should never be forgotten or left out.

We belong at work. We belong in classrooms. We belong as leaders. We belong in our neighborhoods, churches, groups, and communities. Being included should not happen only during a special month or at a special event. It should be part of everyday life.

Being the Chair of the Grants Selection Committee has reminded me of something. Our choices are about much more than saying yes to funding. We help decide which ideas can create real chances and lasting change for Georgians with developmental disabilities.

Our current Five-Year Plan is ending, and GCDD is looking ahead to what comes next. I hope we keep supporting projects that put people with disabilities first.

At the end of the day, these grants are not just money for programs. They are investments in people. They are investments in independence, opportunity, and belonging.

And that is the kind of Georgia I want to help build.