Little girl with Down syndrome and boy playing at preschool with text that read One Day for UK Human Development Institute.

One Day for UK

One day. One gift. One enormous impact.

I’m overwhelmed by the generosity of our staff, students and community support. It’s just one more reason that HDI is such an amazing place. Thank you for your efforts to build inclusive communities every day. We are UK. —Kathy Sheppard-Jones, HDI Executive Director

On April 17, the University of Kentucky rallied its alumni, friends and fans to support One Day for UK, a 24- hour day of giving where donors supported the college, unit or cause of their choice. Thanks to your generous support, HDI crushed our original goal and raised $3,616 in one day to make sure people with disabilities have access to adaptive equipment at HDI CATS! We even won 3rd place on the small unit leaderboard to receive an extra $500! We absolutely could not have done it without you and appreciate you all so much and that you care about this important work.

Many areas throughout the university targeted specific funds for One Day for UK. For example, HDI raised money to support the HDI’s Assistive Technology Center. Our passion project was to make sure people with disabilities have access to adaptive equipment that promotes independence and growth. Our goal was to  help over 100 people with disabilities in 2019 to access and use equipment that will help them achieve their goals.

“My therapist recommended HDI CATS where I can borrow stuff to use like buttons and switches … a quad stick (suck and blow gaming controller), and spoon with gyroscope (self leveling spoon). The center lets you test out an item and see if it’s worth the investment rather than buying it and it not being able to work for you. It’s all positive—I love it. It’s great!”
—Kacee McKee, 19, who has a spinal cord injury and currently attends Maysville Technical and Community College.