Button, Promotional
Object number2024.10.12
MediumMetal; Plastic; Paper; Ink
Credit LineGift of Joyce Bender
DescriptionSquare promotional pinback button. Front has white paper background with black speech balloon containing black and red text. Button has clear plastic cover. Paper front and plastic cover are wrapped around edges ontor the back. Reverse has silver metal backer covered by black paper backer with chrome metal pinback horizontal across top center. DimensionsHeight x Width x Depth: 2.125 x 2.125 x 0.375 in. (5.4 x 5.4 x 1 cm)InscriptionsFront has black and red text inside speech balloon "talk / about it! SM" and in the viewer's bottom right corner ".org".
Historical NotesEpilepsy awareness button. New Galilee, Pennsylvania native Joyce Bender worked as an IT recruiter in Pittsburgh in the 1980s. A request to train students with disabilities in resume writing and interviewing at the Community College of Allegheny County’s Institute of Handicapped Children led to a pivot in her career. Joyce realized that people with disabilities were underemployed and not utilizing their skills and degrees. She started Bender Consulting which focused on finding competitive employment for people with disabilities in the IT sector. As an adult, Bender was diagnosed with epilepsy and lost hearing in her right ear as a result of fall related to a seizure. Through Bender’s advocacy, CCAC rebranded this program as the Institute of Advanced Technology. She became known for her saying, “People with disabilities need paychecks not pity.”
Previous owner
Joyce Cilitti Bender
Related institution
Bender Consulting Services, Inc.
Related institution
The Talk About It! Company
Terms
On View
Not on view
1989-2006
1988
1990-1993