We are proud to announce the launch of Social Security’s disability education and awareness initiative, “The Faces and Facts of Disability.” Through this campaign, we hope to educate the public about the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program and dispel common misconceptions. To learn more about the campaign, visit our Faces and Facts of Disability website at www.socialsecurity.gov/disabilityfacts.

Please help us spread the word. Please share this information with your staff, clients, colleagues, and the general public. If you are able, please post this information on your website or other social media sites.

As part of this campaign, we developed a series of outreach materials for groups and organizations, at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/disabilityfacts/materials.html, which includes fact sheets, newsletter articles, posters, social media content, PowerPoint slides, and web widgets. We ask that you use these materials, such as the web widgets below, which you can upload to your organization's homepage, to help promote the initiative.

In addition, we would also like you to support "The Faces and Facts of Disability" on Thunderclap at https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/11646-faces-facts-of-disability. Thunderclap is a viral campaign tool that allows supporters to donate a Tweet or Facebook status update for a common cause. All donated tweets and status updates will be posted by the supporters on Wednesday, May 28 at 1:00 pm, to achieve maximum effect -- creating a "Thunderclap" informs your networks about the SSDI campaign.

We hope you will join us in these efforts by sharing the “Faces and Facts of Disability” with your members and providing feedback for further enhancement for the campaign.

Online services include my Social Security, a personalized online account that people can use beginning in their working years and continuing throughout the time they receive Social Security benefits.

Individuals age 18 and older who are not receiving benefits can also sign up for a my Social Security account to get a personalized online Social Security Statement. The online Statement provides eligible workers with secure and convenient access to their Social Security earnings and benefit information, and estimates of future benefits they can use to plan for their retirement.

It is often said that knowledge is power. By arming the public with facts about our disability program and telling some of our beneficiaries' stories, together we can empower people to draw their own informed conclusions about SSDI and the vital social support it offers.

Please share this information with your staff, clients, colleagues, and the general public. If you are able, please post this information on your website or other social media sites.