To Leslie DeDora, her job is more than just punching the clock. As co-founder and executive director of A Touch of Understanding, DeDora has brought passion into creating compassion for the disabled.

The unique program, founded in 1991 when DeDora was an aide at Greenhills School in Granite Bay, initially started with hands-on activities designed to enlighten school children about disabilities.

In 1996, the nonprofit organization was incorporated and developed over the years into the unique workshop that serves more than 4,000 students each year. With some media exposure in the mid 1990s, DeDora heard from the disabled community and the second part of the program was developed.

Now ATOU brings a two-part workshop to schools that starts with a talk about challenges to get the students thinking differently about disabilities. Students are then divided into two groups of about 40 each. The first includes hands-on activities like writing in Braille using a slate and stylus, running an obstacle course in a wheelchair, getting around with their eyes closed using a white mobility cane, mirror writing (to simulate a learning disability) and handling braces and artificial limbs. The second group is an informal discussion (questions and answers encouraged) with a variety of people who have disabilities. The students then switch places so they experience each part of the program.

Though some schools have requested just the speakers, DeDora says the program is only offered as a whole. Without the hands-on activities, she says, it is not A Touch of Understanding.

"The speakers could address a larger group, but in a larger group they are not going to have the interaction," says DeDora. "It is really important to keep it together. That is what makes it A Touch of Understanding in terms of the impact."

It is the impact on students that really indicates ATOU's success. DeDora says she and other volunteers are often stopped by young people who may have experienced the program years before, but they still remember riding in the wheelchair or holding a prosthetic. And for those with disabilities, it can be life changing.

"One of the things these kids get in Leslie's introduction before they move into these activities is the concept that a disability is a form of challenge - it's a serious challenge, but everybody has challenges," says DeDora's dad Ed Ennis.

To get this across, DeDora speaks about her fear of speaking in public. Then she asks questions of the kids to help them identify challenges in their lives. If a child has a disability, she invites him to talk about his challenges.

"And they really do blossom right in front of you," says Ennis. "Because right to now they have been like a piece of furniture because everyone has been ignoring them or taunting them. But now they get a chance to explain themselves to give themselves an image. So now all of a sudden these kids are seeing this person as a person and not just something that is to be avoided."

DeDora is quick to point out that she did not do it alone.

In addition to help from family members - husband Richard helped acquire the artificial limbs, brother Paul created the video used in the introduction and the entire clan has helped in fundraisers - DeDora has a team of dedicated volunteers who help bring the program to schools. Her real inspiration, however, is her parents.

Ennis is a co-founder of the program as well as assistant director. Helping to promote the program, write grants and fundraising, Ennis brought his marketing expertise to the organization.

"My dad's coming from a background of marketing and management so he has an eye for that sort of thing that I don't have," says DeDora.

DeDora adds that her mom Lauris, who passed away three years ago, was also instrumental in A Touch of Understanding.

"As a matter of fact she is the one I refer to when I tell the children the story about how I teased my aunt who had disabilities," says DeDora. "It was my mom who explained disabilities to me and told me that everyone deserved the same respect. So I quote her all the time."

Now, ATOU enters a new phase with a goal of reaching students statewide and eventually nationwide. The challenge is to find funding as well as a way to transport the program, while keeping its integrity intact.

"We could make a kit that we could sell, but that's not what A Touch of Understanding is. It's the people and the experience and the whole thing," says DeDora. "People say franchise it, but franchises bring in money."

DeDora currently runs the organization out of her home, which makes it hard to leave the office at the office. She estimates that she gives about 60 hours a week to the program, but also confesses that it is hard not to answer the phone when it is ringing.

"It is hard when something is not only your job but your passion," she says. "You have to consciously take time away from it to be refreshed to come back with a clear mind and the energy to face it again."

In addition to bringing the program statewide, DeDora is working toward helping the organization sustain itself without her. She says she had to start it to be true to herself, but she wants to see it continue beyond her leadership.

"I think a hero is someone who sees a need to improve society and has the courage to act on that need," says Ennis.

And DeDora has certainly done that.

For more information on A Touch of Understanding, visit www.touchofunderstanding.org.