Ability First’s Stars

A Boy Scout color guard, synchronized cheerleaders and a well-rehearsed choir. Sounds like the lineup for the big school game, but this one was for last Sunday’s “Stars Among Us” birthday party for Ability First. The performers, all with disabilities, put on the show at the Academy of Television, Arts and Sciences in North Hollywood to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the agency, formerly known as the Crippled Children’s Society. Among longtime supporters on hand was actor Earl Holliman. The event moved indoors for the premiere screening of a documentary on the agency made for the PBS series “The Visionaries.”

“These people have the same wants and needs we have. They want relationships; they want a job,” said Eddie Lazarus, Ability First board chairman. Among those at the party: Ability First client Danny de la Rosa, 21, who has Down syndrome--he has earned a black belt in the Mind/Body/Spirit karate program and graduates from Mt. San Antonio College this year.