( Added: April 14, 2008 ) - IDEAL-WAY and its founder, ROBERT PIO HAJJAR, born with Down syndrome, are inviting the Ontario community to participate in a contest to recognize poets among persons with intellectual disabilities. Poems will be accepted on any subject, in any style, to a maximum of 200 words. Interested individuals can submit their poetry online at http://www.ideal-way.ca or by mailing their submission to IdealWay.ca.

Judging of THE IDEAL POETRY CONTEST will be chaired by David Davidar, President and Publisher of Penguin Group (Canada), and author of the novels The House of Blue Mangoes and The Solitude of Emperors. The IDEAL Poetry Contest will open April 15 and end May 30, 2008.

"IDEAL-WAY is doing something that has never been done before in a way that has never been tried before," said Davidar. "The organization believes persons with intellectual disability should be 'part of the community', and not just 'in the community' and I support their endeavor to bring recognition to the unique gifts of these individuals."

Founded in 2006, IDEAL-WAY was conceived by Robert Pio Hajjar, who donated his life savings of $62.05 to aid intellectually disabled persons. As a spokesperson for IDEAL-WAY, Robert participates in public speaking venues involving schools, corporations, churches and the public.

IDEAL-WAY.ca is a non-profit charitable organization whose mission is to educate, and positively improve mainstream social attitudes in order to make all persons with intellectual disability feel I.D.E.A.L: Included, Deserving, Equal, Appreciated and Loved. The organization was founded to build bridges joining those with an intellectual disability to mainstream society and to improve the lives of such persons by creating, and enhancing opportunities for mainstream community interaction.