America’s Workforce – Empowering All

Reflecting a commitment to a robust and competitive American labor force, the 2018 National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) theme is “America’s Workforce – Empowering All!” Observed each October, NDEAM celebrates the contributions of workers with disabilities and educates about the value of a workforce inclusive of their skills and talents.

The Philadelphia “Employment 1st, Employment NOW!” Steering Committee is once again celebrating this event with a month of employment success stories. Each day we will be posting another success story about someone who is contributing to their community through employment. For those who have requested to receive our employment announcements, you will receive the link to the story in your mailbox. We invite you to join us as we celebrate the successes of people with disabilities working in our communities!

Time to Go Back to School!

October 12 – Stephen

As students prepared to go back to school last month, Stephen was excitedly preparing to go back to work. Starting his second year working at Edwin Forrest Elementary School, Stephen was looking forward to getting back into his routine, taking on new challenges, and reuniting with the wonderful coworkers who have played an instrumental role in helping him learn and grow.

Picture of two people standing behind a table laden with food — Stephen and Ms. Lorraine with a table full of freshly prepared meals, ready to be served to a long line of hungry students.

As a Food Service Assistant, Stephen works on the team that prepares breakfast, lunch, and snacks for hundreds of hungry kids each day. His main responsibilities are tracking and organizing inventory, ensuring products are not expired, and serving food to the children. During the busy lunch periods, he works closely alongside his manager, Ms. Lorraine (seen in picture with Stephen), serving food to energetic children on the line. Ms. Lorraine tells us she is grateful to have a dedicated worker like Stephen on her team – and Stephen is grateful to have a supervisor and coworkers who continually encourage and motivate him to give it his best effort!

Stephen’s job coaches are proud of the self-determination and consistent improvement he’s shown. In this incredibly supportive work environment, Stephen works together with his job coaches and supervisors to design tasks that allow him to utilize his best skills. As he settles back into the new school year, we are all excited to see Stephen shine once again.

~Submitted by Community Integrated Services (CIS)