As 2012 draws to a close, we express our heartfelt thanks to those who partner with us and make our mission possible – our customers, employees, communities, supporters and friends. While much remains to be done, 2011 was a year of accomplishments, shared with you through the PRIDE Industries Annual Report,and the PRIDE Industries Foundation Annual Report. 

If you are interested to learn more, or inspired to join us, you can reach us at: http://www.prideindustries.com/, info@prideindustries.com, or join us www.facebook.com/prideindustriesfoundation.

With deepest appreciation and wishes for a great new year.

Michael Stone, PRIDE Industries Carpenter Technician, JB MDL, NJ

Michael Stone served 4 years active duty in the Marine Corps and an additional 4 years in the Reserves, completing a tour of Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. He enlisted shortly after high school graduation, wanting to serve his country and accomplish life goals utilizing skills he knew he would gain in service.  After leaving the military, he encountered challenges related to his new-found disabilities, and difficulties adjusting to civilian life.

An attempt at self-employment was unsuccessful; he remained unemployed for several frustrating years. In 2008 he was injured, with no health insurance, no job, and little hope. VA case management personnel connected him to the VA system and services. Soon after, he attended a job fair where he was connected to PRIDE Industries, providing base facilities support services at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JB MDL) under the AbilityOne program.

Michael began working with PRIDE Industries at JB MDL in June of 2010 as a General Maintenance Worker.  After six months, he was promoted to a Carpenter Technician position. Michael is grateful for the chance to return to the work he once was able to do, and to have to ability to support his family again. He utilizes the resources of the on-site PRIDE Rehabilitation office, continuing to work closely with a Counselor and the Job Coach.

For Michael, working on the military base “provides a sense of normalcy.” Adjusting to life outside of the military continues to be a “work in progress,” but Michael believes his work with PRIDE helps him. He is participating in successful work experiences every day, and even helping to support others in learning the carpentry trade.

 Through his experiences at PRIDE Industries, Michael has regained confidence in his own abilities. Michael feels that PRIDE helps us all to “recognize our compassionate side, as we learn to recognize our differences and respect our abilities, not see people’s disabilities.” Working at PRIDE at JB MDL, an AbilityOne contract, helps Michael to support his family, continue to focus on his abilities, and to be a part of a team who values his skills.

Michael is planning the next steps in his career, considering returning to school to learn more about counseling and social work. He has a strong desire to share his experience and utilize what he has learned to help other veterans. He is currently working to establish a volunteer position with Tip of the Arrow, a volunteer organization focused on helping veterans successfully transition to civilian work life. Michael would like to serve as a support person to Veterans returning from active duty, who are rejoining the civilian job force.

Christopher Hines, PRIDE Employee at Ft. Polk, LA

At PRIDE Industries, we have a mission to create jobs for people with disabilities in our own businesses, or by partnering with others.

Christopher Hines was hired to work on PRIDE’s facilities support contract at Ft. Polk in Louisiana.   Most individuals working in the trades have equipped themselves with their own tools and take great pride in their personal collections.  For many individuals with disabilities, the lack of tools is one more hurdle to employment.  In addition to the training and supports PRIDE Industries provides to individuals with disabilities, PRIDE provides Loaner Tool Kits, purchased using generous donations given to PRIDE Industries Foundation.

Chris began as a Grounds Maintenance Laborer. He was presented with a Loaner Tool Kit on October 13, 2011.  With his first paycheck he began purchasing new tools to build his personal set, a few tools every payday. He completed his personal tool kit and proudly returned the Loaner Tool Kit on November 14, 2011, only 32 days later.  Chris was the latest recipient of the tools, and the first to return the kit.  “He couldn’t wait to tell me that he had all his tools,” says Training Representative, Lavell Martin. “I wish you could have seen the ‘pride’ (no pun intended) in his eyes when I told him he was the last to get a kit and the first to return it!”

Chris recently landed a Maintenance Trades Helper position in the plumbing shop.  He works at the swimming pool helping to maintain the water and equipment, and has begun to learn how to repair pipes and fixtures.  His shop loves working with Chris, and his shop manager, Malcolm Lyde says that he has a bright future.

“The more progress I see in Chris, the more confidence I see in him,” says Martin.  “He is even looking into getting an apartment and moving out of his parent’s house. He is becoming more and more independent every day. Without a doubt, Chris is the perfect example of the success we strive for with our employees and reminds us of why we do what we do.”

Want to help individuals with disabilities like Chris succeed in employment? Make a gift to PRIDE Industries Foundation online at www.prideindustriesfoundation.org.

Gap Foundation Grant Presentation to PRIDE Industries. Pictured above: PRIDE Industries’ Vic Wursten, Mindy Tubra and Tricia Ciampa. Gap Inc. Rocklin Call Center staff, Karen Nunez, Colleen Nerius, and Rena Thompson. Program participant Meranda Rodriguez.

Staff from the Gap Inc. Rocklin Call Center stopped by PRIDE Industries to tour our Roseville headquarters and meet with our Youth Employment Staff to learn how their generous $12,000 grant would support independence and self-sufficiency for local foster youth overcoming barriers to employment.

Gap has been supporting the youth employment program for several years. In that time, they have funded more than 2,185 hours of work experience internships for 22 youth, employment success items such as work clothing, bus passes, or ID cards  for 89 youth, and a portion of the salary of a Job Developer who provided pre-employment counseling and supports to more than 240 foster youth.

In the upcoming year, the Gap Foundation’s generous grant will contribute to PRIDE’s efforts to provide employment preparation, education, and job search assistance to more than 100 emancipating foster youth. Specifically, funds from Gap will allow PRIDE to provide 1,312 hours of paid work experience for 7 emancipating foster youth, and employment success items for 30 youth.

We greatly appreciate the support of community partners like Gap Foundation. Thanks Gap!

PRIDE Industries employees Mattheiw, Maintenance Trades Helper and Javier, Electrician at Ft. Bliss, TX

When he was first interviewed at a job fair for PRIDE Industries’ D.P.W. basewide facilities support contract at Fort Bliss, El Paso, TX, Matthiew was extremely shy and nervous. He has a disability that impacts his ability to interact with others. While he completed high school, he had dreams, but no real plan for the future. Matthiew took electrical and construction vocational training courses through a transition program at his school. Still, he was unsure how to proceed.

Workers with disabilities suffer from one of the lowest employment rates of any group in the American population, even in times of prosperity.  With 45 years of experience preparing people with disabilities for employment, PRIDE Industries saw through Matthiew’s disability to his potential. PRIDE Industries’ AbilityOne™ contract at Ft. Bliss provided the perfect opportunity for Matthiew. The AbilityOne Program is a Federal initiative to help people who are blind or have other significant disabilities find employment by working within a national network of over 600 Nonprofit Agencies that sell products and services to the U.S. government.

“Matt has a great attitude,” said George, Electric Shop Supervisor, who paired him with Javier, a PRIDE electrician, because of his patience, teaching and mentoring abilities.

Transitioning Supports
When first transitioning to employment, a job coach provides critical support to individuals with disabilities, helping them navigate and gain the technical and soft skills necessary for success.  Decreasing Matthiew’s initial social anxiety was critical to his success because of the amount of communication and interaction required to accomplish the facilities support tasks at Ft. Bliss.  Javier and his coach worked with  Matthiew to understand that in a workplace, communication is as important as the work itself.

Creating a bond
At PRIDE, we know that the support of  co-workers is as important as that of job coaches and trainers in helping to ensure the success of individuals with disabilities. Javier and Matthiew work primarily on the air field at Fort Bliss, repairing runway lighting and signage. They have developed a strong working relationship and bond. “He shows enthusiasm, and is excited every day about new projects,” says Javier. “We work side-by-side, and his positive attitude  is contagious. It motivates me to teach him new things, and to help him meet his goal of becoming an electrician.”  The admiration is mutual. Of Javier, Matthiew says, “he is very nice, patient, and gives me knowledge. We help  each other, like a family.”

Matthiew has become increasingly self-sufficient, on and off the job.  He gets up at five o’clock in the morning to be ready for work, and rides public transportation independently.  He is working toward his apprenticeship license, and eventually wants to become a fully licensed electrician. “Working for PRIDE makes me happy and makes me what I am,” says Matthiew. “I enjoy going to work every day.”

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, a perfect time to celebrate the real abilities and successes of individuals with disabilities like Matthiew. His story, and those of thousands of other PRIDE Industries employees are why we continue to be driven by our mission: to create jobs for people with disabilities.

Kenneth Parris, PRIDE Industries employee at Ft. Bliss, TX

Kenneth was selected as the first recipient of the PRIDE Industries Scholarship through the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP.)  Studies find that students with disabilities are less than half as likely as their peers to attend college in the two years after high school. The PRIDE Industries Scholarship Program was developed to support individuals with disabilities in pursuit of higher education goals.

(October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, enacted by Congress in 1945 to raise awareness about disability employment issues. For 45 years, PRIDE Industries, a nonprofit company, has been creating meaningful jobs for people with disabilities in its own businesses and in partnership with others. )

Kenneth was a business student with a degree in Computer Information Systems when we first met him. He wrote in November 2010 to thank PRIDE for his scholarship, stating that it improved his self-esteem and confidence and inspired him to support his community by encouraging other individuals with disabilities to pursue their higher education goals. Bachelor’s degree in hand, Kenneth set out on his job search.

After eight months of job searching, Kenneth was frustrated as he encountered only closed doors. People with disabilities face unemployment at nearly four times the rate of the general population, not because they don’t want to work or are unable, but largely because employers don’t realize the benefits that people with disabilities can bring to the workplace. Without that first resume-building opportunity, the hurdles quickly become insurmountable. That’s where PRIDE steps in.

In 2011 Kenneth came to work on PRIDE’s base wide facilities support services contract at Fort Bliss, TX where he works in the IT department on the installation of hardware, software, and infrastructure, in addition to managing IT equipment inventories. In a supportive environment, Kenneth has received training in technical and soft skills development, and the minimal accommodations necessary to turn opportunity into success.

Kenneth says that working for PRIDE had helped him improve his social skills while expanding his IT knowledge. He loves earning a paycheck and managing his own money. Most of all, he loves being part of the IT team. He is working on additional certifications, and he is working toward increased independence, with plans to move to his own apartment.

Kenneth’s own can-do attitude and courage are the greatest contributors to his success. He says that anything is possible as long as you set your mind to it. “Nothing to it, but to do it,” he says.  And he’s doing it – with PRIDE.

Melvin, a PRIDE Industries Employee at LA AFB & Fort MacArthur

This is Melvin’s story…in his own words. Melvin is a veteran, and an employee of PRIDE Industries.  Though qualified to live on disability benefits , Melvin chose the path of employment. With that choice, he found something of greater value. Melvin found his dignity again, at PRIDE.

“Before coming to PRIDE, I was a troubled individual, going from job to job.  It was only after attending a rehab program, did I finally get diagnosed correctly with my disability. I had been suffering for years but did not know what was wrong.  I could not understand why I had nightmares, extreme fatigue, would lash out at people, experienced a lot of self-doubt, and low self-esteem.  I never reached the point of wanting to take my life, although there were a few times that I came pretty close.

At one time I was homeless, and ended up at the US Vets Village of Cabrillo a facility for homeless/unemployed Vets. It was while I was at the US Vets, that I enrolled in their vocational rehab program. PRIDE came to the site to recruit for positions they had for a new contract at the LA Air Force Base. I interviewed and was successful in getting the position of custodian at their Fort MacArthur site.  I had heard that they work with people like me with disabilities and was eager to hear what they had to offer.  Now, about the same time I learned that I was eligible for a Vets program, due to my service-connected disability. This program was set up where I did not have to work and I could receive pay every month, as well as some back pay. I made the choice to accept PRIDE’s offer to work. I felt I wanted to be a productive person and that PRIDE would afford me that opportunity.

 In fact I had not fully completed my VIP program requirements at the US VETS, but I convinced my case manager that I was ready to get out there and work again. After coming to PRIDE, in three short months, and working very hard, the Project Manager approached me and said that they noticed how I am able to fix things and seem to go the extra mile on my work tasks. Not too long after, I was promoted to General Maintenance Worker. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t thank God for leading me to PRIDE and for the opportunity it has and continues to give me.

I have been able to move out of the Village, and now have my own place. PRIDE allows me time to see my doctors on a regular basis, without the fear of being penalized. I have also acquired some additional work skills and now I am looking to go to back to school to enhance my skills even more. I am just so thankful that PRIDE gave me a shot, close to 5 years ago, come January 2012, I can hardly believe it, but I will then be eligible for 3 weeks of vacation.

I don’t doubt for one minute if it were not for the support system that PRIDE has in place, which includes support from my co-workers, supervisor and counselor, I would not be in the position I now hold today. Whenever I go back to the US Vets to visit, folks stop me and say what a change they see, and many of the guys voice to me that they hope that they also one day can get a job with PRIDE.  I am so proud, I got my dignity back!  THANKS PRIDE.”

PRIDE Industries Transit Services

(One, in a continuing series of posts from PRIDE Industries Foundation Development Director, Tricia Ciampa)

One thing working at PRIDE Industries Foundation has taught me is that there are a great many things in life I take for granted. I am able-bodied. I can speak and hear and see. Because of this, so many other things are possible for me.

One of the seemingly simple things that I take for granted is the fact that I have a car, and I have the ability to drive it. This gives me tremendous freedom – I can go wherever I want, whenever I want. If I want a chocolate milkshake at 1 AM, I can hop in my car and make a quick trip through a drive-thru. If I want to go see a friend who is living in another city, I can drive out for a visit. And when I was looking for a job, I didn’t have to consider the public transportation routes in deciding where to apply.

Through my work with PRIDE Industries, I have learned that this same freedom isn’t available to a great many people with disabilities. Many of the individuals with disabilities PRIDE employs aren’t able to drive. They must depend on others – whether friends, family, or public transit – to get them where they need to go. This can be very limiting. As simple a thing as transportation is, it can often be the barrier that stands between an individual with a disability and employment. 

As a leading nonprofit employer of people with disabilities, PRIDE Industries works to remove the barrier of transportation by providing transit services to approximately 1,500 people with disabilities every day. In fact, a lot of you that live in the greater Sacramento and Los Angeles areas have probably seen our PRIDE vans as they make their way through town.

Transportation can be life changing for people like John (name changed to protect his privacy). John has a seizure disorder that keeps him from getting a Driver’s License. He’s worked for PRIDE for 2 years, taking the PRIDE bus to and from work every day. John’s family told PRIDE that John’s job has given him a sense of purpose, and that he absolutely loves coming to work. His commitment to his job shows – during his time with PRIDE, John has worked to learn additional carpentry skills that led to his recent promotion.

One of my current projects at PRIDE Industries Foundation is to look for funding that will allow PRIDE to expand transportation services, assisting individuals with disabilities like John get to, and from, jobs with PRIDE at our sites throughout the country. By ensuring transportation needs are met, we can increase employment of people with disabilities at PRIDE.  

So from now on, when I’m driving home from work and the traffic is a mess, I’m going to strive to remember how lucky I am to have a car that I can drive to and from work (and on the occasional late night milkshake run).

Laurel’s connection to PRIDE is deeply personal – she has a son with autism.

Laurel recently joined the board of the UC Davis MIND Institute to help make the world a better place for her son and other people with autism. The MIND Institute is a collaborative international research center committed to advancing the awareness, understanding, prevention, care, and cure of neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism.

In Laurel’s words:

“My recent nomination to the UC Davis MIND Institute Board, on behalf of PRIDE Industries, is not only an honor, but is also near and dear to my heart.  After working for PRIDE for nearly 10 years, I decided to start a family and made the tough decision to stay home with the baby.   Little did I know that my time at PRIDE had prepared me for the journey I was about to embark upon, as I soon found out my son was Autistic.

I am now back, working for PRIDE again and, after nearly 6 ½ years of learning to navigate my way through the unique world as seen through the eyes of my son, I am so compassionate about helping to solve the mystery of Autism and to make the world a better place for my son and other autistic children.”

What struck me in meeting Laurel is how suddenly disability can turn someone’s world upside down. I was also reminded how remarkably resilient people can be when faced with the challenge of disability. And I was reminded that children like Laurel’s grow up to be adults who have skills and talents to contribute to the world.

And that’s what makes me excited to come to work each day. I want to make sure that when children like Laurel’s grow up, they have an opportunity to put their skills and talents to work in meaningful employment.

Laurel is just one of the many incredible people working at PRIDE. I look forward to meeting more of them, and sharing their stories with you.

Until next time,

Tricia

“Sure, I know PRIDE – they clean the building where I work.”

“PRIDE Industries – don’t they do something with people with disabilities?”

When I first told friends and family that I was going to be working for an organization called PRIDE Industries Foundation, these are the responses I got. People had heard of PRIDE – but they weren’t quite sure what we did.

Well, I want to share with you what PRIDE does, because I think what we do is pretty darn important.

So who am I? My name is Tricia, and I’m the new Development Director for PRIDE Industries Foundation. I joined the PRIDE team in December, and I’m having a blast getting to know PRIDE and the great work we do.

So what do we do, exactly? We create jobs for people with disabilities. And we provide the supports people with disabilities need to succeed in employment.

Why do we do this? Because stable employment is unavailable for far too many people with disabilities. Right now, only 18% of the 27 million working age adults with disabilities are employed. Compare that with 63% of individuals with no disability. In part due to unemployment, the annual poverty rate for people with disabilities is 21%.  That’s nearly twice the national average.

So, as I get to know PRIDE Industries, the people we serve and the people behind the scenes who make our work happen, I’ll share what I learn with you. That way, the next time you see a PRIDE bus, you’ll know that it is taking people with disabilities all over the greater Sacramento area to jobs and other needed services, and the next time you see the PRIDE cleaning crew at your office, you’ll know that supports the creation of jobs for people with disabilities.

Stay tuned!