Job Discovery Program Named a Mutual of America 2015 Community Partnership Award Winner
Las Vegas-based Program Helps Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities Prepare for the Workplace.
Las Vegas-based Program Helps Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities Prepare for the Workplace.
NEW YORK, Nov. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Mutual of America announced today that Opportunity Village's Job Discovery Program was named a Merit Finalist award recipient in the 2015 Community Partnership Award competition.
Founded in 1954, Opportunity Village annually helps more than 3,000 people with intellectual disabilities. In 2002, they launched the Job Discovery Program (JDP), a two-phase collaboration with the Clark County School District to help high school students with moderate to severe intellectual and related disabilities gain the supplemental vocational training they need to transition into the working world.
JDP I offers about 110 students per year the chance to "try out" job possibilities, including commercial and industrial food service, indoor/outdoor maintenance, retail and custodial support and more. JDP II targets another 30 students who have demonstrated an ability to work independently and provides them access to volunteer work assignments in one of four nonprofit organizations.
"We created the Job Discovery Program to help ensure that high school students with intellectual disabilities have the skills they need to succeed in the workplace and transition into adulthood," said Edward Guthrie, Executive Director of Opportunity Village. "We're expanding our reach to other school districts, nonprofit organizations and communities so that more young people with special needs can enjoy lives of greater independence, happiness and choice."
About the Mutual of America Community Partnership Award
The Mutual of America Community Partnership Award annually honors the outstanding contributions that 10 nonprofit organizations, in partnership with public, private and other social sector organizations, make to society. Celebrating its 20th Anniversary, the Community Partnership Award has recognized 200 partnerships from cities and towns across America since 1996. To learn more, visit mutualofamerica.com/cpa. To watch videos of all 20 national award-winning programs, visit the official YouTube channel for the Mutual of America Foundation Community Partnership Award.
About Mutual of America
Mutual of America specializes in providing retirement products and services to organizations and their employees, as well as to individuals. Since 1945, Mutual of America has remained committed to offering plan sponsors, plan participants and individuals carefully selected, quality products and services at a competitive price and the personal attention they need to help build and preserve assets for a financially secure future. For more information, visit mutualofamerica.com.
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SOURCE Mutual of America
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