Celebrate. Busy Beaver. Our Winners. Winner in the Hire Category

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1 Busy Beaver Busy Beaver was founded locally in 1962 with just three lumber yards located in Clairton, Verona and Carnegie. By 2013, they were a 14-store chain. In 2015, Busy Beaver joined the True Value co-op. This strategic alliance gave them more buying power and allowed them to expand faster and more aggressively. With this edge, Busy Beaver continues to find a niche in which to successfully operate. It has survived in the shadows of the bigbox competitors such as Lowe s and Home Depot where others such as Hechinger s and Builders Square have failed. Currently, Busy Beaver operates 18 stores in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia and employs more than 350 people and stands committed to providing legendary customer service at each of their neighborhood home improvement centers. l Through its partnership with Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Busy Beaver provides ongoing experiences for students ages by giving them exposure to and experience with different types of work. The task variety allows the students to gain insight into their own strengths and preferences while the Busy Beaver staff make the students feel comfortable and like part of the team. l Through their engagement and support to both hire and help individuals with barriers to employment, over a dozen students have received rotational and full 9-week training opportunities, which resulted in employment for several students. l They continue to welcome students for work experiences, and even increased their program involvement, hosting multiple students at once, at any time, and on any day of the week. They also extended training shifts and added additional shifts in order to make them more convenient for students. l The realities of today s labor market means that students do not have as many entry-level opportunities as their parents did; this is especially true for students with disabilities. Busy Beaver is a dedicated partner that recognizes the true value that young adults with disabilities in their communities can bring to their business. 16

2 David L. Lawrence Convention Center The LEED Platinum Certified David L. Lawrence Convention Center (DLCC) is managed by SMG, the world leader in venue management, marketing and development. SMG s staff works closely with the hotel industry, VisitPittsburgh, vendors/suppliers, and labor unions to help facilitate events and deliver the best environment for planners and attendees. The DLCC strives to make all of their guests welcome by meeting or exceeding all ADA requirements. The DLCC also works closely with show managers to facilitate accessibility for all members of the community. l The DLCC is committed to building and retaining a workforce that mirrors the diverse communities they serve. The DLCC sees the recruitment of veterans and individuals with disabilities as a competitive advantage. l The DLCC began revitalization of their hiring processes with a thorough assessment of their own business needs and open employment opportunities. Then, they began to identify ways to eliminate the employment barriers and gain the trust of their applicants. l After meeting with employment liaisons from the community programs who contributed to their applicant pool; such as the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Department of Veteran Affairs; they streamlined their application process to ensure accessibility for all applicants. l Through reasonable accommodations in work schedules, portable job skills, clothing and transportation allowances, the DLCC has achieved an adaptable and holistic job experience for all of their employees. Employee needs are met on an individual basis through in-house mentoring programs, rehabilitation programs for veterans, and others that specialize in serving economically and physically disadvantaged and/or high-risk individuals. 17

3 18 Eat n Park Hospitality Group Eat n Park is a member of the Eat n Park Hospitality Group, which is a food service concept group that includes Hello Bistro, The Porch at Schenley, Six Penn Kitchen, Delicious Raw, Parkhurst Dining, and SmileyCookie.com. Since 1949, Eat n Park has been a family-owned restaurant chain, serving guests across Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. At the heart of Eat n Park are more than 8,000 team members committed to providing friendly, attentive service and supporting a growing number of community initiatives. Eat n Park operates under five core values they care about people, are passionate about food, embrace innovation, are fiscally responsible, and foster diversity and inclusion. l During 2017, Eat n Park opened their doors at several restaurants in Allegheny County, to provide nine-week long Work-Based Learning Experiences (WBLEs) to graduating high-school students with disabilities. Fourteen students were provided WBLEs at restaurants in their respective communities, with three jobs offered and one hire made. Now in 2018, they have already agreed to host more workexperiences for students, which includes expanding the available sites, plus initial trials of WBLEs for students at the Hello Bistro restaurant chain. l Eat n Park is a champion of inclusive employment and supports innovative ideas to support local workers. Aside from hosting Work-Based Learning Experiences, Eat n Park has been a reliable partner over the years in hosting Community Based Assessments (CBAs). CBAs are work experiences that typically last three days with the purpose of assessing the specific job readiness skills of the individual in a real world work setting. l Eat n Park has been a standout member of Goodwill s Business Advisory Council for the past five years. Eat n Park s Jana Sharlow has been the representative for that entire duration. As a Business Advisory Council member, Jana provides feedback on Goodwill programs and training materials. She also recently participated in Goodwill s E-Mentoring campaign. The campaign matched Jana with a participant for a three-month electronic mentoring campaign to help the student practice professional, written communication. At the end of the three months, Jana went on to hire her mentee at an Eat n Park restaurant! In fall 2017, Jana Sharlow was awarded Goodwill s inaugural Goodwill Employer Leadership Award.

4 Petco District 68 Help With more than 50 years of service to pet parents, Petco is a leading pet specialty retailer that obsesses about delivering health and happy experiences for pets and the people who love them. Petco employs more than 25,000 partners and operates more than 1,500 Petco locations across the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico, including more than 85 Unleashed by Petco locations, a smaller format neighborhood shop; prescription services and pet supplies from the leading veterinary-operated pet product supplier, Drs. Foster & Smith; digitally-delivered pet health advice through PetCoach; and petco.com. Petco is guided by their vision of Healthier Pets. Happier People. Better World. l Petco District 68 partnered with Goodwill in early 2017 to explore ways to begin Work-Based Learning Experiences (WBLEs) for graduating high school students with disabilities in their stores. After working together to identify tasks available for students, it quickly became obvious that hosting these students would be a natural win-win. l The Petco store in Bethel Park provided ample opportunities for students to learn about the unwritten rules of work, while practicing and training for various retail work duties. The store staff worked with Goodwill staff to create meaningful and realistic work experiences, which focused on real needs in retail environments. This has been an especially good site for students to practice their soft-skills and become comfortable with customer interactions. As word spread, leaders from five other area locations expressed interest in expansion to their sites. l The Petco District 68 leadership has gone above and beyond their business prerogative to collaborate with Goodwill, hosting 11 young adults with disabilities in retail work opportunities at three locations in Bethel Park, Ross Township, and Monroeville. Looking ahead to 2018, Goodwill continues to collaborate with Petco District 68 and is exploring opportunities with four other store locations interested in hosting students. 19

5 20 UPMC Winner of the inaugural Goodwill Power of Work Legacy Award About UPMC Over the last 20 years, UPMC ushered in a new era of health care excellence in Pittsburgh, western Pennsylvania, and locations around the world. UPMC s mission is to serve the community by providing outstanding patient care and to shape tomorrow s health system through clinical and technological innovation, research, and education. About UPMC Center for Engagement and Inclusion The Center for Engagement and Inclusion (CFEI) was launched in Built on a foundation of dignity and respect in the workplace and cultural competency in patient and family care, the mission of the UPMC Center for Engagement and Inclusion is to ensure that engagement and inclusion are at the core of what UPMC does every day. UPMC was chosen to receive the Goodwill Power of Work Legacy Award based on: l An astonishing, unmatched seven-time Power of Work awards. l A continuous effort to go the extra mile to offer employment and employment support to people with disabilities and other barriers. l Numerous workforce development programs created in partnership with Goodwill and other local human service agencies to sustain a culture of diversity and inclusion; including Project SEARCH and the Partnership On Workforce Readiness and Retention (POWRR) program. l Project SEARCH - Hosted by UPMC in collaboration with Goodwill, Project SEARCH provides students ages with real life work experience based on the individual s preferences and interests. UPMC managers at training sites work with the Project SEARCH instructor, job trainers and students to teach a variety of job skills. Students gain increased independence, confidence and self-esteem. All students leave with either a job at the host site, a job in a related business or with a team to assist them in obtaining employment. l Partnership On Workforce Readiness and Retention (POWRR) program - The goal of the program is to increase workforce readiness for health care service workers. POWRR provides the training and skills to start a new career with UPMC.