AEO associates share our commitment to doing better, being better and building a better world. We’re proud to spotlight our people who are making a real and lasting impact in their communities.
Meet Marcia, Senior Manager – Talent Acquisition who helps to lead AEO’s Community Work Instruction (CWI) program. As a parent of a son with special needs, Marcia’s passion for ensuring individuals with disabilities have the opportunity to reach their potential has paved the way for students to gain meaningful workplace experience while improving their confidence at our lab stores.
Tell us about the Community Work Instruction program with Life’sWork of Western PA and the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR)?
Community Work Instruction (CWI) supports students with a diagnosis or disability that qualifies them for an extra three years of high school to transition into adult life and services. The program, funded by OVR and implemented by a local agency that supports individuals with disabilities matches Skills Developers with students at a host employer to provide paid work experience and training. Throughout this summer, AEO hosted two Skills Developers and eight students on site in our Lab Stores.
We chose Life’sWork as the agency to implement our program. I became familiar with Life’sWork through their CWI with CVS. I have a son diagnosed with a Developmental Disability that receives these services and participated in a CWI last summer at CVS through the organization. My son is now 19, so I’ve spent many years working through the system and with various agencies and have found Life’sWork to be impressive in the quality of their staff and mission to support not only employment opportunities, but meaningful work for individuals with disabilities.
Why was bringing this program to AEO important to you?
As the parent of a young adult with special needs, it is really disheartening to face the reality of the lack of opportunities for these amazing individuals who have so much to offer. In my own small circle, I’ve witnessed too many great kids without opportunities to live up to their potential and parents fearful for what’s next.
Life’sWork’s CWI felt like something on the right path, and it sparked an idea. I felt our Lab Stores could provide a great experience– so many interesting tasks and skills to gain in a clean, safe environment with a large group of similar-aged typical peers. I was thrilled when Aikee, Lab Store Manager said, “Let’s do it!”
What do you hope to be the outcome of this program?
My hope is that students apply this experience to future work and that it leads to regular, meaningful work in the next chapter of their lives. Even more so, I hope that we repeat this program year after year and set an example for other companies to build their own CWI with paths to future employment and meaningful work for individuals with disabilities.
Who helped to make this program possible?
This program came to life because many people decided to put in the extra time, work and effort to make it successful. Of course, it wouldn’t have been possible without alignment from the AEO Foundation, HR and Legal to move forward– but so many individuals across the company stepped up and did extra work or allocated resources to make our program special. The Security and Asset Protection teams enabled the appropriate access to the buildings and helped us work through accessibility issues; the Onboarding Team donated new hire welcome kits; and the Corporate Communications team is helping to document and highlight the program through photos and video.
The biggest enabler of all is the Lab Store team – the team put in extra time and effort in preparation for the program, providing walk throughs, explanations of their work to multiple individuals at Life’sWork and OVR and training to the Skills Developers and students– all with the utmost patience, professionalism and kindness.
How do you feel participating in this program helps to Build a Better World?
The Lab Store team has been phenomenal in creating a welcoming environment with full exposure to their tasks and responsibilities as well as opportunities to explore individual interests. Leadership and associates have gone beyond the concept of inclusiveness.
As we move into the last few weeks of the CWI, the presence and contributions of the students are just a regular part of the day. The students are having fun, socializing and learning so much about the world of retail while also building skills and gaining confidence in themselves. The Skills Developers have commented that the students don’t just feel included– they feel like part of the team.
What are some of the benefits you have found in coordinating this program?
I feel very fortunate to have experienced the enthusiasm and commitment from so many individuals in making this program a success. It was truly a joy to connect with Life’sWork, OVR, the Skills Developers, the Lab Stores and so many others across AEO who have helped or expressed excitement for the program. The young adults participating have benefited from learning about career opportunities that they didn’t know existed and gaining confidence in their contributions. I also hope that it’s breaking down perceived barriers and our associates are learning from side-by-side work with individuals that have different abilities.
