Member Spotlight: Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center Foundation
Nationally, only 20% of people with disabilities work, and unemployment rates for those with disabilities are double the national average. Since 1947, the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center has helped Virginians with disabilities break free from poverty and dependence. More than 70% of the Center’s graduates have a job within 30 days of graduation—and employment brings both dignity and independence. Meet some of the Center’s alumni: a coal miner, permanently paralyzed when the mine collapsed on him, who again drives himself to work at the company office; a high school student whose autism was creating a barrier to his education who now uses adaptive technology to communicate and keep on schedule; a young woman with cognitive disabilities who was just named employee of the year at a major manufacturing plant; a veteran labeled unemployable due to his emotional and physical injuries from Iraq who just graduated from computer technician training with a university IT position. At Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center, stories like these are commonplace. Each year, more than 3,000 Virginians with disabilities come to the Center for medical treatment and vocational training so they can join the workforce. Vocational students at the Center can select from a variety of employment tracts, including auto mechanic, construction worker, administrative assistant, computer support specialist, food services worker, data entry clerk, sales associate, call center assistant, folk lift operator, florist assistant, stock clerk, child care worker, grounds keeping, medical billing clerk, cosmetology, and more. In the nursing tract, students train as personal care aides or nurses aids—and graduates have a 100% pass rate on the state exam. Internships are an important part of the training process—vocational students work fulltime with a business for six weeks before receiving their certificate of graduation. The state operated Center is different from other vocational schools because it is a residential campus that also provides life skills training, physical and occupational therapy, counseling, speech and communication therapies, psychiatric treatment, recreational therapy, driving instruction, and training with adaptive technology and prosthetics. In addition, the Center works with special education students before they leave high school to identify skills and provide direction for future training and work. With its personalized approach to treatment and training, the Center has become part of employment success stories in every county of Virginia. Unfortunately, there are waiting lists to participate in many of the Center’s programs. To enhance and expand the Center’s services, the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center Foundation accepts gifts of cash, equipment and services that benefit the vocational rehabilitation process. The Foundation is currently seeking funds to provide staff for a student fitness center, fund public transportation so that students can ride the bus to internships and off-campus training for free, maintain an accessible nature trail, provide an additional car and instructor for the WWRC driving program, and provide support for unexpected needs. To learn more about the WWRC Foudation, go to www.wwrcf.org
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