CareerSource Gets $65K Grant For Disabled Worker Training

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Daytona Beach, FL - A local business is awarded $65,000 for its program that trains persons with disabilities for work in retail.

Career Source Flagler/Volusia was given that grant by the Able Trust, an organization that helps provide Floridians with disabilities opportunities for employement, after announcing their new Succeeding Through Achieving Retail Skills Program, or STARS.

The STARS program, in partnership with Walgreens' REDI (Research-based Developmentally Informed) program, is designed to train people with disabilities who desire careers and jobs in retail.

The program is a three week, 20-25 hours per week internship which includes training in a multitude of areas including customer service, photo labs and working on sales floors. At the end of the program, participants complete an assessment. If they pass, they have an opportunity to apply for positions at various Walgreens.

“The Able Trust is excited to support Career Source Flagler/Volusia and its mission,” said Dr. Susanne Homant, president and CEO of The Able Trust. “Supporting Career Source Flagler/Volusia and programs like STARS are vital to helping people with disabilities find successful employment. They not only help those who use the program, but also the surrounding communities by providing area businesses with valuable, high-quality employees.”

"I really enjoy getting back into the workforce," says James Anderson, a graduate of the STARS program. "But now I'm there doing a lot of stuff at the Walgreens... and next week I'll be training on the cash register and I'm looking forward to that because I'm a people person."

Anderson is three years in remission for cancer and two years in recovery following a series of brain aneurysms. He's also a single father with a daughter who attends Mainland High School with plans to join the army.

"Today, Career Source and the Able Trust are announcing to our community that help is here," says Representative Elizabeth Fetterhoff, one of the invited speakers. "Over the next (coming) years, 60 individuals who want to work and who dream of having a career will get a life changing opportunity to chase that dream."

A program like this comes in time according to Homant, saying that a shortage in the workforce could be coming, therefore it's imperative programs like these are implemented.