“We often hear that all students need this kind of training, and they do. But students with disabilities have a much lower chance of being employed, and that’s one of the biggest barriers to independent living,” said Alice Nichols, curriculum and training manager at RAMP. “It’s crucial to their success to have these skills.”
ɫƵ has helped support RAMP financially and through volunteerism for more than 30 years, and the ɫƵ Foundation currently provides grants for several of its youth job training programs, including Teens in Transition. Nationwide, the bank last year provided about $238,000 in foundation grants and corporate contributions to nonprofits around the country like RAMP that provide support to people with disabilities – with a particular focus on workforce education and economic prosperity.
RAMP helps people with all kinds of disabilities, including physical, cognitive and mental health. Nearly one in four Americans live with a disability.
People who have a disability are “the largest minority group in the U.S., and the only one you can join at any time. There’s no guarantee that you – or your spouse or your partner or your child – won’t join it tomorrow,” Nichols said. “The more inclusive we can make our employment environment, the better it will be for everyone.”
That’s why RAMP’s work includes both building skills for people with disabilities and providing training sessions for employers and the broader community about accessibility, inclusion and diversity. Employers sometimes can be a little apprehensive about offering an internship geared to someone with a disability, but at the end of the program they’re often raving about the performance of the student and sad to see them move on to other opportunities, said Amy Morris, chief operating officer and development director at RAMP.
“Everyone has different skills, and oftentimes people with a disability have skills that can fill an important gap for an employer,” Morris said. “We aren’t going to be able to take full advantage of that until we build a truly inclusive employment environment.”