SourceAmerica

VIENNA,  VA 
United States
http://www.sourceamerica.com

• Booth: 958

When the economy is more inclusive, it's healthier, more productive, and transformative. That's why SourceAmerica connects with forward‐thinking businesses and organizations to pursue collaborative engagements that create a more diverse workforce and a more inclusive economy. Join us in creating more jobs for people with disabilities.
 

 Press Releases

• SourceAmerica Promotes Workforce Equity for People with Disabilities (Oct 05, 2022)
  By Caroline Satchell • 10/03/2022

  National Disability Employment Awareness Month Highlights Valuable Untapped Labor Force

  VIENNA, Va., (Oct. 3, 2022) – SourceAmerica® and its network of nonprofit agencies are highlighting the importance of employment equity and the workforce contributions of people with disabilities during National Disability Employment Awareness Month in October 2022. For almost 50 years, SourceAmerica has connected people with disabilities to meaningful jobs through contracts with the federal government and private sector. With 11 million open jobs in the current labor market (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), people with disabilities are a largely untapped and valuable talent pool.

  Throughout October, SourceAmerica will focus on the theme announced by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy – “Disability: Part of the Equity Equation.” More than 70% of working-age people with disabilities are left out of the workforce and the need to create more access to employment opportunities is paramount.

  “When the economy is more inclusive, it’s healthier, more productive, and transformative,” said SourceAmerica President and CEO Richard Belden. “We want to lower the unemployment rate for people with disabilities while creating jobs with stability, competitive wages and advancement potential to build careers.”

  Employers of all sizes and in all industries are encouraged throughout October to recognize the value employees with disabilities bring to the U.S. economy and workforce. SourceAmerica will continue to amplify the voices of people with disabilities and highlight how their perspectives and experiences enrich the American workforce. As an advocate for herself and others, Customer Care Representative Katie Galloway wants employers to know that “people with disabilities are just as ambitious, capable and hardworking as people without disabilities.”

  Katie works for InspiriTec, an IT social enterprise and one of the nearly 400 AbilityOne® authorized providers in the SourceAmerica network. The AbilityOne® Program is one of the nation’s largest sources of employment for people who are blind or have significant disabilities. There are approximately 36,000 AbilityOne employees in the SourceAmerica network.

  AbilityOne employees across the SourceAmerica nonprofit network will share their stories throughout October. Get to know them and learn more at SourceAmerica.org/newsroom. See Katie’s story here.

  About SourceAmerica:
  SourceAmerica connects government customers and other organizations to a national network of nonprofit agencies that hire a talented segment of the workforce – people with disabilities. Established in 1974, SourceAmerica is committed to increasing economic and social inclusion and advocating for a more accessible future of work for people with differing abilities. As a leading job creator within the disability community and distinguished as an AbilityOne authorized enterprise, SourceAmerica harnesses the momentum and boosts the capability of its network and customers. To learn more, visit SourceAmerica.org and follow @SourceAmerica on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

• People with disabilities support NASA’s space mission (Oct 05, 2022)

  SourceAmerica provides job opportunities at federal facilities like Kennedy Space Center 

  At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, nearly 100 people with disabilities are a part of the team that supports the agency’s space mission. 

  SourceAmerica® network nonprofit agency Brevard Achievement Center employs the talented team that provides custodial services at Kennedy Space Center. Their objective is to keep the facility in pristine condition year-round, with an amplified effort when VIP guests visit the center prior to and during a launch.

  “People with disabilities are providing essential services across the nation at highly visible locations like NASA’s Kennedy Space Center every day,” said SourceAmerica Interim President and CEO Richard Belden. “It takes a massive effort from every facet of the operation to see that rocket head into space, and people with disabilities provide a critical service to help make that happen.”

  SourceAmerica connects government and corporate customers to a critical resource – a network of nonprofit agencies that hire people with disabilities. Job opportunities like the ones at the Kennedy Space Center are provided through the AbilityOne® Program - one of the nation’s largest sources of employment for people who are blind or have significant disabilities. 

  “Knowing that people with disabilities are a part of such big public events like NASA and launching rockets from the Space Coast at Kennedy Space Center really makes me feel proud of what the AbilityOne Program is,” said Brevard Achievement Center President and CEO Amar Patel. 

  In April 2021, people with disabilities were in the spotlight as the Kennedy Space Center prepared for just its second manned space mission in the last decade. Several high-ranking officials attended the SpaceX pre-dawn launch of four astronauts to the International Space Station. AbilityOne employee Keith Washington was part of that team. 

  “AbilityOne, they give us the opportunity to work at probably one of the famous places in the world, NASA,” said Washington. “Without them making it possible, there wouldn’t be people like me able to come out here and have a job at such a prestigious place.” 

• SourceAmerica and the Army go back to basics with new service uniform (Oct 05, 2022)

  SourceAmerica® has a history of supporting the nation’s servicemembers in many different ways. From manufacturing uniforms to providing food service at military installations and even manufacturing personal protective equipment to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, SourceAmerica, people with disabilities, and the military have worked together to provide important products and services in the defense of the nation.

  In 2018, the U.S. Army announced that the Army Green Service Uniform (AGSU) would become the new dress uniform for all soldiers. The AGSU’s design would be similar to the one worn during World War II, harkening to the days of bravery and courage brought forward by soldiers from the “Greatest Generation.”

  Once the decision was made to change the uniform, the question of how to bring it to life came to the forefront. The Army ultimately decided that the AbilityOne® Program was positioned to provide the best quality and value for the project. The AbilityOne Program is one of the nation’s largest sources of employment for people who are blind or have significant disabilities. Nationwide, nearly 45,000 people are employed through the AbilityOne Program, including around 3,000 veterans.

  “SourceAmerica is honored to be a part of the Army Green Service Uniform project,” said Jill Johnson, Vice President, Products. “Our goal is to provide job opportunities for people with disabilities. We are proud to partner with the Army to accomplish our mission through this work.”

  SourceAmerica and National Industries for the Blind (NIB) are Central Nonprofit Agencies designated by the U.S. AbilityOne Commission to facilitate the participation of nonprofit agencies in the Program. As an AbilityOne-authorized enterprise, SourceAmerica connects its network of approximately 700 local nonprofit agencies to job opportunities that become available through AbilityOne.

  With the decision made that SourceAmerica and the AbilityOne Program would manufacture and roll out the AGSU, it turned out that SourceAmerica’s Manufacturing and Development Program was the ideal fit for the creative testing, manufacturing, and delivery of the uniform. Two nonprofit agencies within the SourceAmerica network, Goodwill Industries of South Florida, and Puerto Rico Industries for the Blind, were selected to take part due to their expertise in manufacturing uniforms and capacity to provide expert kitting and shipping plans. Their involvement enabled people with disabilities to have a front-and-center role with the AGSU project. Additionally, two nonprofit agencies within the NIB network -- Alabama Industries for the Blind and Travis Association for the Blind – were also on board.

  The AGSU team spent nearly nine months designing and testing several versions of the new uniform. This process included the people with disabilities who were manufacturing several of the test pieces, including shirts, jackets, belts, slacks, and hats. Once a final design was chosen by the Army, full production on the AGSU began. Today, the nonprofit agencies share different responsibilities in the manufacturing, packaging, and delivery of the uniforms.

  “Our team is proud to be a part of this landmark project through the AbilityOne Program,” said Goodwill Industries of South Florida President and CEO David Landsberg. “People with disabilities are making an impact every day, and to see the new Army Green Service Uniform being worn by our soldiers is very empowering for the individuals who are a part of this effort.”

  Walter Anderson works on the AGSU project for Goodwill Industries of South Florida. “I take pride in what I do. I love my work. I love the company. I love the military; that I’m doing it for the military. I can’t get on the field and fight for them, but I can sure make their uniform,” he said.

  The U.S. Army has received its initial shipments of the uniform at a number of its installations across the nation and will continue to receive them through the end of February 2021. Because of the diligence and dedication of people with disabilities who used their expertise and skill to meet the Army’s requirements, the Army is receiving a uniform they will proudly wear for years to come.

• SourceAmerica Celebrates 2022 Achievement Award Winners (Oct 05, 2022)

  Awards recognize everyday heroes making a difference for employees with disabilities

  SourceAmerica®, a leading job connector within the disability community, is proud to announce the winners of its annual Achievement Awards. The winners include employees with disabilities, nonprofit agencies, federal agencies, and business partners who have demonstrated exceptional work ethic, success, and leadership in the field of disability employment, including the AbilityOne® Program. AbilityOne is one of the nation’s largest sources of employment for people who are blind or have significant disabilities. Winners will be celebrated and recognized during the Xforce Conference in Dallas, from May 23-25, 2022.

  “People with disabilities are an essential part of our nation’s workforce. This year’s award winners have demonstrated strength, leadership, and tenacity through the recent challenges the workforce has faced,” said SourceAmerica President and CEO Richard Belden. “The SourceAmerica Achievement Award winners are shaping a more innovative and inclusive workforce.”

  Learn more about the outstanding accomplishments of the 2022 Achievement Award winners:

  William M. Usdane Award - Cuiye “Yep” Liu, Toolworks, Inc., San Francisco, California

  The William M. Usdane Award celebrates an AbilityOne Program employee with a disability who has exhibited outstanding achievement and exceptional character. 

  Cuiye “Yep” Liu exhibited positive attitude, commitment, responsibility, and resilience while cleaning offices in a high security clearance federal building in San Francisco, where she trained on CDC Covid-19 Level 3 disinfection and is part of a team deployed to disinfect contaminated areas.

  Evelyne Villines Award - Cherie Hill-Mayers, Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin, Inc., Milwaukee, Wisconsin

  The Evelyne Villines Award honors an individual with a disability who has advanced from work on an AbilityOne contract into management (supervisory or leadership) within the nonprofit agency, or into private or government employment. 

  Cherie Hill-Mayers worked at Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin, Inc. in Milwaukee for 17 years, performing multiple food service duties on an AbilityOne contract. Within the past year, she took computer and technology training classes, to conduct a job search and fulfilled a long-term goal of establishing a life in Austin, Texas, where she is now employed at a luxury hotel.

  Tom Miller Advocacy Award - Abdul “Karriem” Muhammad, Professional Contract Services, Inc. (PCSI), Austin, Texas

  The Tom Miller Advocacy Award recognizes an employee with a disability who has demonstrated outstanding achievement and a remarkable passion for self-advocacy on a local, state, and/or national level. 

  Award-winner Abdul “Karriem” Muhammad exhibits a passion for serving and advocating for people with disabilities that aligns perfectly with his career as a rehabilitation specialist. In this role, he ensures every employee with a disability has accommodations and training to succeed in all stages of their careers. Muhammad also connects employees with job opportunities at local organizations when they are ready to pursue work outside of the AbilityOne Program.

  Honor Roll for Veterans Award - Gary M. McCarthy, Jr., InspiriTec, Inc., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  The Honor Roll for Veterans Award pays tribute to a veteran with a service-related disability who has exhibited outstanding achievement in their work. 

  Gary McCarthy’s work ethic, honed by more than 23 years in the military, takes his work at InspiriTec, Inc. to outstanding levels. Hired as an entry level Tier 1 contact center agent, McCarthy’s performance earned him four promotions in four years, and he now manages a team of more than 80 IT Help Desk professionals.

  Milton Cohen Leadership Award - Reginald Hughes, Palmetto Goodwill Services, Charleston, South Carolina

  The Milton Cohen Leadership Award pays tribute to an individual within the AbilityOne® community of nonprofit agencies, or anyone previously retired within the past year, who has shown national leadership within or on behalf of the AbilityOne Program, made an impact across the entire AbilityOne community, and increased employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

  Reginald Hughes is the Executive Director of Palmetto Goodwill Services. Under Hughes’ leadership, Palmetto Goodwill Services has spearheaded the creation of American Sign Language classes and other efforts to support AbilityOne participants.

  Force Multiplier Award Winners

  The Force Multiplier Awards recognize federal or military customers whose work has significantly affected employment opportunities for people with disabilities. 

  The 2022 Force Multiplier Award Winners are: 

  Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas

  For 41 years, Sheppard Air Force Base has collaborated with Work Services Corporation to provide and add job opportunities to people with significant disabilities in their community.

  Project Manager-Soldier Survivability (PM-SVV) and the Army Contracting Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG), Maryland

  The Army’s Project Manager-Soldier Survivability office and the Army Contracting Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground teamed with SourceAmerica to create a unique, lucrative contract vehicle on the federal AbilityOne Procurement List. This partnership created jobs for more than 60 people with disabilities.

  William “Bill” Sproule, Chief, Installation Support Branch, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition, Technology & Logistics), U.S. Air Force, Arlington, Virginia

  William “Bill” Sproule, from the U.S. Air Force, was part of the team that initiated the AbilityOne Representatives (ABOR) concept that was replicated across many federal agencies, and he continues to lead ABOR efforts for all Air Force operations through numerous initiatives, including creating jobs for more than 200 people with disabilities since 2018. 

  Lakeeta Young-Hill, ABOR, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Washington, DC

  Lakeeta Young-Hill actively pursues ways to create awareness of AbilityOne lines of business among 700 NASA contracting officials. Under her leadership, NASA set up a training series to provide its contracting and program workforce with an understanding of the AbilityOne Program to further employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

  Nonprofit Agency Awards

  The Nonprofit Agency Awards recognize nonprofit agencies in SourceAmerica’s network which have developed innovative work methods, products or services, or have exhibited performance excellence on AbilityOne contracts while service as an example to other nonprofit agencies. 

  Innovation Award Winner - Adelante DiverseIT, Adelante Development Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico

  DiverseIT was one of five nonprofit awardees for user experience testing through SourceAmerica, providing high wages for people with disabilities to offer the service for federal government websites. DiverseIT won its first-ever contract with the City of Albuquerque Department of Senior Affairs to help train seniors via online classes and videos and provide a free tech hotline for seniors.

  Government Contracts Winner - Challenge Unlimited, Alton, Illinois

  Challenge Unlimited has been a proud Scott Air Force Base partner for nearly 30 years and manages multiple AbilityOne contracts on base, including base-wide custodial services, grounds maintenance services, commissary services and subcontracted food services.

  Business Partnership Award - SimplyBe Coffee, Leesburg, Virginia

  The Business Partnership Award honors a small to large commercial business that has partnered with a SourceAmerica-affiliated nonprofit agency to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

  During the COVID-19 pandemic, SimplyBe Coffee contracted with Every Citizen Has Opportunities (ECHO) to identify individuals interested in working in a coffee shop. SimplyBe hired six people with disabilities at ECHO to work in three teams during different shifts, five days a week. SimplyBe’s actions were a lifeline for these employees as many of ECHO’s community worksites remain closed due to the pandemic. 

  To learn more about the SourceAmerica Xforce Conference, visit: www.SourceAmerica.org/Xforce. 

  About SourceAmerica:
  SourceAmerica connects government customers and other organizations to a national network of nonprofit agencies that hire a talented segment of the workforce – people with disabilities. Established in 1974, SourceAmerica is committed to increasing economic and social inclusion and advocating for a more accessible future of work for people with differing abilities. As a leading job creator within the disability community and distinguished as an AbilityOne authorized enterprise, SourceAmerica harnesses the momentum and boosts the capability of its network and customers. To learn more, visit SourceAmerica.org and follow @SourceAmerica on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

• SourceAmerica Announces 2022 IDEATE Winners for Disability Inclusion Innovation (Oct 05, 2022)

  National engineering challenge encourages students to create assistive technology for people with disabilities in the workplace.

  SourceAmerica® proudly announces the college and high school winners for the 2022 IDEATE engineering competition that focuses on disability inclusion in the workplace. 

  The college winner is team Cal Poly SLO from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo, California. Their project, titled Easing the Way to Increased Job Comfort and Efficiency with eZcart created a new custodial cart that increases on-the-job comfort and efficiency.

  “We started out trying to create a more efficient way for our [subject matter expert] to do his job, but in talking to him we discovered that he was having a lot of physical discomfort and we needed to find a solution for that first. Once we did that, his efficiency increased naturally,” said Joey Johnson of Cal Poly SLO. “This experience made us realize how important it is to talk to the people who are doing the job and ask them how they feel and what they need.” 

  The winning high school team is Brentwood Research Engineers from Brentwood High School in Brentwood, New York. Their project is titled Scoring a Victory for Increased Productivity and Wages with the Victory Sealer. Their invention, The Victory Sealer, is an assistive device for heat sealing packages to enable the one-handed operation of a typical heat seal press.

  “It was so inspiring working with Victor and seeing the impact our design had on him. It was amazing to see how one group of students could work together to create something new to help someone do their job better,” said Nicole Olekanma, member of the winning Brentwood High School team.

  “This competition is incredibly important to all of us at SourceAmerica,” said SourceAmerica President and CEO Richard Belden. “It exemplifies the work we’re doing to inspire the next generation to advocate for disability inclusion and to create employment opportunities for people with disabilities.” 

  In addition to the judge’s picks, the 350-plus attendees had the opportunity to vote live for their favorite project. More than 170 votes were tallied and the teams from Wethersfield High School from Wethersfield, Connecticut, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University from Blacksburg, Virginia, each received 19.3% of the vote and tied for the People’s Choice Award.

  IDEATE stands for Imagine, Design, & Evaluate Assistive Technologies for Employment. This annual engineering challenge encourages high school and college students from across the country to create assistive technology that increases workplace success for people with disabilities. In addition, student teams collaborate with a person with a disability in their community to evaluate a need and develop an innovative solution that makes a real difference.

  In the finals event that took place virtually on April 13, three college teams and five high school teams from various states competed for the top prize. IDEATE finals judges were SourceAmerica experts in workforce development and productivity engineering. Finalist teams presented their projects and received rankings from the judges based on scalability, repeatability and impact. 

  The two winning student teams received a range of benefits and prizes, including monetary prizes, engineering project experience that can be leveraged for college or graduate school applications, as well as a coveted internship at SourceAmerica. To learn more about the IDEATE engineering competition, please visit https://www.sourceamerica.org/IDEATE.

 Products