People with disabilities seeking self-employment will have more opportunities to reach their goals, thanks in part to pandemic relief aid.
The Oklahoma County Board of Commissioners recently approved $100,000 in pandemic relief aid via the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) for DRTC to create an incubator/accelerator program designed to support people with disabilities to become self-employed.
âThis is a fantastic opportunity for those looking to pave their own path and receive the resources needed to be successful in business,â said Deborah Copeland, M.Ed., DRTC Executive Director/CEO.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, people with a disability were more likely to be self-employed (9.5%) than those with no disability (6.1%).
DRTCâs Hub Business Incubator Program, with a tentative launch date in late 2023, will provide support and training for people with a disability interested in becoming entrepreneurs. Candidates will have the opportunity to develop their ideas through a business planning process. Another component involves mentorship comprised of established business leaders to provide guidance, support and advice for the entrepreneurs. Applicants interested in participating in the program should contact pr@drtc.org or call 405-946-4489 x1431.
As DRTC proudly celebrates its 70th Anniversary, we’re taking a moment to honor and recognize those individuals whose commitment embodies the organization’s core mission of leading the community toward a more disability-inclusive workforce.
Employment Services Client Spotlight Honoree – John Hamilton
Over and over John Hamilton has proven to be a flexible and adaptive employee for the OU Childrenâs Hospital. He is known for his consistently high-quality work over the past two years. An active listener and skilled communicator, John contributes positively to the overall performance of his team and company. Quiet and focused, itâs easy to see why heâs a valued staff and mentor for his co-workers.
Employment Services Direct Service Professional Spotlight Honoree – Vivian Naegeli
As an Employment Training Specialist and Supervisor for 18 years, Vivian Naegeli has supported more than 400 individuals with disabilities in their employment journey. Throughout her employment, Vivian has consistently assisted the most individuals in obtaining employment across the community. Proficient in American Sign Language and individualized support for people who are Deaf, Vivian is an unstoppable force in creating a more disability-inclusive workforce and community for Oklahoma.
Employment Services Employer Champion – Sodexo
A global leader in quality-of-life services essential for individual and organizational performance. Sodexo supports equal opportunity for all employees. Since 2016, DRTC has successfully partnered with Sodexo as an employer for more than 35 individuals with disabilities across 13 locations. Year after year, Sodexoâs commitment to hiring a disability-inclusive workforce through the DRTC Employment Services Program shines through.
As DRTC proudly celebrates its 70th Anniversary, weâre taking a moment to honor and recognize those individuals whose commitment embodies the organizationâs core mission of leading the community toward a more disability-inclusive workforce.
State Use Champion – Oklahoma Department of Transportation
A valued customer within the State Use Program for many years, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation has placed their trust in DRTC for many special projects as well as regular orders. From apparel, to plaques, to kitting, this long-standing relationship has provided more than one million dollars in job opportunities for the folks at DRTC Awards, Framing, & Promos. Loyalty to the mission of the State Use Program in providing employment for people with disabilities in Oklahoma is why the Oklahoma Department of Transportation is our State Use Champion.
Business Partnership Champion – JASCO
Beginning with building displays for Target, this 15-year relationship currently supports 100 people in the DRTC Production Center with more than a hundred thousand dollars in contracts. Today, Jasco, an industry leader in electronics, looks to DRTC as a partner for high-quality work in kitting and packaging placing RFIDâs on products for placement in Walmart. As a company, Jasco aspires to improve peopleâs lives through partnerships that inspire change. We appreciate Jasco seeing our ability to be a valuable business partner.
Media Partner Champion â KFOR
A true media partner with DRTC for several years, KFOR paved the way in highlighting the agencyâs mission and successes. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, KFOR-TV has played a key role in raising awareness and supporting people with disabilities as they reimagine their future through employment.
Job seekers of all abilities have an opportunity to connect with inclusive employers at the upcoming Ability-Focused Job Fair, co-hosted by DRTC (Dale Rogers Training Center), NewView Oklahoma and Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma.
The event, held at the OSU-OKC Community Impact Center will feature the following accommodations:
American Sign Language (ASL) & Spanish interpreters
Accessible parking & wide aisles
Sensory-sensitive room
Visual aids/services
Parking lot transportation to the event
Separate Interview Space
Sighted guides
Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services (OKDRS) will be at the event, along with Employment Training Specialists to help job seekers navigate the job fair and interview for open positions. This event is open to the public so there is no need to RSVP. We look forward to seeing you there!
What: Ability-Focused Job Fair
Where: OSU-OKC Community Impact Center
900 N Portland Ave
Oklahoma City, OK. 73107
When: October 24th 11:00am-2:00pm
Vendors: Interested in having a booth? There are limited spots available â Register Here!
Booth registration includes a catered lunch for up to two representatives.
Dale Rogers Training Center (DRTC) had an unforgettable time at our annual Fall Festival, thanks to the West OKC Rotary Club.
Rotarians came out to cook and serve food, play music and setup crafts for individuals at DRTC’s main campus at 2501 N. Utah Ave.
âDRTC enjoys our long-standing partnership with the Rotary Club,â said DRTC Executive Director Connie Thrash, M.Ed. âOur folks enjoy taking a break from work just like everyone else and the Rotarians put on a great event every year.â
Lindsey and Quoshon were awesome servers!
Having fun at the Fall Festival.
Group photo with OK County Commissioner Brian Maughan.
Chicken dance!
Dale Rogers Training Center (DRTC) is the oldest and largest community vocational training and employment center for people with disabilities in Oklahoma. With multiple locations in Oklahoma, DRTC trains or employs more than 1,100 people with disabilities per year. Visit us online:Â DRTC.org.
Dale Rogers Training Center (DRTC) had an unforgettable time at our annual Fall Festival, thanks to the West OKC Rotary Club.
Rotarians came out to cook and serve food, play music and setup crafts for individuals at DRTC’s main campus at 2501 N. Utah Ave.
âDRTC enjoys our long-standing partnership with the Rotary Club,â said DRTC Executive Director Connie Thrash, M.Ed. âOur folks enjoy taking a break from work just like everyone else and the Rotarians put on a great event every year.â
Lindsey and Quoshon were awesome servers!
Having fun at the Fall Festival.
Group photo with OK County Commissioner Brian Maughan.
Chicken dance!
Dale Rogers Training Center (DRTC) is the oldest and largest community vocational training and employment center for people with disabilities in Oklahoma. With multiple locations in Oklahoma, DRTC trains or employs more than 1,100 people with disabilities per year. Visit us online:Â DRTC.org.
Dale Rogers Training Center’s (DRTC) Camp Tumbleweed is winding down, but not without some more fun courtesy of Bishop McGuinness High School’s Social Justice course. Students took a tour of DRTC, learning about our history and what we do at the agency, and then volunteered at Camp T.
BMHS seniors and Camp T campers had a great time playing games! Thank you for volunteering!
Dale Rogers Training Center (DRTC) is the oldest and largest community vocational training and employment center for people with disabilities in Oklahoma. With multiple locations in Oklahoma, DRTC trains or employs more than 1,100 people with disabilities per year. Visit us online:Â DRTC.org.
On a busy work floor, Natjun takes stock of his surroundings. One wrong move could lead to serious injury as he meticulously positions his pallet jack to a flat of completed projects on the Vocational Services floor at Dale Rogers Training Center (DRTC).
Avoiding any injury to himself or others, Natjun moves the pallet out from the others, sets it down and then gets to work with stretch wrap to ensure the products stay together during transport.
âIâm about to wrap these boxes⊠and then I take the jack and what I do is put them back over there with the rest of these.â
Natjun, a senior at John Marshall High School in Oklahoma City, is taking part in the Warehouse Assistant program learning the basic operations of warehouse work.
But before he got to this point, there was a very important lesson to learn first: safety.
âThatâs the first aspect we go through out in the warehouse training is emphasizing, more than anything, the need to be aware,â said Danny, DRTC Warehouse Manager, âand to know what youâre doing when youâre operating this heavy equipment and being aware of other people.â
Natjun moves a pallet in DRTC’s Vocational Services Building.
Natjun can navigate a fully stacked pallet with ease while ensuring the safety of others on the work floor and in the warehouse.
âIf someone was (standing) there and I didnât see them, I might hurt them,â added Natjun.
As part of the Warehouse Assistant program, he is also learning invaluable communication skills. Natjun and other DRTC employees deliver various products and speak with customers.
âWe go out and greet people and take stuff, basically.â
He admits he was nervous at first, but now heâs settling in. Danny has noticed Natjunâs growth as well.
Danny, left, and Natjun, right, work together to move a pallet.
âPretty much now I can set him on a project and turn around,â said Danny.
Natjun has had plenty of experience learning and working at Dale Rogers Training Center. He is part of DRTCâs Transition School-to-Work Program where students travel to various businesses, learn new skills and how to act on the job among other employability lessons.
The Transition Program is where he learned what he wants to do after high school.
âHorticulture,â Natjun said with a smile. âI love the outdoors. Outdoors is like the best thing in the world.â
Natjun will continue developing his skills at DRTC and is on track to graduate in May 2016. Heâs also planning on attending this yearâs Camp Tumbleweedâ DRTCâs summer camp for teenagers and young adults with disabilities.
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Dale Rogers Training Center (DRTC) is the oldest and largest community vocational training and employment center for people with disabilities in Oklahoma. With multiple locations in Oklahoma, DRTC trains or employs more than 1,100 people with disabilities per year. Visit us online: DRTC.org
A huge smile grows on Julie’s face and her eyes light up when asked about her new job at Dale Rogers Training Center’s Papa Murphy’s store. Julie said, making the dough is my absolute favorite. It’s like science. I love science and you have to get the dough done just right.” The community job is a large transition from the DRTC in-house programs she has been a part of for six years. When Julie was asked why she wanted to work at Papa Murphy’s she said, “to better myself, to feel like I’ve accomplished something. It’s my first real job out in the community.”
Julie has grown confident in her work at Papa Murphy’s and learned a few lessons. Julie does the prep work in the mornings preparing the vegetables and the dough. Growing accustomed to prep charts and the fast pace of a retail establishment has taken Julie some time, but she is improving and constantly learning. Part of having a community job is transportation.
Julie rides the bus to work and loves it. Her first day of work she got off at the wrong stop, but Julie was not worried, rather she thought, “I can handle this.” Julie said the “sense of freedom [she] gets riding the bus is well worth it.”
With the money Julie is earning she plans to pay off her medical expenses and purchase her very own laptop and internet service. “DRTC trains you before you jump in on the big day,” said Julie. “I’m reaching my goal. I want to eventually own my own business, owning a bakery is a long-term goal.”
-featured in the United Way of Central Oklahoma Vital Signs Report, 2013
For those of you who are graduating this year, it is likely that you’re planning on getting a job. If you have a disability and are interested in employment, Oklahoma’s Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) can provide support to help you find and obtain a job. One type of support they offer is the Milestone Program, this program provides job coaching services where they can assist with finding jobs, filling out applications, preparing for interviews and provide on-the-job training. Dale Rogers Training Center (DRTC) offers this service through the Employment Services Department, but you must be authorized by your DRS counselor first.
If additional vocational training would benefit you, the DRTC in-house workforce program might be an option. This is funded through the Developmental Disabilities Services Division of DHS (DDSD), and a DRTC application is required.
For questions or information about either of these programs, or for a workshop application, please contact Ty Beasley, Transition Coordinator, at 946-4489 ext 504.
