JARC Florida, National Disability Employment Awareness Month
WORTH IT. NATALIE. ALL RIGHT. ERIN. THANK YOU. OCTOBER IS NATIONAL DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT AWARENESS MONTH, AND HERE TO TELL US MORE ABOUT A LOCAL PROGRAM GEARED TOWARDS HELPING EVERYONE FIND WORK AND TO DISCUSS SOME OF THE FUNDING CHALLENGES THE PROGRAM FACES. IS JEFFREY ZELNICK, THE CEO OF JARC FLORIDA. AND WE HAVE SAMMI HERE AS WELL, WHO IS A CLIENT. THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE WITH US. THANK YOU FOR HAVING US. LET’S TALK FIRST, JEFFREY, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS. THE COMMUNITY WORKS PROGRAM WAS STARTED IN 2016 BY MY PREDECESSOR, DEBORAH HARLOW, AND OUR SENIOR DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS, NANCY FREIWALD. THEY HAD A VISION TO HOW CAN WE GET INDIVIDUALS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES INTO THE WORKFORCE, BECAUSE ANY INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY. FUNCTIONS AT A DISADVANTAGE TO THOSE OF US WHO DO NOT HAVE THAT DISABILITY, AND THE EMPLOYMENT RATE IS NEARLY ONLY A THIRD OF ANYBODY ELSE OUT IN THE MARKET. SO THEY CREATED A PROGRAM THAT ALLOWED FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET THE PRIDE OF EARNING A PAYCHECK, INTRODUCE INDIVIDUALS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES TO LOCAL BUSINESSES, AND CREATE THE PRIDE OF BEING A PART OF THE COMMUNITY. SO WE HAVE BEEN FORTUNATE TO PARTNER WITH THE STATE OF FLORIDA TO RECEIVE A FUNDING GRANT SINCE 2016, AND WE HAVE GOTTEN 100 INDIVIDUALS ANNUALLY TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROGRAM, WITH DOZENS OF BUSINESSES. CHEESECAKE FACTORY, WYCLIFFE COUNTRY CLUB, WEST PALM DOG, WOODFIELD COUNTRY CLUB TO JUST NAME A FEW. AND THERE ARE DOZENS OF OTHERS AND THESE COMPANIES ALLOW US TO BRING INDIVIDUALS INTO THEIR BUSINESSES TO WORK ALONGSIDE THEIR EMPLOYEES AND DEMONSTRATE THE ABILITY, NOT FOCUS ON THE DISABILITY OF THESE INDIVIDUALS TO SHOW THAT THEY CAN BE A GOOD PART OF THE WORKFORCE. AND, SAMMY, WHAT HAS YOUR EXPERIENCE BEEN LIKE? I LOVE IT. I LOVE DARK. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THE WORK THAT YOU’RE INVOLVED IN? THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY, COCONUT CREEK, WYCLEF AND WYCLEF COUNTRY CLUB, AND WESTFIELD AND JEFFREY, YOU WERE TELLING ME THAT THERE ARE SOME FUNDING CHALLENGES THAT THE PROGRAM IS FACING, CORRECT? WE HAVE BEEN FUNDED SINCE 2016. AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THROUGH THE STATE’S LEGISLATURE AND AS THE MINIMUM WAGE HAS INCREASED, WE HAVE BEEN FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO GET ADDITIONAL OR LARGER ALLOCATIONS FROM THE STATE THIS YEAR DUE TO CHANGES THAT WERE GOING ON. WE TOOK A $300,000 CUT IN OUR ALLOCATION FROM THE STATE. SO IT FORCED US TO REVISIT HOW MANY INDIVIDUALS WE CAN GET OUT INTO OUR PARTNER BUSINESSES AND HOW WE NOW NEED TO FOCUS ON INCREASING DONATIONS SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES TO PRESENT THE DEMONSTRATE HOW THESE INDIVIDUALS DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND CAN BE PART OF WHAT’S GOING ON. SAMMY, WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO TELL PEOPLE WHO MAYBE ARE THINKING ABOUT GETTING INVOLVED? DO YOU HAVE A MESSAGE YOU WANT TO SHARE WITH ANYONE THAT THEY SHOULD COME? THEY SHOULD THEY SHOULD COME OUT AND THEY SHOULD COME AND DO IT. ALL RIGHT. GREAT. THANK YOU. JEFFREY, HOW CAN PEOPLE GET INVOLVED? THEY CAN CONTACT JARRETT, GO TO OUR WEBSITE W J A R C ORG AND J A R C. ORG AND OR REACH OUT TO DJAQ. THE PHONE NUMBER WOULD BE (561) 558-2550. THEY CAN BE VOLUNTEERS. THEY CAN DONATE TO THIS PROGRAM. THEY CAN BECOME PARTNER BUSINESSES. AND TO JUST TO DEMONSTRATE THE ABILITY OF WHAT THIS MEANS THE BUSINESSES THAT WE HAVE BEEN PART OF, THEY TELL US THAT THEIR EMPLOYEES WORK BETTER WORKING ALONGSIDE OUR EMPLOYEES. AND THE DIFFERENCE IN THIS PROGRAM VERSUS OTHER EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IS THAT WE CONTINUE TO GO OUT ONCE SOMEBODY IS NOT ONLY THERE AS A PAID INTERNSHIP, BUT THAT WHEN THEY GET HIRED, WE CONTINUE TO PARTNER WITH THESE BUSINESSES. SO THE SUPPORT SYSTEM IS THERE AND IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN HOW YOU CAN CREATE A SUCCESS RATE GOING FORWARD. ALL RIGHT. WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH, BOTH OF YOU, FOR BEING HERE WITH US TODAY AND ALL THAT INFORMATION THAT JEFFREY GAVE YOU THERE ON DJAQ IS ON OUR WEBSITE RIGHT NOW. WPBF.COM. YOU CAN ALSO DOWNLOAD OUR FREE WPBF 25 NEWS APP. WE’LL BE RIGHT BACK AFTER THIS. THAN
JARC Florida, National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Updated: 10:04 AM EDT Oct 31, 2025
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. The JARC Florida stopped by our studio to talk more about the Community Works program. Stay up to date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25For more information, click here.Get the latest weather updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. The JARC Florida stopped by our studio to talk more about the Community Works program.
Stay up to date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25
For more information, click here.
Get the latest weather updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.