2004 NYSRA Business/Industry Recognition Award

Abilities, Inc. is proud to nominate Gap, Inc. For the NYSRA Business/Industry Recognition Award for New York State

Gap, Inc. has been actively involved with Abilities, Inc. for the past two years and has set an exemplary example of how companies can partner with organizations like ours to recruit and hire qualified employees with disabilities. In support of this commitment, they have provided employment opportunities to more than ten (10) consumers who completed our Retail Training Program.

The Gap, Inc. has also demonstrated its commitment through active participation on our Business Advisory Council (BAC). Through practice interviews and round table discussions, their staff members have assisted job seekers with disabilities in refining their career goals, honing their interview skills, and enhancing job seeking strategies. This contribution of their time and knowledge has since developed into a preliminary screening process for many of our consumers. As a result, students in the program have been called back for formal interviews and subsequently hired as stock clerks, processors, and sales associates. Their role as a Business Advisory Council Executive Committee member is invaluable to both gathering information on current industry trends and assuring that the retail training program curriculum is comprehensive and current for all consumers.

In 2003, Abilities, Inc. was presented with the Secretary of Labor’s New Freedom Initiative Award by US Department of Labor Secretary, Elaine Chao. Gap, Inc. enhanced our nomination by enabling us to videotape a deaf consumer hired through Abilities, Inc. as a Sales Associate. As such, she interfaces with customers on a daily basis. To facilitate her interaction, she was provided with a nametag stating that she is hard of hearing. This simple accommodation helped Gap consumers develop an understanding that individuals with disabilities have as much to contribute to the workforce as their non-disabled peers. In addition, by utilizing the services of the Smeal Learning Center, which like Abilities, Inc. is located on the campus of the National Center for Disability Services, Gap has converted many of their training tapes into closed-captioned videos to accommodate many of their deaf employees hired through Abilities.

Gap, Inc. is a company driven by sincerity, collaboration, and commitment. In the two years of their involvement with Abilities' placement department, they have proven their pledge by making themselves available for BAC activities, and have surpassed all expectations in supporting our consumers’ vocational goals. Our partnership with Gap recruiters has provided our consumers with the opportunity to compete for open positions and to secure jobs for which they were trained. They are truly a leader in the hiring of individuals with disabilities and have inspired other BAC members to increase their recruitment efforts and set many examples of accommodating individuals they hired.

Abilities, Inc. believes that Gap, Inc. has gone above and beyond other companies in promoting the hiring of individuals with disabilities and accommodating their needs to ensure success on the job.