Once a year the North Carolina Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services (DVRS) presents an award to a business they have partnered with from across North Carolina. This year Chatham Literacy was nominated and then selected out of 200 small business employers across the state as the “Small Employer of the Year.” Monday Chatham Literacy was given this award and the Chatham Record was there to capture it.
Chatham Literacy was nominated by Deanna Jones, a Regional Specialist of Employment Services at DVRS. In presenting this award, Deanna wrote:
“Kim had been placed with Chatham Literacy through North Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation. Kim interned as a receptionist for 4 months with Chatham Literacy. Kim faced the challenges of cerebral palsy, using a wheelchair for mobility, hand and finger limitations, intellectual disabilities and visual impairments. Kim was 29 years old and had never worked or attended college classes. Her disabilities partnered with the challenges of not being a US citizen, had created unimaginable barriers for her. However, Kim was motivated and enthusiastic about learning and working, and her sense of humor and bilingual skills made her a good fit in the nonprofit.”
“Chatham Literacy and especially Vicki changed Kim’s life. The business provided her an opportunity to grow as an individual, grow in confidence and open doors that had been shut for a long time. And Vicki’s supportive mentorship was exceptional. Vicki coached and counseled Kim and supported her decision to go to school.”
We are humbled to have received the nomination and we graciously accept this award. It was our pleasure to work with Kim and we could not be happier that she is excelling at school and all she is doing!
A special thank you to Deana Jones for nominating Chatham Literacy.
In total Kim completed two four month internships and stayed on for four months after as an employee, for a total of 1 year before going on to UNCG.
You can read the Chatham News and Record article here.