Booth’s opening another link in a growing Chain

By Jessica J. Burchard
The Winchester Star

Winchester — Children living with a disability often find they have limited career options after leaving high school.

NW Works Inc. wants to broaden their opportunities by establishing a Youth Employment Superstars program.

The Winchester-based organization is raising awareness and receiving financial support for the program through the 23rd annual WINC Chain of Checks campaign.

Steve Dobbin and other workers with NW Works Inc. are among the first to make a contribution to Chain of Checks Saturday during the opening of the campaign’s fundraising booth in the Apple Blossom Mall. Taking pictures are NW Works staffer Lori Wymer (left) and WINC Radio disc jockey Arrianna Nichols. (Photo by Rick Foster)

“You realize what an untapped need this fills,” said John C. Brauer, executive director of NW Works. “Everyone is being supportive.”

The employment program is a partnership between the nonprofit NW Works and several local businesses, and will provide job internships for area high school students with disabilities.

NW Works (formerly Northwestern Workshop) in an organization that provides career opportunities for people with disabilities, serving about 160 people a year who would normally be considered unemployable.

About half of its clients are placed in jobs at area businesses, while the rest perform contract work such as assembling kits for Rubbermaid or packing light bulbs for General Electric at the NW Works workshop at 828 Smithfield Ave. in Winchester.

The nonprofit has broken ground on a new, 45,000-square-foot workshop on Shady Elm Road in Kernstown, which will be 18,000 square feet larger than its current facility. The $4.5 million building is expected to open next year.

As work on the facility continues, the organization’s new Youth Employment Superstars program is getting a boost from Chain of Checks.

On Saturday, Chain of Checks opened a fundraising booth in the Apple Blossom Mall at 1850 Apple Blossom Drive.

“I love the grand opening, the anticipation. That’s a good part,” said Barry Lee, WINC’s long-time morning disc jockey and founder of the 23-year-old Chain of Checks campaign, which has raised $827,742.54 since its inception. “But in January, when we deliver the big check, that’s my favorite part.”

Unlike the 2007 campaign that raised $80,000 to buy two new school buses for Apple Country Head Start, no monetary goal has been set for this year’s fundraiser.

NW Works plans to use its existing resources to establish the YES program, Brauer said.

“We’re going to use a lot of our existing infrastructure,” he said. “So the [Chain of Checks] money will go toward the program — personnel and paying students stipends.”

Celebrating Saturday’s opening of the Chain of Checks fundraising booth in the Apple Blossom Mall are (from left): H. Russell Potts Jr., chairman of the NW Works Inc. fundraising campaign; Barry Lee of WINC Radio, founder of the Chain of Checks campaign; Vernon Laney, president of the NW Works board of directors; Steve Tarrant, an NW Works client; and John Brauer, director of NW Works. (Photo by Rick Foster)

With about 50 high school students in Winchester and Frederick County interested in the program, Brauer expects to hire two new staff people to coordinate YES.

The employment program had a test run over the summer, but Brauer expects it to be fully operational by late summer and into next fall.

“We’re trying to determine how to work it out with school hours and transportation now,” Brauer said.

NW Works is scheduling several meetings with local high schools to create a YES program schedule for the 2009-10 school year.

The economic downturn is causing some concern about how much money will be donated to Chain of Checks this year, but Lee is optimistic that people will dig deep for a good cause.

“There are those people who are going to step up to the plate or take on more during these times,” he said.

In addition to money, some people are giving their time for the YES program.

Six Shenandoah University Dunn School of Pharmacy students volunteered Sunday to man the campaign booth in the mall from noon until 6 p.m.

The students each worked two hours with a partner. They collected donations and distributed information about YES to passersby.

“We’re trying to help bring a change to the community,” said Bassam Atallah, president of the first-year pharmacy class. “The [Chain of Checks] campaign is kind of different. It’s definitely a good idea.”

The public can support the fundraiser by stopping at the mall booth and depositing cash or a check in the clear plastic container set on a table, or mail checks to WINC’s Chain of Checks, 520 N. Pleasant Valley Road, Winchester 22601.

“Truthfully, there’s a lot of need out there,” Brauer said. “But I hope people realize the need for this program.”

For more information about NW Works Inc. or the Youth Employment Superstars program, call Brauer at 540-667-0809.

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www.nwworks.com
winc.fm

— Contact Jessica J. Burchard at
jburchard@winchesterstar.com