| Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development News Release | |
|---|---|
| Friday, April 8, 2005 Governor Jim Doyle Secretary Roberta Gassman |
News Media Contact Rose Lynch 608/266-6753 e-mail: news@dwd.state.wi.us fax: 608/266-1784 |
Donors Forum of Wisconsin presents Good Grant Award
(Pewaukee) - The Wisconsin Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR), a division of the Department of Workforce Development (DWD), and Easter Seals Wisconsin will accept the Good Grant Award from the Donors Forum of Wisconsin at their Statewide Conference on Philanthropy on April 8, 2005. The award will be presented at the conference awards luncheon at 12:30 PM at the Country Inn Hotel, Pewaukee.
“The efforts of DVR and Easter Seals help to further Governor Doyle’s goal to strengthen agriculture in Wisconsin, a $40 billion a year industry, that accounts for nearly one in five jobs in this state," Secretary Gassman said. "Helping people to stay on the farm after the onset of disability will help us strengthen and expand this important part of Wisconsin’s economy.”
Good Grant Award recipients are recognized for their leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, and creativity in working together to provide an innovative solution to a community need. The Donors Forum of Wisconsin is a professional membership association of funders whose mission is to support and promote effective philanthropy.
DVR and Easter Seals Wisconsin are receiving the grant for their partnership to provide rehabilitation services and assistive technology to farmers and agricultural workers who have a disability due to an injury or disease. A key component of the grant was for Easter Seals to provide training for DVR staff so that they are better able to recognize and help meet the specialized needs of farmers with disabilities.
Easter Seals’ CEO Christine Fessler said, “People with disabilities want to work in their chosen profession. In fact, tens of thousands of people with disabilities are currently employed in Wisconsin. Easter Seals’ strong partnership with DVR demonstrates that effective solutions do exist even in a field as physically demanding as farming.”
Since 1991, Easter Seals Wisconsin has helped over one thousand farmers and agricultural workers with disabilities successfully accommodate a disability and continue to farm, return to farming or develop an alternative agricultural occupation.
DVR provides employment services to job-seekers with disabilities. The union of DVR’s employment services and Easter Seals’ expertise in agriculture and rehabilitation services for people with disabilities, is an innovative and highly successful partnership.
Content Contact: Rose Lynch