Kessler Foundation in the News
Steve Adubato Interviews Elaine Katz & Hudson Community Enterprises
On One-on-One with Steve Adubato. which aired on April 22nd, Kessler Foundation's Senior Vice President of Grants & Communications Elaine E. Katz discussed the Foundation's work in disability employment and rehabilitation research. Under the direction of Katz, Kessler Foundation awards grants to innovative initiatives that create or expand job training and employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Projects funded include social enterprises and public/private partnerships--in which nonprofits that specialize in disability issues partner with for-profit businesses to create a universally-accessible workforce and develop hiring programs that set a standard for hiring people with disabilities--and other special initiatives. In the interview, Katz explained, "We’re a very different foundation [and] funding model. We not only provide the information, but we collaborate with the [organizations]. We will trouble shoot projects and we’re very accessible. Our goal is to develop the best practices...in the fields of employment for people with disabilities...and share them nationally."
Kessler Foundation awarded a grant to Caucus Educational Corporation, the production company of One on One to produce and broadcast a series of segments that highlight the importance of including people with disabilities in the workforce and the many contributions they make to enhance the productivity of businesses.
As part of the series, Steve Adubato also interviewed Maureen Walliser, vice president of strategic planning at Hudson Community Enterprises (HCE) in Jersey City, NJ. On the April 29th airing, she discussed employing people with disabilities and how HCE grew as a result of Kessler Foundation's support. HCE, a document management social enterprise that employees people with disabilities, has received numerous grants from Kessler Foundation to expand the business and purchase new equipment. The funding has created more jobs for individuals with disabilities, where they earn market wages and have opportunities for advancement. HCE now employs 300 individuals; 70 percent have disabilities.
"If you spend time with a person with a disability and you have a conversation, you will be very impressed," Walliser said. "People with disabilities are from all over, and they cross every ethnic group. They come from small cities, large cities, and they have a broad range of interests, and, specifically, skills." HCE has a tremendous impact on individuals with disabilities. "These 300 individuals, last year, earned over six million dollars...[which] helped the federal government, state government, and the local government through the taxes that they paid," she added.
