Photo By Nell King | Erin Gallagher, food service worker with ServiceSource, wipes down tables during her...... read more read more
Jack Busby has worked at the Dining Facility on the Fort Myer portion of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall for about a year, and according to him, it’s the best place he’s ever been employed.
Busby, 50, is one of 23 employees who work at JBM-HH through ServiceSource, a leading nonprofit organization that helps people with disabilities find jobs, and the AbilityOne program, a federal initiative to help and create opportunities for individuals who are blind or have other significant disabilities.
Busby, a native of Annandale, Va., has participated in the Ability One program for 15 years, working at Marine Barracks 8th and I in Washington, D.C., and the Navy Yard before coming to JBM-HH, he told the Pentagram.
His duties include washing dishes, taking out the trash and busing tables. But he said his favorite part of working at JBM-HH is that he gets to work with his friends.
ServiceSource has provided dining facility services to JBM-HH since 2012 and operates on 30 different federal bases across the country, said Teresa Guzik, a media relations specialist for the organization.
The AbilityOne program allows employees with disabilities valuable opportunities, Guzik said.
Guzik added that AbilityOne provides its employees with individualized attention they wouldn’t necessarily get elsewhere.
“It depends on the level of disability a person has,” she said. “That’s what’s really great about AbilityOne. You can adapt to the level of a disability. No person with a disability is the same.”
AbilityOne also creates a collaborative environment that focuses on teamwork that ultimately benefits the employees, said Project Manager Paulette Williams.
“I see a lot of independence,” she said. “They learn how to earn a living, how to earn a paycheck. They can come out, earn a living and form a team.”
Sgt. 1st Class Kevin A. Cordon, noncommissioned officer for regimental food service operations, agreed.
“It builds a team environment between the Soldiers and the employees because I know [the employees] enjoy it and I know we look forward to seeing them every day,” he said. “It becomes like a family.”
Busby has also been an usher at the National Cathedral for 25 years and has advocated for the AbilityOne program on Capitol Hill.
In Fiscal Year 2014, ServiceSource placed 948 people with disabilities with community employers. They have been an authorized AbilityOne partner since 1981.
| Date Taken: | 09.17.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 09.17.2015 09:35 |
| Story ID: | 176350 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 164 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Nonprofit partners with JBM-HH DFAC to employ those with disabilities, by Guv Callahan, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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