SDMyers recently welcomed some new employees to the company through a partnership with Summit County Developmental Disabilities Board (Summit DD), a volunteer-led organization that helps children and adults with developmental disabilities in Summit County.

Summit DD works alongside local disability service providers, sharing information, contacts and leads about local job openings. This collaboration helps people with disabilities find and obtain jobs and increases awareness in the business community about the benefit of hiring people of all different abilities.

SDMyers reached out to the board at the end of 2018 with some opportunities, and the board found two qualified candidates to fill the spot.

“Once SDMyers contacted us about the open position, we used the provider collaborative to fill it,” said Jan Dougherty, Community Supports & Development Manager at Summit DD.

Ashley Belding, Human Resources Generalist at SDMyers, said that the company needed seasonal help during busy periods. The applicants from Summit DD, Belding said, were a perfect fit in terms of skills and availability. 

“We were looking for a part-time employee and an additional seasonal person,” said Belding. “It was a win-win.”

“Just like everyone, people are different,” said Brittany Ruehs, Quality Supervisor at SDMyers, “and the people we’ve worked with from Summit DD have had no problem becoming part of the SDMyers team.”

SDMyers is working on additional ways to work with Summit DD and Community Connections, including job shadowing, tours of the plant and mock interviews to offer exposure to different types of jobs and to help people hone interviewing skills.

For more information on this collaboration, view the original version of this article here, and visit the Summit DD website.

January 31, 2019