Melwood

Today marks the start of Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month, a time to promote awareness, self-acceptance, community resources, and disability rights for those with Tourette’s syndrome. The CDC estimates that Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders may impact about 1.4 million people nationwide, emphasizing the need for widespread awareness and resources within employment and daily life. This Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month, we’re thrilled to collaborate with highly credentialed experts at Children's National Hospital to offer a tailor-made summer camp experience for children with Tourette syndrome. Learn more about Camp Connect TS and our other camp programs here: https://lnkd.in/efY9z7E7

As we close out Deaf Awareness Week, Melwood is proud to share the story of one of our employees, Derek Point, who boldly challenges stereotypes by showing people the incredible work and craftsmanship he is capable of. #DeafAwarenessWeek

Before Cody Hart came through Melwood's AbilIT program, he was struggling to support himself in his job at a grocery store deli. Today, he is thriving as data annotator at Enabled Intelligence, Inc (EI), a leading data labeling and AI annotation service provider that supports the mission of the federal government. A groundbreaking new collaboration between Melwood and EI aims to bridge massive gaps in the IT and technical workforce by creating a steady pipeline of qualified talent, while also acting as a national model for hiring and training a neurodiverse workforce--and supporting more workers like Cody. Learn more in this exclusive from NBC4:

The highly credentialed experts at Children's National Hospital and Melwood work together to ensure every camper has a fun, safe, fulfilling experience while at our fully inclusive summer camp, Camp Accomplish. This National Nurse's Week, we're thrilled to introduce you to Kelly Vanderwende, RN, Camp Accomplish's new Camp Program Manager. Kelly brings 15 years of pediatric nursing and condition-specific camp experience to Camp Accomplish campers, and is eager to ensure campers are having the time of their lives. Want to meet Kelly in real life and learn more about Camp Accomplish? Join us for a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and Open House June 8. Register today! https://lnkd.in/ebpp53xz #NationalNursesWeek #Nurses #CampAccomplish #ChildrensNationalHospital #PediatricCare

This week marks Deaf Awareness Week, a time to promote inclusion and further understanding of deaf and hard-of-hearing people. Roughly 3.6% of the U.S. population—around 11 million Americans—are deaf or have serious difficulty hearing. An estimated 48 million Americans live with some degree of hearing loss. Melwood and our partners continue to strive for an inclusive environment for individuals with and without disabilities, including those with hearing loss. Learn more about ways to create a more inclusive workplace for deaf or hard-of-hearing employees in this article by Roberta J. Cordano, President of Gallaudet University: https://lnkd.in/eFdcdrNi

Here at Melwood, community partnerships are at the heart of what we do. That's why we're so grateful to our corporate sponsors who donated time, sweat, and energy to preparing Camp Accomplish for the 700 campers who will join us this summer! More than 90 volunteers from The Wills Group, Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, BradyIFS, Now BradyPLUS, Shore United Bank, Silva Contracting, Children's National Hospital and Daycon Distributors helped us spread mulch, garden, paint, assemble first-aid kits, and rebuild the bridge to the pond!

For decades, Melwood has leveraged its vast experience to break down barriers and open opportunities for people with disabilities in the broader workforce. Today, Melwood, MITRE and the University of Washington released a new playbook called the Neurodiversity@Work Playbook: Federal Edition. This playbook is a first-of-its-kind recruiting, hiring, training and retention tool the federal government can use to become a more inclusive and accessible employer, opening the government’s recruitment pool to neurodivergent candidates who are often excluded from the current hiring process. As the largest employer in the United States, the federal government plays an outsized role in the economic well-being of the disability community. By creating a playbook that speaks to the nuances of federal agencies, we will be enabling more hiring managers to help address the under-inclusion of neurodivergent people in the workforce. This is especially important in our region, where the federal government has such a large presence. Melwood is pleased to support the creation of the Neurodiversity@Work Playbook: Federal Edition. Read our press release and the Playbook below! https://lnkd.in/eBvZS7nG

In partnership with Fairfax County, Melwood is proud to offer access to free career exploration, job trainings, and certifications to help individuals in Fairfax County forge a path to better paying careers through our WISH (Workforce Innovation Skills Hub) Center. At WISH you can get hands-on experience exploring careers in the skilled trades, learn how to prepare for interviews, assemble a resume, and receive training and community support services to prepare you for in-demand employment. Learn more about how the WISH can support you: https://lnkd.in/eV7He_6Y

At Melwood, we understand that breaking down barriers to create a more inclusive society cannot happen in a vacuum. That's why community partnerships are at the heart of what we do each and every day. We love seeing how the partnerships we form with other organizations like CGI are transforming lives for people with disabilities while expanding the horizons of what's possible for all of us. To learn more about how your organization can partner with Melwood to create a more inclusive workplace visit us at www.Melwood.org.

Melwood is proud to support and empower other social enterprises that work to advance the economic freedoms of people with disabilities. We recently shared a day on Capitol Hill with ACHIEVE Human Services, Inc. where our two teams visited Congressional staff, shared our work to empower people with disabilities, introduced the Alliance for Expanding America's Workforce, and advocated for the modernization and expansion of the AbilityOne Program.