How Inclusive Employers and IL ABLE Accounts Support People with Disabilities

Treasurer Frerichs leads panel at Special Olympics Illinois Athlete Leadership Academy.

Treasurer Frerichs moderated a lively panel discussion at the Special Olympics Illinois (SOILL) Athlete Leadership Academy that focused on the benefits of working. Panelists included SOILL athletes who have disabilities and leaders from Amazon and Hyatt who focus on initiatives that support hiring people with disabilities.

Growing Work-Ready Skills at the Growing Solutions Farm

One teacher’s perspective

Each week, students from across Chicago travel to Urban Autism Solutions’ Growing Solutions Farm (UAS), a 1.2-acre produce farm on Chicago’s West Side, where Chicago public high school transition students with autism and related disabilities gain valuable vocational skills to prepare for future competitive employment.

Treasurer Frerichs’s Visit to Gateway to Learning

Employment training is front and center.

Treasurer Frerichs recently visited Chicago’s Gateway to Learning (GTL) to observe participants with intellectual and developmental disabilities as they build job skills in food preparation, baking, and customer service in GTL’s commercial kitchen and Dorothy’s Can-Do Bakery & Cafe. While there, he heard first-hand from the program’s participants about their work and the impact of GTL’s programs.