Safeway and Easter Seals working together
by Beth
An article in Reuters last week touts Safeway Inc. for the generous grants it gives to Easter Seals to empower children and adults with autism and other disabilities.
Safeway executives unveiled the 2009 Safeway Foundation’s Empowerment Grant award winners during Easter Seals’ annual convention in Washington, D.C., granting $1 million to expand programs across the country that measurably improve access to services and outcomes for children and adults living with autism and other disabilities.
Now in its second year, the 2009 Safeway Foundation’s Empowerment Grants are awarded to Easter Seals affiliates across the country whose innovative programming truly makes a difference in the lives of people with disabilities, whether through autism services, employment support, inclusive child care, early intervention, medical rehabilitation or respite.
You might remember the post I wrote about Safeway last may, where I mentioned their long-standing commitment to hiring people with disabilities:
Safeway employs more than 10,000 adults with disabilities. You read that right. They hire more than 10,000 adults with disabilities. There are over 1,700 Safeway stores across the United States and Canada, operating under various brand names including Safeway (East Coast, Seattle, Portland, Northern California, Phoenix and Denver), Vons and Pavilions (Southern California and Nevada), Dominick’s (Chicago), Randalls and Tom Thumb (Texas), Genuardi’s (Philadelphia) and Carrs stores (Alaska). Look around the next time you are shopping at one of these stores — it’s likely you’ll find an employee there with a disability. What a welcome sight!
I can tell you firsthand — when you have a disability, it is extremely difficult to convince employers to hire you. Safeway’s commitment has given many adults with autism and other disabilities a career and a means to live independently. Now these new 2009 Safeway Foundation Empowerment Grant awards will support Easter Seals local programs, which will help us reach more families living with disabilities.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Thank you Safeway!