RISMEDIA, December 2013–CENTURY 21 Award is proud to announce that the funds raised from our summer Loser’s Raffle have been allocated at Easter Seals Southern California. The $30,000 gift serves as the inaugural gift to launch the WorkFirst program in San Diego.
Easter Seals has a long, committed history of serving military service members and veterans. For nearly 100 years Easter Seals has provided exceptional services to people with disabilities and their families, and following World War II Easter Seals expanded its reach to service members returning home with disabilities. Building upon these years of experience, Easter Seals’ national board of directors established a military and veterans initiative as a global priority in 2005. Furthermore, in response to Post-9/11 service members returning home, Easter Seals created the Dixon Center in 2012 with Colonel David Sutherland, retired US Army and former Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
ESSC has chosen to build upon its highly successful employment program, WorkFirst, to deliver critical employment placement assistance and job skills training to returning veterans and their families as they seek to reintegrate into their civilian communities. Strategically, ESSC has made the decision to pilot our Military and Veterans Services WorkFirst program in San Diego. WorkFirst is a proven effective employment services program focused on: 1) Ensuring employment for people with all types of disabilities. 2) Decreasing the demand for State-funded services. 3) Stimulating the economy by adding people to the workforce. 4) Improving the quality of life for people with disabilities while mitigating inequality.
The Loser’s Raffle donation is currently serving as the catalyst for continued fundraising efforts in the region. On behalf of all the returning veterans who will benefit from the WorkFirst program, Easter Seals Southern California and CENTURY 21 Award would like to extend our sincerest thanks for your commitment to this important population of heroes.
