Students in our VISIONS Program are another group that actively benefits from community partnerships. The VISIONS program is designed to prepare 18-22-year-old students living with disabilities for post-secondary education, employment, and independent living. Employment skills are gained through facilitated opportunities with community partner businesses. Through these community partners, students get experiences such as writing a resume, email etiquette, workplace-ready hygiene and dressing, completing assigned tasks and filling out time cards.

"Thanks to our many community partners, across Lewis County, and even South Thurston County, we are able to offer our students at VISIONS a wide range of job sites for career exploration," said Executive Director for Student Support Katie Howell. "Our community partners help students learn valuable skills for employment, provide feedback on student growth and assist students to develop confidence in their abilities. Engaging with varied job sites helps students learn about their interests and strengths, while also developing their workplace social and technical skills." 

Kyle Tupper, Job Developer for the VISIONS Program, said employment skills have been a part of the curriculum of VISIONS since the very beginning. But he feels that through these local businesses, students receive more experience, business contacts and references than most people their age.

"Usually, even if it's not something the students want to do long term, they usually take a lot of pride and have great joy in their work," Tupper said. "When they know they're working toward something, they're usually into it on some level."

There are about 22 community partner businesses that VISIONS works with. Some of the businesses they work the most with include Great Wolf Lodge, Fairfield Inn in Grand Mound and Holiday Inn Express in Chehalis because these sites offer a variety of areas where students can learn. Most partners are drawn to the idea of helping students, but they often see even greater benefits in getting to know our students and their individual strengths. 

"It tends to be really good for the morale of their employees and the community sees it and thinks 'this is a business that cares about the community,'" Tupper said.