A Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Out-of-School Youth (OSY) participant since October 2019, Donna is a resilient youth who has overcome many challenges and is now standing victorious at her new job. 

Donna’s obstacles in high school included a learning disability and an eviction that resulted in being separated from her immediate family. Fortunately, Donna learned to adapt and had the opportunity to live with her grandmother.

Donna’s work ethic and flexibility resulted in a nearly three-year employment with Turkey Hill, during which time she took only two sick days, picked up extra shifts, came into work at 6 am, and walked or rode her bike to work every day. However, when she moved, transportation became an issue as it was too far to walk or ride her bike, and Donna had to leave her job.

Donna’s grandmother brought her to the PA CareerLink to see if the Lebanon Youth Program could assist Donna in finding a new job. When entering the program, Donna scored at the 3rd grade level in both math and reading on the entrance assessment and was considered basic skills deficient. The advisor worked with Donna to complete job applications, and she quickly became hired at Boscov’s as a seasonal employee. Excelling at her job, she became a permanent employee in early January 2020. Donna was exited from IU13’s program, but several weeks later she lost her job due to a lack of available hours. 

Donna called the youth program job trainer for assistance to help her find a new job. At that time, the Lebanon Youth Program was looking for youth for the Vanity Fair Brand (VF) Training Program. This program is designed to give youth with disabilities the opportunity to become trained in a warehouse setting and then have the possibility of full-time employment with benefits dependent on attendance, attitude, and performance. Donna’s case was reopened, and after her four-week training evaluation, she was offered a position on the main floor with the other full-time employees. 

Although COVID-19 caused schools and businesses to close, Donna was eventually able to apply to be a full-time employee. On May 26, she officially started her permanent full-time job at  VF as a general warehouse employee. IU13 Community Education celebrates Donna’s success with her!