Since
its 1995 inception, SOS Alabama has provided more than 300 paid
internships to tenth, eleventh and twelfth grade high school
students with disabilities. SOS Alabama began as a
collaboration between the Lakeshore Foundation, the Alabama
Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities,
and the National Organization on Disability. The Alabama
initiative was perhaps the most ambitious of the SOS programs.
Working with volunteer committees comprising representatives of
the local government, school system, business and social services,
SOS Alabama grew to seven county-based local programs, with each
site using multiple employers.
Most
Alabama internships take place after school and on weekends.
Internships typically average 10 hours per week and last from
eight to 18 weeks. Placements vary according to the students’
vocational interests. Work sites have included radio stations,
regional hospitals, a conference center, nursing homes, a fitness
gym, a police station and several large corporations such as Kmart
and Wal-Mart.
SOS
Alabama has written a comprehensive SOS operating manual. The
program holds an annual two-day fall orientation for volunteer
coordinators and staff, and a June gathering by the same group to
review program highlights as well as areas needing improvement.
The program is regularly evaluated by interns, parents and
employers.
Startup funding was
a mix of N.O.D. seed money, challenge grants provided by the
Lakeshore Foundation, dollars raised by each local SOS program,
and funds provided by the Alabama Developmental Disabilities
Council. Additional SOS Alabama partners
include the Alabama Department of Education, Alabama Department of
Rehabilitation Services, the Jefferson County Workforce Investment
Board, Crossing Points at the University of Alabama and United
Cerebral Palsy of Greater Birmingham.
"Start on
Success gave me the self-confidence I never really had to
function in a work environment. I can't express how this
program has helped me."
Alabama intern upon completion of
internship at local newspaper
Since
its 1995 inception, SOS Alabama has provided more than 300 paid
internships to tenth, eleventh and twelfth grade high school
students with disabilities. SOS Alabama began as a
collaboration between the Lakeshore Foundation, the Alabama
Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities,
and the National Organization on Disability. The Alabama
initiative was perhaps the most ambitious of the SOS programs.
Working with volunteer committees comprising representatives of
the local government, school system, business and social services,
SOS Alabama grew to seven county-based local programs, with each
site using multiple employers.
Most
Alabama internships take place after school and on weekends.
Internships typically average 10 hours per week and last from
eight to 18 weeks. Placements vary according to the students’
vocational interests. Work sites have included radio stations,
regional hospitals, a conference center, nursing homes, a fitness
gym, a police station and several large corporations such as Kmart
and Wal-Mart.
SOS
Alabama has written a comprehensive SOS operating manual. The
program holds an annual two-day fall orientation for volunteer
coordinators and staff, and a June gathering by the same group to
review program highlights as well as areas needing improvement.
The program is regularly evaluated by interns, parents and
employers.
Startup funding was
a mix of N.O.D. seed money, challenge grants provided by the
Lakeshore Foundation, dollars raised by each local SOS program,
and funds provided by the Alabama Developmental Disabilities
Council. Additional SOS Alabama partners
include the Alabama Department of Education, Alabama Department of
Rehabilitation Services, the Jefferson County Workforce Investment
Board, Crossing Points at the University of Alabama and United
Cerebral Palsy of Greater Birmingham.
