Bonney Lake and Lakewood Marshalls Stores Honored for Providing Opportunities to People with Disabilities

The Bonney Lake and Lakewood Towne Center Marshalls stores have been honored by the job placement agency Vadis for making job opportunities available for people with disabilities, according to a press release issued by Vadis last week.

Vadis had begun working with an employee named Christy last March in Bonney Lake. According to Vadis, Christy had lived most of her life in an institution and presented some challenges to integrating into the community. She especially liked fabrics and worked with swatches of material at home as her hobby. Mike Corby, store manager for Marshalls in Bonney Lake agreed to give her an opportunity to work. It was a risk for Marshalls to hire a woman who not only had never worked, but had not even lived in the community for very long. Christy grows professionally each day she goes to work.  

At first Marshalls was concerned that they wouldn’t be able to communicate with her; Christy’s supervisor Amy and her co-workers are now learning sign language as Christy learns, too. They were concerned about her productivity; they have allowed her employment consultant to stay on site to help her get faster. They were uncertain that she liked her job; they were pleased to learn that she signs “work” at home. She wants to work and Marshalls has given her that chance.

Similarly, Tim Owens, store manager for Marshalls at Lakewood Towne Center has been a strong partner with Vadis for many years. He has provided opportunities for people with disabilities to job-shadow and try retail work through structured community based assessments. Most importantly, he has given paid employment to people with disabilities. He is now an expert in making successful job matches, offering advice to other businesses who may struggle to imagine how hiring people with disabilities can be mutually advantageous. Several applicants he hired from Vadis are successful; a few have not been as suited to the tasks. Tim recognizes that each individual is different, so he considered additional applicants. Tim continues to be a strong advocate for all people who encounter disadvantages in their lives.