JVS of MetroWest to host gala with Jim Abbott
JVS of MetroWest will host its annual Taste & Toast fundraising gala at Crestmont Country Club in West Orange on May 29, at 5 p.m. The evening, “Challenge Accepted,” aims to highlight people who have overcome barriers to employment, and the others who helped them along the way. Jim Abbott, a former Yankees pitcher, is the featured guest.
Mr. Abbott, who was born without a right hand, dreamed of being a great athlete. Raised in Michigan by parents who saw in his condition not a disability but an extraordinary opportunity, he became a two-sport standout in high school, then an ace pitcher for the University of Michigan. In 1988, when he was 21, he won the gold medal game at the Olympics and — without spending a day in the minor leagues — joined the California Angels’ starting rotation. In 1991, he finished third in the voting for the Cy Young Award, and in 1993, he became a Yankee who could deliver a one-of-a-kind no-hitter.
The evening also will highlight people who have achieved meaningful employment despite challenges, their employers, and the champions who made it possible.
During his tenure as the owner of ShopRite Brookdale and ShopRite Newark, Neil Greenstein hired more than 40 people with disabilities from the JVS program. A third-generation grocer, Mr. Greenstein carried on the family tradition and prioritized creating opportunities for everyone in the community, regardless of ability. He believes a workforce is most unified when no one is excluded, a belief reflected in the ongoing hiring of people with disabilities, as they grow in their roles and daily enrich those around them.
JVS will also honor Walgreens, a valued employer partner of JVS’s job skills training programs. Local Walgreens stores are externship sites for students enrolled in JVS’s Certified Pharmacy Technician Program; JVS graduates work at Walgreens pharmacies throughout northern New Jersey. Their support has contributed immensely to the professional development of JVS Pharmacy Technician students.
Rebecca Shulman, JVS’s Senior Director of Rehabilitation Services, will receive an award for her dedication to helping people with disabilities achieve their full potential. Ms. Shulman, who will Retire from JVS in June, has had a tremendous impact on people with disabilities, helping them build self-confidence and achieve independence.
The evening is a major fundraiser for JVS of MetroWest, an Essex County workforce development organization that helps people overcome barriers to employment related to age, ability, education, job skills training, immigration status, language, and the effects of generational racism. With declines in federal funding, events like this one are even more important to sustaining the organization’s ability to help others.
To RSVP or for more information, go to www.jvsnj.org.
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