Project Opportunity Works and the Free Clothing Program

The Free Clothing Program is very happy to announce a new partnership with Project Opportunity Works!

Project Opportunity Works (POWS) is a program designed especially for developmentally disabled students and individuals who want valuable work experience. POWS provides part-time work opportunities to be handled concurrently with part-time schooling, offering students:

• Training environments that embrace diversity and demonstrate a strong commitment to vocational skill development, while enforcing a proper workplace demeanor.
• A professional work atmosphere that teaches transferable job skills as well as skills specific in multiple service industries.
• The skills necessary to not only solve current problems, but to identify and create solutions independently for future challenges as well.

But why not let Job Coach Aubrey Green tell us more about it:

1.  Tell me a little about yourself and what got you into this kind of work.

I received my Bachelors of Arts Degree in Broadcast Journalism from Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia.  Before I started in my current career field I worked for KNBR 680 for several years as a Tape Editor and Producer.  I got started in the Mental Health services field over six years ago in Berkeley working with young adults diagnosed with Learning Differences. 

2.  Being new to this position, what are you looking forward the most about the students you’ll be working with?

The San Francisco Unified School District carries a very diverse pool of students so I’m looking forward to the opportunity of working with many students that have very different backgrounds, personalities, and work interests.  Finding out new, creative, and productive ways to help them fulfill those work interests is a big part of our program.  

3.  How long has the program been around and what kind of impact has it had on the students who go through it? 

The Project Opportunity Works Program has been around since 2011, so we are currently in our third year of programming. Through a collaborative effort between San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), the Transition Partnership Program (TPP), the California Department of Rehabilitation (DOR), and Jewish Vocational Service (JVS), Project Opportunity Works provides part-time work opportunities, giving POWS students valuable work experience as well as general life skills (Communication, Time Management, etc.) improvement.

4.  What do you hope for the future of the program?

I hope to do anything I can to help grow the POWS program gaining additional work sites in many different company industries so we can increase the number of students we are able to work with in the future.

5.  What can people do to help?

People with direct knowledge of work sites that would be good for teens to gain and improve their skills in the workplace can contact me via email at greena1@sfusd.edu as well as our Program Manager Bedford Williamson at bwilliamson@sfusd.edu.  We also are always looking for guest speakers and donations of supplies. 

Thank you, Aubrey! A new group of students will be starting here at the Free Clothing Program in October. We will also be providing all the students participating in POWS with brand new suits for future job interviews once they complete the program.

Having spent most of my life in social work, I can attest to just how exciting it is when programs work together towards a common objective. And I can think of no better objective than bettering the lives of our children.

I hope you will continue to support us to make such partnerships possible!