Opportunity Village and Clark County School District Host 13th Annual Job Discovery Program Graduation Ceremony
Opportunity Village, in partnership with the Clark County School District hosted the 13th annual Job Discovery Program Graduation on Fri., Aug. 7.
Many key leaders from Opportunity Village, local business representatives and U.S. Representative Dina Titus of the first Congressional District of Nevada recognized the graduates and their success.
The JDP (Job Discovery Program) is a partnership between Opportunity Village and the Clark County School District that provides students with intellectual disabilities in high school the opportunity to receive vocational training in six different skill sets: commercial and industrial kitchen work, indoor/outdoor maintenance, retail, grounds keeping, child care and industrial. Students spend nine weeks and six hours a day learning vocational skills, and at the end of the program have the opportunity to work in the JDP II program which provides students the opportunity to be more independent in the work place.
About Opportunity Village
Mission: Opportunity Village is a not-for-profit organization that serves people within our community with significant intellectual disabilities, to improve their lives and the lives of their families.
Opportunity Village was founded in 1954 by seven families who were determined to give their children with disabilities the best lives possible. Now, more than 60 years later, Opportunity Village is one of the most recognized and respected organizations of its type in the United States.Nevada’s largest employer of people with disabilities (who we call OVIPs), Opportunity Village serves nearly 2,000 individuals annually, providing vocational training, employment, habilitation and social recreation programs and services that make their lives more purposeful and interesting.
Opportunity Village citizens – individuals who were previously considered unemployable – work at Opportunity Village’s Employment Resource Centers and in jobs throughout the community, collectively earning wages amounting to more than $3.9 million in 2014. They are hard-working and diligent, proudly paying taxes and happily leading more fulfilling lives.
Primarily a self-funded organization, Opportunity Village generates the majority of its operational funding through its employment contracts and fundraising efforts such as the Magical Forest and Great Santa Run, saving Nevada taxpayers nearly $35 million annually.