Local firms honored for hiring disabled

By Daily News staff
The MetroWest Daily News
5/24/11

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NATICK - Five local companies were honored Monday for making strides in their efforts to hire individuals with disabilities, during the 20th Annual Accommodations Awards Luncheon.

The honors program, sponsored by the Framingham Rotary and the MetroWest Work Opportunities Coalition, honored Adesa and Home Goods in Framingham, Sudbury Farms and Home Depot in Natick and Starbucks in Marlborough.

The coalition is an association of agencies in MetroWest that provides job placement services to people with disabilities, recognizes companies for their hiring practices and efforts to employ those individuals.

In his remarks for the luncheon, included in a press release, coalition Chairman Robert Charpentier said, "For 20 years the MetroWest Coalition and the Framingham Rotary have recognized companies that provide opportunities for men and women with disabilities who are willing and able to work.

"This year we are proud to mark a significant milestone anniversary by honoring area companies who recognize the benefits of inclusive hiring practices and see the important role employees with disabilities play in their companies and the development of the region's workforce."

He said that, with about 500,000 teens and adults with disabilities in the state, employment statistics "are discouraging: 71 percent of people with disabilities are unemployed, despite the fact that 72 percent of those unemployed want to work."

"The companies we recognize here today and the companies that have been honored in the past are not just leading the way for the MetroWest region, but for the entire commonwealth," Charpentier said.

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