AccessAbility, Inc.

For over 60 years AccessAbility, Inc. has been helping people with barriers to employment and community inclusion transform their lives.

Mission: To provide opportunities for self-sufficiency for people with barriers to employment and community inclusion.

Through its long history of providing innovative, compassionate and effective services, AccessAbility Inc. has become a leading Twin Cities area provider of immediate work experience and training for adults with any barrier to employment. Participants earn wages while learning marketable skills and gaining experience in our assembly and packaging production facility, at local area businesses, or in our document conversion and destruction operation.

Founded in 1948 to support school-age children with cerebral palsy, our original work was to provide education for children with developmental disabilities at a time when the public school system could not accommodate such children. Later, when these children were accommodated by public schools, AccessAbility began serving adults with disabilities by offering supportive employment and community inclusion programs.

In the '90s, AccessAbility introduced innovative employment programs for people who have barriers to work other than disabilities. Barriers can include; a lack of, work history, homelessness, mental health challenges, immigrant or refugee status, land anguage barriers. Efforts also serve those who simply need another chance to succeed beyond a history of addiction, criminal conviction, or lack of education.

There are a variety of business services provided by AccessAbility that provide opportunities for immediate, paid employment of participants. These services include document imaging and destruction, assembly, packaging, janitorial services, and the newest venture, Imagine Design, which provides employment and training in tasks ranging from printing and frame making, to assembly and distribution of items such as framed affirmations, bookmarks and other inspirational products. To allow for ongoing success of its programs, AccessAbility has responsed to the changing economics and needs of local businesses. It has initiated a new model for manufacturing and business practices, resulting in greatly improved operations income from business services. As a result, the number of people whose lives are transformed each year through the vital work of AccessAbility, Inc. has more than tripled in the past 10 years.

Support for AccessAbility helps us:

• Offer personal attention to the needs of each client, helping each individual achieve the highest level of economic and personal independence. • Increase the number of high-skill and high-wage jobs we provide for clients with disabilities. • Serve more clients and offer a greater range of work skills training and opportunities for both short-term training and experience and for our long-term clients. • Offer competitive performance and service standards for all of our business services that meets or exceeds that of our for-profit competitors. • Provide a place for people with developmental disabilities and other challenges to engage in a community of peers.

Thank you for taking time to learn about AccessAbility. Please consider joining us to help people achieve greater economic security, independence, and more meaningful inclusion in community.