Client Success Stories

AWS and BOLT Document Management Combine Efforts to Create Opportunity

Entering today’s job market can be difficult for any young job seeker. In that respect, Derek Drew faced the same challenges confronting any smart, educated, and eager to work job applicant. But Derek has also faced challenges most job applicants will never encounter. That’s because Derek is limited in movement and mobility due to cerebral palsy. Derek utilizes a powered wheelchair and relies on transportation provided by his mother.

Derek attended Ivy Tech Community College in Elkhart. He received an Associate of Applied Science in Computer Information Systems. The education was useful, but Derek still lacked real world programming experience typically sought by employers. At age 28, Derek’s combined lack of experience and limited mobility had prevented him from becoming gainfully employed. That was until AWS entered the picture.

AWS and BOLT Document Management have a history of teaming together to create and provide employment opportunities to people with physical limitations. Angela Miller and Eden Gildea of AWS approached Cathy and Jeff Nelson, owners of BOLT Document Management, about possible opportunities for Derek. As it turned out, BOLT had employed Derek’s brother Josh in a school related work program many years ago.

When AWS approached BOLT there was no immediate need or position waiting for Derek to fill. Instead, AWS and BOLT teamed together to investigate the possibility of creating a position for him. BOLT defined an area of software development that the company could expand, while AWS explored various agencies and programs for resources that might provide additional assistance. After several months of searching, it became evident that AWS and BOLT were on their own. According to Jeff Nelson, "once we eliminated the possibility that there was any assistance for this endeavor we understood that the only way to move it forward was to jump in – so we jumped."

The Nelsons and the rest of the BOLT employees worked with Derek, his mom, and Eden to fashion the necessary workstation and other accommodations that would allow Derek to work in a comfortable fashion. According to Jeff, "The changes we made to accommodate Derek did not require any financial outlay; it's more about being flexible and looking at ways of doing things outside of the 'box'".

Derek’s mom worked out a schedule that would allow her to transport Derek to and from the office. And AWS provided a job internship that covered his salary to allow adequate job training for on the Derek.

During the six week training period, it became apparent that the programming education Derek had received, did not encompass the programming languages commonly used at BOLT. Learning new programming languages and developing practical programming skills tested Derek in new and intimidating ways. Derek developed many doubts about his abilities, but Eden and the Nelson’s encouraged Derek to keep applying himself. According to Cathy Nelson "the introduction period proved to be a far greater learning curve than we had anticipated. Are we disappointed? No. From the beginning we have looked upon this as an investment in Derek. As long as Derek has continued to show steady improvement we’re good with that." Under the patient tutelage of BOLT employees, Derek has continued to make good progress. Jeff Nelson explains it this way, "Derek is still learning and it will be some time before live program code that Derek writes is embedded in any of our software products. But we are comfortable that he will get there soon enough and we’ll benefit from having another good and loyal employee."  

Derek is the second employee that has come to work at BOLT through AWS. Paula Lishweski was introduced to BOLT by Angela Miller of AWS almost two years ago. Paula also has overcome challenges from CP. In the time that Paula has worked at BOLT she has become a trusted and reliable employee valued not only for her quality of work performing indexing and data entry, but also for her cheerful nature. According to Jeff, "There are no rainy days around our place when Paula is in the house. Paula keeps everyone smiling around here."

Cathy Nelson adds "Because we (as a company) focus on quality over quantity in our systems and services we can provide the flexibility required to work with the specific limitations of some of our employees. We don’t have a ‘beat the clock’ working environment in our company which lets the talents and quality of our employees raise to the top like cream. Our positive experience working with AWS and people like Derek has taught us that the long-term productivity and rewarding employee relationships far outweigh any extra time and resources required to initially develop their skills and talents. We have enjoyed (and will continue to enjoy) working with AWS and their clients."

BOLT Document Management designs and supports digital document management systems, including the customization and integration of their core systems with other software products. BOLT also provides production scanning, processing, and indexing services for documents and records. BOLT is located in Elkhart, IN.

STEVEN

His Cup Runneth Over
The Blue Bottle Coffee Shop in Muncie (IN) is really living out its motto “making friends one cup at a time” when it hired Stephen, an AWS Employment Services client. This past summer Stephen came to AWS for help finding a job. He had a few vocational goals in mind that included bagging groceries and cleaning tables. Employment consultant, Melissa Ward, did two CBE's (community-based evaluations) with Stephen. First, he bagged groceries at a Marsh supermarket and next, he helped out at the Blue Bottle Coffee Shop. After three days of evaluation at the coffee shop, owner Tom Steiner, was so impressed with Stephen that he decided to create a position for him.

So Stephen was officially hired in September as a pre-closer. His duties included wiping tabletops, cleaning up the parking lot and sweeping the hallway. In just four months, Stephen has proven what he can do. In addition to his regular tasks, he also stocks the cooler, cleans the bathrooms, shovels snow, organizes the magazine section, mops uncarpeted areas and helps with the banking. "Stephen is an incredible asset to the Blue Bottle and we are looking at hopefully adding another day to his schedule this spring,” says Tom.

Tom, along with the store manager and other fellow employees all enjoy working with Stephen, and regular customers love him. Customers know him by name and always stop to chat. Last month Stephen received a great honor – he was named the first ever Blue Bottle Employee of the Month! A plaque bearing his name hangs over the self serve coffee area.

Melissa, Stephen’s employment consultant, says she couldn’t be happier for Stephen. “For this young man who was told he would never be able to work, let alone graduate from high school (he graduated from Wapahani High School in 2006), this is a true accomplishment,” she said. “His family is bursting with pride.”

JOSH

Josh has always wanted a job in security. Even though Josh uses a wheelchair, he was never concerned about finding a job that he would love. He has a “can-do” attitude that empowers him to reach for the stars and work hard to achieve his goals.

When it was time to find a job, Josh chose AWS to help him on his quest. Working with an employment consultant, Josh found a job that was a perfect fit. For over two years, Josh has been working as a gallery monitor at the South Bend Regional Museum of Art. It is Josh’s job to protect the artwork, maintain a quiet and pleasant atmosphere and to make sure nothing gets out of hand.

Josh loves his job and hopes to continue working at the museum indefinitely. “I like the people I get to work with,” he said. “It’s a nice, quiet environment. The museum is also really accessible, making it easy for me to maneuver my way around and do my job more effectively.” Josh said having AWS advocate for him helped secure his position at the art museum. “It was good to have someone in my corner,” he said. “Since this is my first job, it helped having someone else who knew my abilities and could act as a reference.”