Thursday, June 2, 2011
RHD-RI: Olivia Davis Wilson
For my senior project I worked with Allie at RHD. RHD, which stands for resources for human development, is a non-profit organization started by one man who wanted to give people with disabilities a place to, not only get the supervision and services they need, but also to express themselves without putting any restraints on their creativity. The school services section of RHD is designed for students with IEPs (individual education plans) in the public school system. They use the state funding these students receive until they are 21 to help them complete their requirements to graduate. These students have either a mental or emotional disability so do not do well in a typical classroom setting; that's where RHD comes in. In this program, one of their requirements to graduate is to get job experience in an unpaid position that interests them. A large portion of the work Allie and I did was to drive to various local businesses and see if they would be interested hosting a RHD student so that they may receive the credits needed for them to graduate. This experience taught me a lot about pitching a proposal to someone with a short amount of time before they lose interest. It also taught me how to gauge the business' interest in the proposal because we had to predict whether or not the company would call back. The most rewarding experience was seeing the reaction the clients had to us. They were all so ready to welcome us to the RHD family. Everyone was so friendly and we were able to bond with a few clients that I will be sure to visit in the future. Because my Dad is the founder of the school services program at RHD, I know I will still have the opportunity to be involved with this company in the future and can go back and visit whenever I want to. That fact gives this project a whole new meaning because, for me, this project will not only last 9 days but will continue to be present in my life in the future.
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