Opportunity Village Awarded $50,000 Culinary Training Program Grant from the Walmart Foundation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 12, 2015
Opportunity Village Awarded $50,000 Culinary Training Program Grant from the Walmart Foundation
Opportunity Village will expand its unique food service-focused curriculum
LAS VEGAS – On Friday, October 9, Walmart executives along with Clark County Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick, Keith Hughes the District Director for Congressman Joe Heck, Nevada Assemblywoman Victoria Seaman, and members of the Retail Association of Nevada toured the Opportunity Village Engelstad Campus. Following the in-depth and heart-warming tour, the Walmart Foundation presented a $50,000 check to Opportunity Village as a grant for its Culinary Training Program.
“Opportunity Village is honored to be chosen for a grant from the Walmart Foundation to help southern Nevadans with intellectual disabilities learn the skills they need to get a job. Food service skills will help open doors to employment opportunities in Las Vegas’ tourism-based economy, and provide them with important skills they can use in their everyday lives,” Ed Guthrie, Opportunity Village’s CEO, said.
The grant will support Opportunity Village’s unique Culinary Training Program that gives people the opportunity to learn up-to-date food preparation, basic cooking and baking skills, banquet setup and breakdown, line service, and banquet service.
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Photo #1
Amelia McLear, Director of Public Affairs for Walmart, presents a check in the amount of $50,000 to Dan Book, Opportunity Village Board member and Market Manager for Sam’s Club, Ed Guthrie, CEO of Opportunity Village, and Bob Brown, President of Opportunity Village, as a grant for the Food Service Training program at Opportunity Village’s Betty and Ralph Engelstad Campus on Friday, October 9, 2015. Photo credit © Opportunity Village
Photo #2
Keith Hughes, District Director for Congressman Joe Heck, presents Director of Public Affairs for Walmart, Amelia McLear with a certificate of special recognition in honor of Walmart Foundation’s donation to support southern Nevadans with disabilities at Opportunity Village’s Ralph and Betty Engelstad Campus on Friday, October 9, 2015. Photo credit © Opportunity Village
Photo #3
Amelia McLear, Director of Public Affairs for Walmart, with OVIP Natalie in the Fine Art Room at Opportunity Village’s Ralph and Betty Engelstad Campus on Friday, October 9, 2015. Photo credit © Opportunity Village
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.
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