This Giving Tuesday, Support Disability Inclusion

By giving to Relay Resources this week, you’ll support programs that help build a truly inclusive workforce.

While the November and December holidays have become associated with shopping and hot deals via bargain days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the holidays are not just a period of commerce and gift buying: They’re also a time for giving.

Giving Tuesday, which takes place on December 2, is an annual global event in which consumers, philanthropists, and supporters can put their dollars toward supporting organizations promoting positive change in society.

At Relay Resources, we’re celebrating Giving Tuesday with a campaign called Creating Opportunity. Accelerating Disability Inclusion, and asking our community to support us in creating a stronger, more disability-inclusive workforce for people, businesses, and community. You can give to the campaign today through Tuesday here. 

Helping Our Work Go Further 

Your support helps Relay Resources in our mission to connect disabled people to competitive integrated employment and career pathways and to develop marketable skills—while partnering with businesses to advance disability inclusion in the workplace.

Every dollar moves us closer to a truly disability-inclusive workforce. Why does this matter? Because when more people can be included in the workplace, then businesses strengthen and communities thrive.

Building Opportunity

Donations from our community this Giving Tuesday will help Relay Resources advance our inclusivity efforts through our programs and social enterprises. These include:

Workforce development and training. Relay’s abilIT program trains neurodivergent people and injured veterans for high-demand IT and cybersecurity roles through a 14-week certification course. We also provide on-the-job coaching and career advancement support that helps employees increase their skills and earnings.

Job connections. Our supported employee program, called Competitive Integrated Employment (CIE), connects disabled people to competitive jobs while helping businesses build accessible workplaces that strengthen their teams and communities.

Social enterprises. Relay’s social enterprises employ more than 700 people in building solutions, document solutions, and supply chain solutions positions. Our Disability Inclusion team and company-wide best practices offer support for all disabled employees to be successful in the workplace.

Disability Inclusion in Action

By supporting Relay Resources this holiday season, you’ll strengthen our work that positively impacts over 1,500 people annually.

One of these people is Kimball, who is neurodivergent and enrolled in Relay’s abilIT program to earn his A+ certification. “This is the first time that I’ve ever been around so many people that think similar to how I think,” he says. “It’s like we can understand each other on a better level.”

Another person is William, lead janitor on Relay’s team at Portland State University, who is autistic. After having difficulty finding employment, he was connected to Relay, where he eventually landed at Portland State. “I’m very grateful that I have a company like this that works with me and is so accepting and understanding,” William says. “For the acceptance that I get, it gives me a chance for me to be myself, to express myself while working.”

Advancing disability inclusion has fueled Relay Resources over our 74-year history, and it continues to be our north star as we create new disability inclusion initiatives like the abilIT and CIE programs, our annual DisabilityNext™ Summit, and accessibility partnerships with organizations starting their disability inclusion journeys or advancing their practices.

We prioritize disability inclusion at Relay because all disabled people deserve to feel valued, respected, and included in every aspect of the workplace. Anyone can become disabled at any point in their life; when we’re all included, business—and society in general—benefits greatly.

You can support the Creating Opportunity. Accelerating Disability Inclusion campaign today through Giving Tuesday, December 2, at this link.