Boca Raton, FL (December 11, 2023) The Habilitation Center (HabCenter) recently received a $115,000 grant from the Truist Foundation. This charitable grant supports the HabCenter’s mission. It will provide people with lifelong disabilities, who are systemically disadvantaged workers, with paid work training and opportunity skill training to prepare them for the competitive workforce.
For more than 40 years, HabCenter, located in Boca Raton, has provided adults with special needs with the knowledge, skills, and behavior needed to lead useful and productive lives with dignity, respect, and independence.
“We are extremely grateful to the Truist Foundation for their generous support of the important work that we do at the HabCenter,” said Sherry A. Henry, Chief Executive Officer at HabCenter Boca Raton.
“Our clients face stigmatization and prejudice daily in society from employers and other community members who engage in avoidant behavior and do not believe in our client’s ability to work, complete tasks, and be valuable team members. However, with proper training and support, our clients are often enthusiastic, hardworking, and committed long-term employees. This new partnership with Truist Foundation opens doors of opportunities for our forgotten population to earn income, live purposeful lives, and feel joy.”
At HabCenter, clients receive training through its onsite business enterprises, namely, Manufacturing Center and Plant Nursery. During scheduled shifts, meetings with supervisors, and training sessions, clients gain hands-on experience and learn hard and soft employment skills transferable to other job settings. This training often serves as a stepping stone for clients to secure competitive paid employment in the community.
“The Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation’s purpose of inspiring and building better lives and communities. The Foundation makes strategic investments in non-profit organizations to help ensure the communities they serve have more opportunities for a better quality of life. Our grants and activities focus on building career pathways to economic mobility and strengthening small businesses,” said Jason Aube, Truist Market President. “We are happy to support HabCenter’s underserved community and help provide opportunities to improve their quality of life.”
About the HabCenter:
HabCenter Boca Raton is a nonprofit organization that opened its doors in 1978 to equip adults with special needs with the knowledge, skills, and behavior needed to lead useful and productive lives with dignity, respect, and independence. HabCenter provides a safe, enriching environment to empower the spirit of those individuals it serves and encourage their unlimited potential. Essential programs the HabCenter offers are Social Services, and mental-wellness counseling, Developmental Training, Programs in Education, Art and Recreation (P.E.A.R.), and Vocational Training within HabCo Manufacturing and the HabCenter Plant Nursery that provide horticultural training. HabCenter also offers local businesses and universities partnership opportunities through HabCo Manufacturing, the Nursery and counseling, special education and occupational therapy internship programs. HabCenter also has a Supported Employment program, which provides competitive integrated employment (CIE) opportunities for clients who can work in the community by preparing them with the knowledge, skills and behaviors they need to be successful. To learn more, visit habcenter.org.
PHOTO ATTACHED
Left to right: HabCenter clients, Tracy and Chris, Truist Market President, Jason Aube, HabCenter, Chief Executive Officer, Sherry A. Henry and Tari Boldin, Truist Community Development Manager for the South Florida Region.