Manassas, VA (11/01/2022) – Yesterday, as the nation concluded its annual observance of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), Didlake and SourceAmerica presented Rep. David Trone, D-Md., with the AbilityOne Congressional Champion Award. The award honors Trone for his commitment to constituents with disabilities and support of the AbilityOne® Program, which provides employment opportunities through federal […]
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Meet Gloria, the Longest Serving Employee in Didlake History
National Disability Employment Awareness Month is the perfect time to honor the employee with the longest tenure in Didlake history. That record belongs to Gloria, a Production Worker in Didlake’s Business Service Center with an impressive 40 years of service and counting. The Business Service Center, which shares a building with Didlake’s Opal Day Support […]
Project SEARCH Graduate Brandon Lands First Job at Hylton Performing Arts Center
Brandon started his employment journey with Didlake as a Project SEARCH program intern during the 2021-2022 school year at the UVA Prince William Medical Center in Manassas. He completed three internship rotations, in the hospital’s Materials Management, Patient Transport and Linens departments. With the support of his Didlake job coach, Employment Specialist III Theresa Polk, […]
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Didlake joins the nation in celebrating National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). Led by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) and held annually in October, NDEAM celebrates the contributions of America’s workers with disabilities and promotes supportive, inclusive employment policies and practices. NDEAM traces its roots to 1945, when Congress […]
Students in Pre-ETS Work at SplashDown Waterpark
This summer, 14 youth with disabilities are working at the SplashDown Waterpark in Manassas through Didlake’s Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) Program, which helps students plan their transition to life after high school. Didlake is an approved provider of Pre-ETS services through the Virginia Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS). SplashDown is Northern Virginia’s largest […]
Community Partner OmniRide Offers Travel Training for Project SEARCH Interns
A key component of the Project SEARCH internship model is to prepare individuals with disabilities to get to and from work independently. As the Employment Services partner for four Project SEARCH sites, Didlake incorporates travel training into lessons each fall, at the start of the school year and internship program. At the UVA Prince William […]
Meet Joe Pascale: Football Coach, Educator and Longtime Didlake Board Member
For 26 years, and counting, Joseph “Joe” Pascale has been a staunch supporter of the Didlake mission as a member of the Board of Directors. “I have always worked with individuals with disabilities and I think it’s important to support organizations like this that provide opportunities,” said Pascale, who initially joined the board at the suggestion of […]
First Internship Class at Naval Air Station Oceana Graduates from Project SEARCH
On June 14, the first internship class of the Project SEARCH site at Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana in Virginia Beach graduated from the program. The eight graduates are students with disabilities from Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) who are military-dependent or military-connected and in their last year of high school. NAS Oceana is […]
Didlake Custodian Learns Advocacy Skills through SourceAmerica Training
Thomas, who works as a custodian for Didlake at Naval Air Station Oceana/Dam Neck in Virginia Beach, recently participated in SourceAmerica’s advocacy training program. For the training, Thomas joined individuals with disabilities from nonprofits across the country for two days of virtual training sessions held in February and April. The participants talked about how to […]
Joe Diaz Graduates from Leadership Prince William
After 10 months of exploring the Prince William area, learning about critical issues and collaborating with other leaders, Didlake COO Joe Diaz graduated June 9 from Leadership Prince William’s Signature Program. In September, Diaz and his 29 classmates started their Leadership Prince William (LPW) journey with a Send-Off celebration and a two-day Opening Retreat. They […]
