OCI Celebrates Grand Re-Opening of 166th Regimental Dining Facility at Fort Indiantown Gap
(June, 2010)
(from left to right), Lieutenant Colonel Scott Perry, Brigadier General Jerry Beck, Dennis Dapolito, OCI Executive Director and Bob Sullivan, Executive Director of NISH East Region
The newly renovated 166th Regimental Dining Facility at Fort Indiantown Gap (FIG), Pennsylvania was officially re-opened on June 4th at a celebration attended nearly 100 people, including representatives from OCI, the National Guard Command and NISH. The extensive renovations were part of a joint project between the Command and OCI designed to offer the men and women of the 16th Regiment the highest quality products and services in a modern atmosphere. Work on the dining facility began two years ago with the hire of an interior designer to give the space a more modern look.
The Grand Re-Opening Ceremony was opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony in which Lieutenant Colonel Scott Perry, Brigadier General Jerry Beck, Dennis Dapolito, OCI Executive Director and Bob Sullivan, Executive Director of NISH East Region cut the ribbon and officially re-opened the dining facility. After a few words from key attendees, the group moved inside to enjoy a meal in the new and improved facilities.
OCI has been providing full food services for the 166th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard through an AbilityOne contract since June 2007. The operation provides jobs for 40 individuals with disabilities.
OCI and AstraZeneca Partner to Offer “Path to Employment”
(June, 2010)
OCI and AstraZeneca are partnering on an innovative program that gives Wilmington area school students with disabilities the opportunity to learn valuable job skills in a corporate setting. The program, called Path to Employment, is designed to increase career awareness and help students learn work requirements through modeling and examples.
OCI currently partners with Brandywine School District to provide comprehensive career exploration to students who have significant barriers to employment. The program, in its second year, has been very successful with assisting students to make a smooth transition from school to work. The students in the Brandywine School District program are a perfect fit for the opportunities at AstraZeneca.
“We are extremely proud of the development of this groundbreaking program with AstraZeneca,” said Cindy Sterling, OCI director of employment services. “The program has been a big success. We are amazed by the dedication of the AstraZeneca committee that helped create it and honored that they chose OCI as a partner.”
The Path to Employment program consists of short-term, unpaid assignments with AstraZeneca corporate security, the fitness center, the medical suite and the human resources department. Students are trained to greet AstraZeneca corporate visitors and assist them with reaching their destination within the campus that employs thousands of people in Wilmington.
“AstraZeneca has trusted OCI to train the students to greet each visitor and lead them to their destination,” said Shane Evans, OCI employment consultant. “Each student needed to have outgoing personalities and the ability to learn customer service techniques.”
A valuable part of the assignment consists of weekly meetings with executives, behind-the-scenes tours, job shadowing days and mentoring opportunities. This opportunity has provided participants a chance to develop the social skills required to interact in a workplace culture.
“AstraZeneca is pleased to have the opportunity to work with OCI and local students who may face challenges preparing for employment, and to provide them with this experience to help them prepare for a bright future. Our goal is to arm these students with the added confidence and necessary skills to help prepare themselves for employment,” said Bob Wiley, AstraZeneca senior director facilities management.
“I am very happy with the work OCI has done for my son, especially recommending him to AstraZeneca,” said Marilyn Ramirez, parent of program participant Ruben Ortiz. “Ruben comes home happy, speaks very highly of the program and enjoys the work he performs. Thank you to OCI and AstraZeneca for having my son on your team.”
Students attend OCI for training, instead of school, each day. In addition, OCI staff accompany the students to various businesses to explore different jobs and environments.
May 3, 2010
OCI Wins IRS Secure Document Destruction Contract
OCI was recently awarded a contract to provide secure document destruction for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Under this AbilityOne contract, OCI will collect, destroy and recycle up to three million pounds of IRS documents per year as a subcontractor to NISH. The contract will begin on August 1, providing full-time jobs for individuals with disabilities working in OCI’s center-based program.
OCI Begins Contract Closeout Pilot Program
The Federal Government holds thousands of contracts, each of which involves a formal acquisition process. The final phase of this process is called contract closeout, which when performed efficiently and effectively, can protect the government’s interests and free up significant dollars for current-year program priorities. Contract closeout is one of the newest lines of business currently being targeted by the AbilityOne Program, and NISH estimates that it could provide an estimated 3,000 jobs for individuals with disabilities. A pilot program is currently underway with the intention of demonstrating that government-based contract closeout operations can be a financially and operationally viable opportunity for National Industries for the Blind (NIB) and NISH-affiliated non-profit agencies that employ individuals with disabilities through the AbilityOne Program.
In the fall of 2009, Delaware-based affiliate OCI began operations as a subcontractor to NIB on a contract closeout pilot in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in a NIB-owned facility. Simultaneously, an on-site NIB/NISH contract closeout program started at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. Fort Sam Houston represents the on-site model, while Northeast Philadelphia represents the off-site model for future contract closeout teams. The unique pilot program OCI is involved with represents the first time a NISH-affiliated non-profit agency has provided off-site contract closeout for the Federal Government.
“We are honored to have been selected to participate in this pilot, and know that it will soon become a nationwide model that will open up so many more opportunities for individuals with disabilities,” said Mark Hall, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for the ServiceSource Network.
OCI currently employs two individuals on the contract closeout pilot. Julie DeFrank was hired as a contract closeout specialist and quickly proved her worth in every area of the contract closeout process, providing instrumental support in solving early issues of connectivity with the Federal customer. Gerry Geaudreu, a long-time employee at OCI’s Work Center in Wilmington, transitioned to work as the General Clerk II for the contract closeout pilot program.
OCI, in partnership with the Susquehanna Association for the Blind and Vision Impaired, a NIB agency, is closing out contracts in Northeast Philadelphia for Federal customer Fort Dix. As a subcontractor to NIB, OCI will put a process in place to ensure that obligations of the contract are met as expected as the contract comes to an end. The current contract closeout pilot program provides a model for contract closeout services for other non-profit agencies to follow in the future.
March 12, 2010
“This is a great opportunity for individuals with varying levels of abilities to gain training and work experience in the rapidly growing green business industry,” says Dennis Dapolito, Executive Director of OCI. “ It is our intent that this program at OCI will become a model that will positively impact efforts to build a successful future for our center-based programs across the ServiceSource Network.”
Twenty-five miles away from OCI, In Philadelphia, PA, three IRS service centers have been combined into one of the largest service centers in the country, which OCI Customer Service Representatives will visit daily to collect large bins of documents ready to be securely destroyed and recycled. After returning to OCI’s headquarters in Wilmington, DE, the bins will be transferred to a secure workroom where employees will sort the paper into grade categories. The paper is then shredded and packed in 1,100-pound bales, which await pickup by Georgia Pacific and are eventually recycled to produce new paper products.
