L to R: Tameca Brown, Ally Craig, Nicole Roberts, Ashley Ulrich, Laura Fenstermacher, Summer Turner
Work Opportunities Unlimited (WOU)’s Harrisburg, Pennsylvania location opened its doors in October 2021. Shortly afterwards, WOU featured an article celebrating how successful referrals by Director Summer Turner staffed the new office, after she returned to her home state to expand WOU’s mission of employment for all. The team continues to grow in size and expertise, as do the types of services provided, to best serve the community. “I always knew there was a need here in Pennsylvania for the services. I think if anything, the need is increasing,” says Summer. “We continue to expand the types of referrals that we accept and the services we offer. We have also expanded from the Harrisburg area into Lancaster County. We have been so well-received here, which is what’s led to more referrals. The more people we can connect with, the more people we can hire and bring onto the team, the more people we can help.”
Harrisburg’s team began its growth with the assistance of Summer’s friend, Marianne Babcock, who joined WOU’s Recruitment Team upon Summer’s referral. Marianne referred her friend Ashley Ulrich, the first Career Resource Specialist Summer hired for Harrisburg, who is positively thriving. “Ashley is in training to become a Team Leader, in training to become a Business Development Team Leader/Mentor, is currently a mentor to new team members, and she’s also a Subject Matter Expert for Corporate Partnerships. She also provides group presentations on Self Advocacy and Independent Living Skills to public and charter school students,” says Summer. In addition, in July 2024, Ashley received the Frank Loughran Award for excellence in supported employment for people with disabilities and commitment to fostering natural supports in the workplace. Summer states, “Ashley will reach her 3-year anniversary with WOU in April of 2025, and I foresee continued growth and exciting opportunities in her future with WOU.”
L to R: Alexis Deelsnyder, Lexi Mellott, Salsi Mane, Nicole Roberts, Lindsay Whitaker, Laura Fenstermacher, Tameca Brown, Jessica Cupani, Emma Samardzic
The Harrisburg Team has grown to 12 members, some of whom were also referred by Summer, like Shantay Gantz. “I’ve known Shantay for a long time as she was my brother’s aide for a number of years while he was in school,” explains Summer. Shantay assisted this summer with WOU’s My Work Student Program, which offers employment to a small group of students at a site in their local community. She is currently on-call as she works full-time at a nearby school district, with plans to return to WOU during the summer of 2025. Addison Shover, a distant relative of Summer, also assisted with My Work program in 2024, before heading to nursing school. Like all of the teams at WOU, Harrisburg’s emphasizes training, mentorship, and support for one another so that everyone is well-equipped to help their clients achieve success at work. Summer says, “A lot of the feedback I have received from newer team members is that they feel comfortable reaching out to anybody to ask questions. We get a lot of compliments on our culture and our positivity from people who come on board.”
The team has increased its outreach to a variety of employers in the area to help clients of all ages gain skills through job training opportunities and paid employment. Individuals are working at corporate partners including Giant grocery store, Sodexo, and TJX-brand stores, as well as a variety of local employers such as thrift stores, school districts, and hotel chains. At a recent meeting with a referral service, Summer recalls, “They said that’s what they like the most about WOU: we don’t just pinhole someone into the first position that is available, or tell them what they are going to do. We go out and do the legwork, do the research, and make new connections to find opportunities that actually meet the client’s interest and skills.” In addition, the team recently secured a contract with a cyber school, which offers internet-based instruction for its students. “They are looking for student transitional services, which is anything that prepares high school students to go out into the world and work,” says Summer. “We can help secure internship opportunities and job shadows for them, and provide presentation services.”
Now that the Harrisburg location has been open for a few years, Summer shares, “One of the coolest things is that we have seen people who we started working with as students two years ago, who we helped build those initial skills, took through to supported employment and then transitioned to long-term support; we are still working with them and we have gotten to see them grow and change their goals, and now we are helping them meet those new goals. It’s just been great to be able to positively impact so many people.”
