Earlier this year, thousands thrilled to the depiction of the partnership between man and horse shown in “War Horse” at the Hobby Center. Little did theatergoers know, another partnership was in the making. Many noticed the friendly faces in the lobby happily explaining how horses help people today. Behind these SIRE volunteers was a banner noting the sponsorship of Waste Management.
Waste Management’s donation will help subsidize SIRE’s therapeutic horsemanship sessions so clients will not be turned away for lack of resources.
The need is great. Nearly 1 million people in the Houston region have a disability, according to government estimates. And did you know less than 20% of people with disabilities participate in the labor force, compared to 69.4% of people without disabilities?
Here, too, SIRE and Waste Management are teaming up. Waste Management will be identifying suitable internship opportunities and SIRE will identify candidates among their clients. Selected clients will be exposed to the corporate work environment and have the opportunity to develop more skills while interning at Waste Management.
Stella Raymaker, Director of Ethics & EEO Compliance with Waste Management, sees the partnership benefiting both entities. “Since most of SIRE’s clients are individuals with disabilities and/or veterans, this sponsorship provides Waste Management with a unique outreach opportunity to identify well-qualified individuals with disabilities for our open positions. This also helps Waste Management to comply with newly established Department of Labor’s regulations to increase outreach efforts toward the disabled and veterans communities. WM’s sponsorship provides SIRE with an opportunity to provide additional services to their clients by connecting them to potential employment opportunities.”
Thanks to donations from Waste Management and others, SIRE’s clients – in the words of our tagline – “Ride Beyond” and thrive.