Project SEARCH is an internship program at NCH Baker Hospital for students with intellectual disabilities between the ages of 18-22. Students participate in three unpaid internships in different departments of the hospital throughout the school year. The goals of the program are for students to explore a variety of career paths, learn marketable job skills, and obtain meaningful employment either at NCH or within the community by the end of the school year.

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SEARCHing for Rewards: Learning Job Skills at NCH Baker Hospital

grant photo
School:
Lely High 
Subject:
Special Needs Students 
Teacher:
Nicole Cholka 
Students Impacted:
Grade:
12 
Date:
August 18, 2024

0% Funded

 

 

Only $600.00 Needed

 

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Goal

Project SEARCH is an internship program at NCH Baker Hospital for students with intellectual disabilities between the ages of 18-22. Students participate in three unpaid internships in different departments of the hospital throughout the school year. The goals of the program are for students to explore a variety of career paths, learn marketable job skills, and obtain meaningful employment either at NCH or within the community by the end of the school year.  

 

Category

Other -  

 

What will be done with my students

During Project SEARCH, students will have the opportunity to complete internships in various departments of the hospital. The program has grown over the past six years, and we are now able to offer over a dozen internship departments for students to choose from! These departments include the Cafeteria, Concierge, Central Supply, Environmental Services, Linens, Patient Transportation, Simulation Center, and Sterile Processing. Students will learn a specific set of job skills in each department, in addition to general soft skills such as professional communication, taking initiative, accepting constructive feedback, etc. The students are evaluated on both employability skills and citizenship skills on a daily basis.

To encourage positive work skills and continually motivate students to meet their employment goals, we have implemented a raffle reward program. Students have the opportunity to earn raffle tickets daily for being in uniform, participating in class, fulfilling the requirements of their internship, and going above and beyond in some way. Students are also given raffle tickets whenever they receive a compliment from an NCH staff member.

Each Friday we raffle off several prizes, including NCH gear and gift cards to local stores and restaurants. The students have given input on gift card preferences and are able to select a prize if their raffle ticket is drawn.  

 

Benefits to my students

Project SEARCH is a life changing program that gives students the opportunity to learn employability skills in a real community work setting. They work very hard on a daily basis, but are currently not receiving a paycheck due to Project SEARCH being an unpaid internship program. This grant will allow us to provide a consistent reward system for our students. The weekly raffles will help increase motivation as students work toward their goal of paid employment.  

 

Budget Narrative

There are currently 8 students in the Project SEARCH program, and we have a raffle every Friday. We are asking for $10 gift cards from a variety of local stores and restaurants to help us reward the students.  

 

Items

# Item Cost
1 10 Walmart Gift Cards ($10 each) $100.00
2 10 Publix Gift Cards ($10 each) $100.00
3 10 Target Gift Cards ($10 each) $100.00
4 10 Dairy Queen Gift Cards ($10 each) $100.00
5 10 Culver's Gift Cards ($10 each) $100.00
6 10 McDonald's Gift Cards ($10 each) $100.00
  Total: $600.00

0% Funded

 

 

Only $600.00 Needed

 

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Please share this page to help in fulfilling this grant.

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Special Thanks to Our Presenting Partners

Suncoast Credit Union