Opportunity Village is a wonderful organization that provides opportunities for people who have intellectual disabilities. It provides a service for these individuals to gain job skills and experience they might otherwise not have the chance to learn. Clean the World Las Vegas is proud to partner with Opportunity Village and the men and women who serve our life-saving mission on a regular basis.
The young adults of Opportunity Village visit our Las Vegas warehouse to help sort bottled amenities. Clean the World Hygiene Kits rely heavily on recycled bottled amenities from hotel partners, and having several helping hands on a daily basis gives us the ability to increase our impact through repurposed hygiene amenities.
This is Clean the World’s third year as an Opportunity Village partner. The program runs like a regular school year, August through June, Monday through Friday. While working in the Clean the World warehouse, Opportunity Village participants learn a variety of skills throughout the workday.
“We teach them the responsibility of having a full-time job. Getting up early every morning, being on time every day, being accountable for the quality of their work, following directions, and how to behave in a professional environment,” says Kevin Williams, Clean the World Las Vegas Recycling Operations Center Manager.
The Clean the World and Opportunity Village partnership is instrumental in giving these young adults independence and allows them to contribute to a meaningful cause. During the program, Clean the World employees work alongside Opportunity Village participants, helping them improve their communication and patience. As a result, towards the end of the program around graduation time, there’s a visible rise in confidence and self-reliance among the workers.
Kevin spends time with the group every day throughout the program. “I can say that nothing I’ve done professionally to this point in my life makes me happier or prouder than the work we do with these kids. All they want is to be treated like adults and respected as such. A simple ‘great job today’ can make their whole week.”
The end of the year graduation ceremony is always a bittersweet experience. Clean the World employees enjoy working alongside these extraordinary individuals and love celebrating their achievements. As Opportunity Village students learn from our organization, our team also learns from them. We are so grateful for the partnership and their hard work. Clean the World looks forward to strengthening this relationship for years to come.
