Just because one has a disability doesn’t mean they can’t be a productive member of the workforce.
That’s the theme of the Disability Mentoring Day, a annual event sponsored by the Barton County Transition Council and Barton County Special Services. The seventh Mentoring Day took place Wednesday.
About 50 area job seekers of various ages with various disabilities visited just about the same number of potential employers through the morning. “They were job shadowing,” said Jennifer Welsch, DMD coordinator.
And that’s the idea. “They got to be in the business setting to see if it was a potential job or career for them,” Welsch said.
“They got to see what’s out there,” she said of those looking for a job, adding some of the participants have visited other businesses in years past. “This will help them figure out what they want to do in life.”
DMD also helps the job seekers get their foot in the door. Welsch said some employers have been so impressed with those taking part that some have been offered a job on the spot.
However, the day is about more than helping those looking for work getting to test drive careers. It’s about the employers getting a glimpse at an often overlooked labor force.
“The businesses begin to realize there is the pool of people that is untapped is huge,” Welsch said.
Among the stops made by the participants were Brit Spaugh Zoo, the Great Bend Police Department, Orscheln Farm and Home, Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Snip and Clip, Radio Shack and Walmart.
In addition to the council and BCSS, agencies that took part included Great Bend High School, Sunflower Diversified Services and Rosewood Services. Pathways has been involved in the past, but was not this year.
 The group met at the Great Bend Recreation Center for breakfast then fanned out across the community. They met back at the center for lunch and to hear a speaker, a woman who overcame being wheelchair bound to finish school and find gainful employment.
“That was pretty cool,” Welsch said.