#Success Story Ready to Work Program Lends Helping Hand

Michelle Flannery gives a thumbs up to Dustin, one of her Ready To Work success stories.


Lydia Morin | F.O.R.

No one is more proud of her Ready to Work clients than Focus On Renewal’s Michelle Flannery.

The work readiness specialist recently shared this great moment of success from the program, “From volunteering at the Good Shepherd Lutheran food pantry in Stowe Township to working at Walmart, Inc., this story has all the right items to be a workplace development success story!”

Her client Dustin, a resident of the Sto-Rox community, had been employed as a call center representative when he unexpectedly lost his job. Unsuccessfully searching for employment and concerned that he might lose his apartment if he got behind on his rent payments he reached out to Flannery April 25.

Flannery says she went over interviewing techniques and showed Dustin how to be confident during the interview process. She also helped him with the process of filling out several applications.

On May 2, Dustin placed an online application to Walmart while he was at the Ready to Work Sto-Rox office. Surprisingly, he received an almost immediate response from the retail giant. They were looking for a third shift cashier, which Dustin had to forego because he did not Webhave transportation available at that time of day.
Working on a hunch, Flannery suggested Dustin reach back out to the retailer asking about the possibility of other positions during a different shift.

Making that call worked in his favor and by May 10, Dustin was again employed and working as a cart retrieval person.

The story does not end there – soon thereafter, he was promoted to a cashier position, given full-time hours and received an increase in pay.

“Dustin’s experience is a perfect example of the kind of transformation we want to help our residents initiate… allowing them to take the next steps along their career path,” says Taris Vrcek, executive director, MRCDC.

For those who enjoy hearing about stories like Dustin’s, the FOR is sharing them online at www.forstorox.com/success. This section has begun to feature the Sto-Rox folks who were involved in the Ready to Work program and have achieved success in their new careers.

Additionally, Ready to Work Sto-Rox has also gone digital. With a new twitter account,@RTWStoRox is reaching new consumers, partners and folks who love a good success story. Follow along to get event tweets and links to new tales of workforce development.

For employment help of your own, contact Michelle Flannery at 412- 331-1685 x 261 or mflannery@forstorox.org.

Ready to Work is a joint venture of FOR and MRCDC and a core program of MRCDC’s Economic Independence initiative.