Epilepsy Foundation of Rochester-Syracuse-Binghamton

The Epilepsy Foundation of Rochester-Syracuse-Binghamton is very proud to announce that the Kessler Foundation has awarded a $455,000 2-year grant to fund a new collaborative program entitled NY Employment Solutions.

The grant the Epilepsy Foundation received is an Employment Signature Grant, which seeks to fund cutting edge, non-traditional solutions and social ventures for individuals with disabilities. The focus will be on individuals with epilepsy and traumatic brain injuries, ages 18 to 65. We will provide services to help with transitioning from school to work, career changes, and overcoming barriers to employment. Our goal is to serve at least 50 unique individuals at each program site over the course of the 2 years, for a total of 200 individuals served. Individuals enrolled in NY Employment Solutions will be placed in jobs, internships, or volunteer positions that fit their interests, skills, and abilities. The goals of this program are to increase the participant’s ability to find and maintain jobs, increase the participant’s skills to enhance life-long earning potential, and connect participants with other resources.

“We are extremely excited to bring this collaborative, vocational-focused program to individuals with epilepsy across New York State,” states David W. Milliman, President & CEO of the Epilepsy Foundation of Rochester-Syracuse-Binghamton. “We are very grateful to the Kessler Foundation for recognizing the importance of this type of program and to our partner agencies for supporting this joint venture.”

More information can be found on NY Employment Solutions website: http://www.nyemploymentsolutions.org

The Collaborative

The Epilepsy Foundation of Rochester-Syracuse-Binghamton is the lead agency for this project and is partnering with three other epilepsy organizations in New York State to execute NY Employment Solutions: Epilepsy Association of Western New York, Epilepsy Society of Southern New York, and Epilepsy Foundation of Metropolitan New York. NY Employment Solutions services will be available to all individuals with seizures, epilepsy or traumatic brain injuries within the territories of the four collaborating agencies.

Kessler Foundation

Located in West Orange, New Jersey, Kessler Foundation strives to be a leader in rehabilitation research and grant making that benefit people with disabilities. The Foundation's mission is to improve quality of life for people with physical and/or cognitive disabilities through discovery, innovation, demonstration, application, and dissemination. Kessler Foundation Research Center conducts research that improves function and quality of life for persons with injuries of the spinal cord and brain, including stroke, multiple sclerosis, TBI and other chronic neurological and orthopedic conditions. Kessler Foundation also supports programs that promote the employment of people with disabilities through its Program Center's Transition to Work Signature and Community Employment Grants. The Foundation's Special Initiative Grants support educational programs like 'ThinkFirst', an injury prevention program aimed at children and teens. Kessler Foundation has a full-time staff of 90 individuals divided between two locations in West Orange, New Jersey.  For more information, visit http://www.KesslerFoundation.org