A Feel Good Story
Every once in a while you read or see a story that gives you hope. Hope that there are good people doing good things out in the world. I saw one such story this evening on ABC World News Tonight. It was a story about Walgreens, and people with disabilities. In one of their distribution centers, they employ about 700 people, and over 40% of the employees are disabled in one way or another. These folks suffer from autism, down’s syndrome, developmental disabilities and more. Did you know the national unemployment rate for disabled Americans is a stunning 44%, compared to just under 5% for everyone else? Walgreens has shown that people with disabilities can do the same jobs, with the same pay, with the same benefits and produce the same or better results. The Walgreens employees with disabilities are not “invisible”, as is often the case in public. The program was started by Randy Lewis, a Walgreen executive whose own son suffers from autism. I found the story to be not only uplifting, but also inspiring. I already use Walgreens for my prescriptions and medicine, but I would imagine there are a lot of people who will learn about the Walgreens program and show their appreciation with their wallet. This story should also serve as a reminder to all of us that we should be grateful for our good health and the many opportunities we get that the disabled may not. My hope is that one day these stories are not even considered news, but are just part of everyday life. I salute Walgreens, their employees, and ABC News for showing that there are still great people in today’s world. So, I just wanted to share this with my readers and say Thank You.