Carol Dejager in the clothing department at the McMinnville Walmart.

One year ago, the McMinnville Walmart employed one person supported by MV Advancements. Today, there are a total of four people at Walmart supported by MVA. This is the story of one woman who saw the value of supported employment and broke down barriers to create job opportunities.

That story begins with Karen Smith, who was working as a Walmart pharmacy tech years ago. One day a smiling group of people came in to brighten up her day.

That was Van Boyd, a longtime Direct Support Professional at Johnston Court, who would come into the pharmacy to pick up prescriptions with a group of people he supports from Johnstone Court. Seeing Van and the ‘Johnstone Crew’ and interacting with them was always the highlight of her week.

“So much happiness ran through my body when I saw Van and the Johnstone Crew come in,” Karen said. “Seeing people like Van who just want to help, really opened my eyes to MVA’s mission.”

She remembers how positive and happy the group was and made a point to talk with them every time they made an appearance. Years later, when she shifted careers and was promoted to the People Lead in the McMinnville Walmart Human Resources department, Karen had not forgotten those interactions with Van and the Johnstone Crew.

The People Lead works with managers at Walmart to handle ‘the people side of things.’ In this role, she found a way to help her community through partnering with MV Advancements.

Shortly after shifting to her new role, she was introduced to Carol Dejager. Carol has been in MVA’s services for many years and landed a job in Walmart’s apparel department through supported employment. The new job was absolutely clicking with Carol, and she was thriving in the position.

“I’m not just mopping the floors and doing the bathrooms,” Carol said. “Here the work is more fulfilling, I feel way better working here than I have anywhere else.”

Carol was Karen’s introduction to supported employment and she immediately saw the benefit the work brought to Carol’s life and the impact Carol brought to the Walmart team. Karen bought into the program and reached out to MVA to foster more supported employment opportunities.

The biggest thing Karen did to help our employment team was create some of the first carved positions ever at Walmart. A carved position is a job that is molded to a job seeker’s personal career goals.

At Walmart, and many other large corporate-run businesses, there is little wiggle room to deviate from the norm. Job duties and shifts are clearly defined to fit into neat boxes and are regulated from store to store. When someone applies who is a good team fit, but can only work three-hour shifts, that is a deal breaker solely because a three-hour shift does not exist in the Walmart system.

“We used to just have to say we don’t have that shift available, there’s nothing we can do,” Karen said. “Well, when I got into this role and took a larger part in hiring, I said to myself, ‘I can just create those shifts myself.’”

That is exactly what Karen did. She created multiple carved positions for job seekers supported by MVA and it has been a huge success. There are now four Walmart employees supported by MVA, and many of them utilize a carved position.

“Having a job gives that sense of community and belonging,” Karen said. “Being able to show up to work and contribute to something larger than yourself really makes a difference in a life.”

That difference is being shown every day at Walmart. Carol constantly explains that at her former job, she felt isolated and overly criticized. Now, she is thriving in her new position because it has been personalized to her unique strengths and goals.

“I think it is a good place for MVA-supported people to work,” Carol said. “It’s a good environment, everyone treats each other like human beings and shows that respect everyone deserves to get.”

Thank you, Karen and Walmart, for the partnership. If you want to make a difference in your workplace, MV Advancements can help you find your next great employee.