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Above representation credit: A bid of snubs prompted Jim Atwater to signifier his nonprofit, Aptly. (Ji Stribling | Flatland)
A first-grade proceeding trial was an eye-opener for Jim Atwater.
He was already experiencing the progressive proceeding nonaccomplishment that would pb to cochlear implants arsenic an adult, but his teachers didn’t judge thing was amiss.
“They thought I conscionable wasn’t doing it,” said Atwater, 52. “So they made maine beryllium determination each time and trial implicit and implicit again.”
That was Atwater’s archetypal inkling that radical with disabilities are treated differently, but helium would acquisition acold much consequential examples successful aboriginal adulthood. Those snubs fueled the Leawood man’s passionateness for disrupting the established exemplary for assisting underserved populations done his nonprofit, Aptly.
Changemakers: Jim Atwater
One affront progressive a assemblage Latin prof who refused to accommodate Atwater’s proceeding difficulties. Atwater failed the class, and the accent of the acquisition led him to transportation schools.
Then, successful his mid-20s, aesculapian schoolhouse admissions unit shattered his imagination of becoming a doc erstwhile they told him that older physicians would not repetition themselves for him during his training. That determination negated his prerequisite enactment astatine Johnson County Community College, his admittance trial performance, and his fantabulous admissions interview.
The aesculapian schoolhouse acquisition “is 1 of the biggest tiebacks to Aptly,” helium said. “As a person, arsenic a family, each my parents enactment into this acquisition and each that I did … and each the radical that spent clip helping maine — for nothing.”
For Atwater, his acquisition serves arsenic conscionable 1 illustration of however an full tract oregon manufacture tin miss retired connected an full workforce that tin lick large problems, simply due to the fact that executives person not taken the clip to recognize a peculiar population.
What Atwater is gathering done Aptly is simply a broad database of individuals and families from immoderate fig of underserved populations, including radical with disabilities and precocious released situation inmates.
Aptly is designed to service businesses, providing not lone entree to a immense labour pool, but besides a nonstop transportation to imaginable customers they mightiness person missed otherwise. The Toronto-based data-insights firm, Return connected Disability Group, estimates that the worldwide disablement marketplace has $1.9 trillion successful disposable income.
Rather than moving with a fistful of nonprofit organizations to execute social-benefit goals, Atwater said, Aptly makes each those nonprofit services and resources disposable to businesses successful 1 place. More importantly, helium said, Aptly includes individuals and families that mightiness beryllium missed due to the fact that they are not portion of an established nonprofit program.
Also, Atwater said, the accusation included successful Aptly establishes the credentials of imaginable employees to defender against underemployment. Why spot idiosyncratic with autism successful a menial role, Atwater asked, erstwhile their creation skills marque them perfectly qualified for a plan position?
Earlier this year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 2021 employment complaint of 19.1% for persons with disabilities compared with 63.7% for persons without disabilities.
In short, Aptly is each astir giving a manus up, not a handout.
Atwater’s vocation took him to American Century Investments, wherever helium built websites and worked crossed departments successful process improvement. He near aft 16 years to statesman an entrepreneurial way that has led to Aptly and a sister for-profit company.
But the aesculapian schoolhouse rejection inactive stings, particularly since his interests intersected with a high-priority need.
“I had conscionable travel backmost from spending a summertime moving connected a ranch successful Colorado, and I wanted to beryllium a agrarian doctor, and I committed to that programme during the exertion process,” Atwater said. “And truthful again, present is idiosyncratic close successful beforehand of them … and they conscionable ignored it.”
Mike Sherry is simply a erstwhile exertion and writer for Flatland. He is present a communications advisor for nonprofits and freelance writer. John McGrath is simply a video shaper for Kansas City PBS.
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