Matt Forkapa, the manager of Aladdin Rents For Special Events in Eastlake, Ohio, is usually a bit more tired than usual when he goes home on Tuesdays. That’s because Tuesdays are the day that Aladdin Rents For Special Events brings in a group of special needs students from a local school for job training.

“It is tiring, but it’s also very rewarding. It’s a fun group and everybody should get involved in these sorts of programs. A lot of kids out there need somewhere to go and this type of job training can help,” Forkapa says.

Mike Miller, the owner of Aladdin Rents For Special Events and Handy Rents, says the company’s involvement with the program started about 15 years ago. Miller’s oldest son, Chris, was born with Down syndrome and Miller was first approached about helping with job training while Chris was in school.

“They have special classes for these kids and they approached us about doing job training, so that when the kids do get a real job, they’ve already had some practice and don’t get fired on the first day,” Miller says.

To read the rest of this story by Wayne Walley from the January issue of Rental Management magazine, click here. If you are in the equipment rental industry, you can get a free subscription to Rental Management by clicking here.