The Able Trust empowering students with disabilities with help from AdventHealth

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  • Caroline Glenn
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AdventHealth is investing $350,000 in The Able Trust youth programs focused on providing students with disabilities with education and career discovery opportunities. This gift will be used to expand the High School High Tech and Futures in Focus programs in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties.

High School High Tech is a statewide program that improves the high school graduation rate and postsecondary enrollment rate of high school students with disabilities. For 30 years, High School High Tech has given students the opportunity to explore their interests and learn how they connect to career options, understand postsecondary education and training needs, and participate in college and university visits and industry tours.

A student in a wheelchair wears a graduation cap and gown and holds a diploma.

“The gift from AdventHealth comes at a pivotal time,” said The Able Trust President and CEO Allison Chase. “We are expanding our programs to help more students with disabilities learn about education and career opportunities that can change their lives. Having AdventHeath support us in Central Florida will significantly move us toward this goal.”

For more than 115 years, AdventHealth has called Central Florida home, and as a not-for-profit organization, has the privileged duty to invest financial resources into the community. In 2023 alone, AdventHealth contributed nearly $1.3 billion in community investments in Orange, Osceola, Seminole and South Lake counties, including support for local nonprofit organizations. This partnership with The Able Trust will help support education and career preparation for high school students with disabilities, providing them with a stronger path toward employment success that will lead to stronger Central Florida communities.

“Access to well-paying jobs and housing goes hand in hand with good health, and creating employment and job training opportunities for those with special needs is especially important,” said Doug Hilliard, chief financial officer of AdventHealth’s Central Florida Division and a board member for The Able Trust. “Providing compassionate, whole-person care extends far beyond the walls of our hospitals, and we are proud to unite with this incredible organization to tackle projects that will not only help our most vulnerable neighbors but help our entire community feel whole.”

The funds will help establish four new High School High Tech sites and nine new Futures in Focus sites by providing grants to community partners for program administration.

The funding will also support community outreach, program materials, training, research and data analysis, and technical assistance to ensure program effectiveness. In addition, a portion of the funds will contribute to student leadership development and outreach events through the High School High Tech Student Ambassador program.

About The Able Trust

Established in 1990, The Able Trust, in support of the Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, works with local school districts, education foundations and community nonprofits to prepare students for life after high school. The Able Trust youth programs are located in communities across Florida and serve 1,200 students each year. With an average high school graduation rate of 99% and postsecondary enrollment rate of 54%, The Able Trust youth programs are helping students envision and begin to work towards a future they might not have thought possible. To learn more, visit www.abletrust.org.

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