MPI FOUNDATION STORIES

MPI Foundation/HB Cares Autism Work Experience Project

By MPI Foundation | Jun 8, 2021

2017 MPI Foundation Grant Awarded

MPI Foundation provides grants to organizations that support and improve the community at large. HelmsBriscoe, the global leader in meetings procurement and site selection services, received a grant from the Foundation for its HB Cares Autism Work Experience Project. The initiative aims to raise funds to help young adults with autism gain work experience in the hospitality industry.

Anna is a talented and dynamic Fine Art graduate, with some experience in the hospitality industry. Like other people on the autism spectrum, she can find new environments, people and situations challenging at times. Anna can also experience hyper sensitivity to noise, perceiving it louder or have difficulty filtering it out.  

The Autism Speaks program helped Anna look at every part of her potential employment journey, learn more about herself and her Autism, and meet people with similar disabilities. This empowered her to learn and understand not only how the workplace operates, but how she could raise awareness and understanding of Autism to advocate for herself in employment.  

Robert studied IT at college and but had not had any previous work experience. Due to his autism condition, Robert has difficulty meeting new people and can find verbal communication challenging when put on the spot.

The Autism Speaks program placed Robert with a welcoming team at a local conference center in the human resources department. He was given clear instructions on tasks and became comfortably acclimated to an office environment. Robert’s confidence improved, along with his communication and attitude toward work. Robert is now able to better understand his own strengths and skills and knows what to expect in work situations.