Workers with special needs are getting an opportunity to make a living, all thanks to a unique partnership in Dodge County.
For more than 25 years, John Deere Horicon Works has partnered with Green Valley Enterprises in Beaver Dam.
Green Valley, a division of Opportunities, Inc., is a community rehab program.
“We provide training and employment to individuals with special needs,” CEO Barb LeDuc said. “The relationship with John Deere is making people more independent. From here, they can develop to community employment.”
Workers on the John Deere line at Green Valley are tasked with assembling maintenance kits for lawn equipment and Gator Utility Vehicles. The kits are sold at various outlets. More than 12 million kits have been assembled since the partnership began, according to the company.
John Deere employees will often volunteer at the non-profit, but retired worker Larry Lange told WTMJ the employees learn more than they teach.
“(Colleagues) would tell me how much they learned from the experience,” Lange smiled. “It’s incredible.”
Video produced by Dylan Carter
