{"id":213990,"date":"2019-11-17T16:29:08","date_gmt":"2019-11-17T22:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=213990"},"modified":"2019-11-17T18:02:06","modified_gmt":"2019-11-18T00:02:06","slug":"wawa-manager-disabilities-employees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wawa-manager-disabilities-employees\/","title":{"rendered":"One manager hired a man with disabilities 30 years ago… and ‘started a movement’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It was 1981, and the manager of a Wawa gas station and convenience store had gotten to know a local autistic man named Ari Shiner. Shiner was a client at Eden Autism Services, and the gas station manager had gotten to know him — so he decided to hire him, despite the rarity of hiring employees with disabilities across the country. But that one decision led to a change in Wawa’s company culture which still resonates today.<\/p>\n

Wawa now has over 500 employees with various disabilities, such as autism and Down syndrome. And it’s all due to that one hiring decision, made nearly 40 years ago. \u201cHe had gotten to know Ari and wanted him to have a meaningful work experience, and things evolved from there,\u201d Wawa treasurer Jay Culotta told the Philadelphia Inquirer<\/a>. \u201cAll it took was one manager, making one decision, to start a movement that has become a very strong part of our company\u2019s culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

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