Kwik Trip Makes a Difference in the Lives of Three Belleville Students
Making opportunities for students with special needs to learn and grow is a significant contribution Special Ed Teacher Scott Serum strives to provide for his Belleville students, but it takes community partners to be successful in this endeavor. So, this spring, Serum is truly grateful to Kwik Trip for enabling him to expand his classroom teaching in offering three of his students a place to dig in and practice their work-related skills. It seems that this type of community partnership fits well within the scope of Kwik Trip’s mission: “To serve our customers and community more effectively than anyone else by treating our customers, co-workers, and suppliers as we, personally, would like to be treated and to make a difference in someone’s life.” (https://www.kwiktrip.com/our-story)
By offering work-related training opportunities for Serum’s kids, Kwik Trip is modeling its mission.
During the 2023-24 school year, Scott Serum knew if he could just provide transportation for his students, it would create the ability to enhance learning in new ways. With the purchase of a vehicle at the beginning of October 2023 through the Transition Readiness Grant (TRG) program, Serum finally was able to make student training for the workplace a reality through Kwik Trip.
Kwik Trip offers a unique entry point for special needs students through their Retail Helper program. The program was initially created for a co-worker who was looking for a way to introduce their special needs child to the workplace to learn job and social skills. By 2013, Kwik Trip had 40 Retail Helpers working in their stores.
Tina Vogt manages the Belleville Kwik Trip store and is delighted to use the Retail Helper program to enable two of Scott Serum’s students, Max Foley and Dominic Aguilar, to work just a short distance from school. Tina is accommodating of the students she brings into the store to learn and grow.
Vogt emphasizes, “We are very flexible with the tasks we give the Retail Helpers. We try to match their skill level with tasks they will be successful at. We don’t limit any tasks within our locations and try to add tasks into their day when they have mastered their current tasks.”
Under Vogt’s management, Max and Dominic work to help keep the Belleville store clean by sweeping, mopping, and wiping down counters; facing items in the store; and, they also restock supplies like coffee beans, condiments, cups, lids, and straws. Additionally, Max and Dominic put trash out in the dumpster and keep the windows of the coolers and doors clean.
Dominic Aguilar is happy with his role as a Retail Helper and feels Kwik Trip is a great place to work.
Dominic says, “I would recommend working at Kwik Trip because the company’s focus on teamwork and collaboration is a great fit for my skill set. The coworkers are nice and you can make new friends.”
While Tina has made room to mentor Max and Dominic, the Oregon Kwik Trip has also opened its doors for Jonah Wortman to serve a key role as a Retail Helper there. Jonah also helps with many tasks under the direction of Kwik Trip Store Manager Mary Jane Hooser in keeping the Oregon Kwik Trip a place customers want to come! Nationally, Kwik Trip currently has 729 Retail Helpers working in its stores. The three Belleville students have been working in this capacity since January of this year.
It is a win-win situation for Max, Dominic, Jonah, and Kwik Trip on the whole.
Vogt notes, “Our Retail Helpers’ starting wage is the same as other coworkers in the store. We try to develop all coworkers to grow and advance within the company. When they graduate out of their program, we try to find ways to keep them employed and work with them to advance into long-term coworkers.”
Kwik Trip’s emphasis on a family-like work environment plays well for supporting special needs students as they grow and develop the skills they will rely on to be career-ready.
“They become part of our family so we like to have fun with each other while at work. They learn to become more social and take direction from multiple coworkers within the store,” says Vogt.
For Max, Dominic, and Jonah, being able to serve as Retail Helpers this school year has truly opened doors and provided a valuable stepping stone from the classroom into the workplace. The boys are proud to wear the Kwik Trip uniform as part of their Belleville schooling experience, and the Kwik Trip managers who guide them are pleased to be a part of their journey from student to employee. For these three special needs students, Kwik Trip is living up to its mission in making a difference in their lives.
