Challenge forges alliance to expand services

For more than 50 years, Challenge Workforce Solutions has created pathways for people with barriers to employment. Earlier this month, the Ithaca-based nonprofit forged an alliance with an organization serving people in neighboring counties that will allow it to expand its reach.

Challenge’s new alliance is with Mozaic, created last year with the merger of the Seneca Cayuga and Yates chapters of Arc, which provides clinical, residential, educational, vocational and day-service programs for children and adults with developmental disabilities.

“Both Mozaic and Challenge are committed to building one strong community where people with varying abilities and barriers gain independence and become an integral part of society,” said Tess Fraser, Challenge’s director of development and marketing. “This alliance will only strengthen our mission at Challenge, allowing us to provide new opportunities and help connect people to meaningful employment here in our community.”

Established in 1968, Challenge offers community-based prevocational and supported employment services for people with disabilities, mental health diagnoses, and socioeconomic or legal obstacles.

As part of the alliance, Mozaic’s leader, Allen Connely, will also serve as president and chief executive officer of Challenge.

“We are excited about this alliance,” Connely said. “Both organizations strive to provide the highest quality of service and share commonalities in our culture and best practices.”

Challenge had previously been led by Executive Director Joe Sammons, who left in February to fill the same role at Hospicare & Palliative Care Services in Ithaca.

“This new leadership model won’t have any day-to-day impact on our services or operations,” Fraser said. “Our headquarters in South Hill Business Park will remain the same, and Challenge will remain an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.”

This alliance will not have an immediate impact on the day-to-day services Challenge or Mozaic provides, she added.

“However, the expectation is that there will be an expansion of services in Tompkins County longer term,” she said. “Our capacity to serve a wider geographical area is one of the key benefits as well with this alliance, and it’s one that will evolve as we move forward with this new model.”

Briggs Seekins, Challenge’s director of employment and vocational services, sees an opportunity for Challenge to offer a more robust array of person-centered, community-integrated services to a larger catchment area.

“Over the past couple of years, we’ve had a developing interest in expanding the geographic reach of our programming, and Mozaic is well-positioned to help us do that,” he said. “They’ve also established a successful collaboration with Keuka College and have a good base of knowledge for supporting us in developing something similar here — an ideal step for taking our Youth VOICE program to the next level.”

Fraser explained that the alliance is all about expanding opportunities for those who need it most.

“One of the most appealing aspects of forming this alliance was the fact that it would create new opportunities and pave new pathways to
employment for the individuals that we work with at Challenge,” Fraser said. “We look forward to eventually providing manufacturing and assembly opportunities, accessing preferred source contracts and expanding our youth VOICE program, among other things.”

As part of their model, both organizations operate social enterprise businesses. Challenge currently has three — contract staffing, contract production and Challenge teams.

“Right now, we have our contract staffing, which operates in dish rooms at Cornell, Ithaca College and Wegmans; our Challenge teams, which consists of smaller custodial crews who are working at CMC [Cayuga Medical Center], Therm and other area businesses; and our contract production, which is here on-site (at South Hill) and does assembly and packaging,” Fraser said.

Mozaic runs Finger Lakes Textiles, which manufactures apparel for the U.S. Armed Forces and the public.

“This will really strengthen our employment opportunities by giving us access to more preferred source contracts as well as relationships with employers outside Tompkins County,” said Dave Cummings, Challenge’s director of contract staffing, adding that the partnership will enable growth and open new avenues for innovation. “At the same time, we will be able to assist Mozaic in developing their own staffing models across the three counties they serve.”

For more information about Challenge, visit its website at challengeworkforcesolutions.org.