Success Story – Devon, Dillard’s Distribution Center

Graduate of Project SEARCH^® Arkansas: ACCESS^® Initiative

Take a walk through the Dillard’s Distribution Center and mention Devon’s name. No matter who chat with, you will be met with an ear-to-ear grin. Fellow Dillard’s employees consider Devon a “blessing,” and there is nothing they would do for him. He is part of the team.

Devon spends his days in the distribution center quality checking items before they make their way to the retail store shelves for Dillard’s customers to peruse. But his favorite responsibility includes getting to ship the inventory he checked to a particular store.

Project SEARCH^® hasn’t just given Devon a paycheck, it has helped shape Devon’s life. “Devon is more confident and exhibits a greater connectivity with the people around him,” says Devon’s family. “He realized that he was chosen for Project SEARCH because of who he is and what he can contribute. That same idea and work ethic have carried over to his work. Someone values his worth and his attitude reflects it.”

“Hiring an individual with a disability grounds us as a company,” explained Dale Moore with Dillard’s Distribution. “It gives that individual an opportunity he or she may not have had otherwise.”