CLIMB Wyoming founder and Executive Director Ray Fleming Dinneen, left, and board member Caren Murray, right, accept the 2012 Summit Award from Carma Corra of the Wyoming Council for Women’s Issues.

CLIMB Wyoming is honored to be the 2012 recipient of the Wyoming Council for Women’s Issues Summit Award.  This annual award recognizes Wyoming businesses that prioritize programs or policies that strengthen or support their workforce.  CLIMB was particularly recognized for their workplace flexibility, allowing employees to minimize the stress of balancing work and family obligations and increase productivity through flexible hours and scheduling.

“We are so thrilled and honored to be selected as this year’s recipient of the Wyoming Council for Women’s Issues Summit Award,” said Executive Director Ray Fleming Dineen.  “Although we have received national recognition for our programs that serve single mothers, it’s particularly meaningful to us to be recognized for the internal culture that supports our success.  CLIMB programming requires flexibility to allow us to best serve the moms that we work with and we work hard to create an environment that enables our employees to have balance in their lives.”

CLIMB employees that were asked to share their stories reinforced a consistent theme: the exceptional support they received from CLIMB as various life experiences made a traditional work environment and schedule challenging:

“Last year I had 2 massively ruptured disks in my lower back, preventing me from walking and working.  My recovery required being creative when it came to figuring out a way to work with this injury. Sitting all day was not going to be an option long-term.  CLIMB not only let me get creative about how to complete my job during the recovery, but fully supported adjustments at work to maintain my recovery.”

“CLIMB is one of the most flexible work environments I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing.  I am given the freedom to attend school plays and watch soccer games that I would otherwise miss by being a working mom.  As a result of this flexibility, I find my productivity is higher by working more on my schedule, not because I have to do so, but because I want to do so.”

“When I had my first daughter, I really didn’t think I could come back to work full time. My supervisor was so supportive in helping me navigate how to be a full-time working Mom. I was able to work from home, and I also brought my babies with me to work during the first few months of their lives.”

About CLIMB Wyoming
Founded in 1986, CLIMB Wyoming is a statewide nonprofit organization that trains and places low income single mothers in careers that support their families.  CLIMB’s unique and comprehensive model includes partnering with local employers to develop effective training and researching workplace trends to create future opportunities.  Program participants are supported through job training and employment placement as well as counseling and life skills.  CLIMB graduates consistently double their monthly income and decrease their reliance on public assistance programs. As a result, CLIMB Wyoming was recognized in 2012 as one of the nation’s top ten organizations that move families toward self-sufficiency.  At CLIMB, success isn’t just about getting a job – it’s about financial independence for struggling mothers and changing the generational cycle of poverty one family at a time.