Profile: Opportunity Village

OpportunityVillage was founded in 1954 by a small group of local families seeking to improve the lives of their children with intellectual disabilities. Since then, Opportunity Village has grown to become Nevada’s largest private, not-for-profit community rehabilitation program, serving more than 3,000 people annually through vocational training, community job placement, advocacy, and social recreation programs.

More than just a charity, Opportunity Village operates two work center campuses and one thrift store in Southern Nevada. It also operates a vehicle donation program, trains and places hundreds of disabled adults in jobs throughout the community, and hosts some of the most popular special events in all of Las Vegas, including the annual Magical Forest.       

 

Through hard work, sweat, and a little luck, Opportunity Village has helped Southern Nevada’s most vulnerable citizens integrate into society, while offering a paycheck, a feeling of achievement, and a renewed sense of independence. And through it all, they've been proud to earn the distinction of “Las Vegas’ Favorite Charity.”

 

Almost entirely self-funded, Opportunity Village is possible because Southern Nevadans realize the value in supporting their neighbors with intellectual disabilities. In our society, people with intellectual disabilities live their lives constantly being told what they can’t do. Opportunity Village strives to break that stigma, encouraging its clients to follow their dreams, whether they include community or sheltered employment, social recreation, music, art, or just the chance to be independent.