Easterns Blog

Inclusive Pathways to Success (IPS), founded by a Fairfax County mother, provides new skills and opportunities for differently abled students.

Naina Chernoff has a 16-year-old son that is autistic, and during the pandemic, she was concerned about his career prospectsNaina started the nonprofit to help teach young adults trade skills such as carpentry and woodworking, eventually transitioning to a career. The nonprofit offers students customized training that is paced for people with autism spectrum disorder, severe ADHD, learning disabilities, and mild intellectual impairment.

“I think I represent a population of parents who live at the mercy of other people’s kindness and empathy,” Chernoff explained. “I want to model the fact that our population of students are capable if we give them the right training and the right tools.”

Easterns Automotive Group’s Joel Bassam saw the great work IPS was doing and surprised them with a 7News Helping Hand.

“Inclusive Pathways to Success seems like an amazing organization, helping those young adults with varying disabilities to build their skill sets and hopefully find employment. We want to help you support those young adults by donating $2,200 to your cause to continue to help them out,” Bassam said.

Chernoff says more funds are still needed for a successful launch of their full-time program they hope to start in September 2023. They are still searching for a space to have by then, so the donation from Easterns Automotive Group couldn’t have come at a better time.