The leader of a prominent Irish NGO is currently in the US on a trade mission to rally support for Rehab’s services in communities across Ireland.

Dr Angela Kerins, chief executive of the Rehab Group, will meet with prominent members of the Irish community in New York during her two-day trip, to urge their support for Rehab’s services in communities across Ireland.

Dr Kerins will unveil the organization’s plans to create 400 new jobs in Ireland and also to increase the number of people that Rehab supports internationally to 75,000 over the next three years.

“We have also supported the creation of more than 1,000 jobs for people with disabilities in India, Nepal, Panama, Taiwan and Mauritius,” Dr Kerins said in a statement.

“Our services are recognized internationally with many awards for their quality and innovation, while our involvement in other jurisdictions also allows us to further our mission, share our experience with other service providers and learn from their best practice too.”

Every year, more than 54,000 people and their families benefit from the supports provided by the Rehab Group in almost 250 locations.

“We have ambitious plans to increase by almost 40 per cent the number of people that we support, from 54,000 currently to 75,000 in 2015.”

Headquartered in Ireland, the Rehab Group is one of Europe’s largest not-for-profit organizations with a turnover of $250million, staff of 3,500, and operations in 250 locations across Ireland, the UK, the Netherlands, and Poland.

In addition to providing training, health and social care services, it also operates commercial activities such as logistics, packaging, recycling, asset recovery, and retailing. Its services range from vocational training to assist people into work, to support services in enabling people to live as independently as possible in their communities, to commercial businesses providing viable employment opportunities to people with disabilities.