Kwan never smiled. One day, a staff member saw him peeling stickers off sheets and applying them to his notebook. He even thought he saw the beginning of a smile.
He asked Kwan if he’d like to visit Village Works. Productions workers, with and without disabilities, were preparing a mass mailing. The job involved peeling and labeling. A trainer began working with Kwan. In very short order, he had the job down. Now he has a full-time job, and he always leaves work with a smile on his face.
Ben’s mom used to get 500 texts a day from her son. Ben, 23, had aged out of the public schools and was attending a day program. It simply wasn’t a good fit. Then Ben came to Sunshine Village.
Thanks to one of our many community partners, he’s living his dream to herd goats at an urban farm. He started moving one goat–back and forth, then back again–between two pens. The farm bought two more goats. Now Ben is a bona fide goat herder. Ben’s mom knows he’s happy. No more texts.
Every day, Ashley’s shoes came untied. Multiple times. Ashley had never learned to tie her shoes. Kelly asked Ashley if she wanted to tie her own shoes. She did. So they started working together each day.
It was slow going. Some days were more frustrating than others. Nearly a year later, Ashley told Kelly she had a surprise. Then she tied her own shoes. She didn’t stop there. She untied Kelly’s shoes and tied them. Kelly cried. Ashley’s Mom cried. Ashley danced around the room. Shoes tied.
We planted carrots in our garden on Jenny’s first day at Sunshine Village. She told us she didn’t like vegetables but she liked watering the garden. Rainy days were a big disappointment for Jenny.
We explained that the vegetables needed just the right amount of water and sunshine to grow. You should have seen Jenny’s face the day we saw our first sprouts. we didn’t need sunbeams that day! Then there was the day we harvested our first carrots. Guess who was the first gardener to eat one?
All Robert wanted was a job. “A real job.” Now he has a manufacturing position. Occasionally the van Robert takes to work is late. “it’s not professional to be late,” Robert tells the driver.
Robert loves his job. His co-workers love Robert. He’s just one of the guys. On his birthday, there’s a cake at work. After work, there’s chicken parm at Applebee’s. Like Robert says, “Life is good.”