Anne Marie joined Work Opportunities (WOU) Unlimited on January 12, 2004. Anne Marie likes to keep busy and had several different types of positions before she joined WOU. Anne Marie and her career resource specialist (CRS) worked together and found her job listed in the newspaper. Anne Marie began her job at Border Café on March 19, 2007 and is still successfully employed as a silverware roller. Anne Marie is responsible for the silverware to be cleaned before she wraps them in napkins. Ann Marie can roll up to 125 silverware roll ups in one shift with no problem! If Anne Marie notices that the silverware is dirty she immediately notifies her co-worker who is in charge of dishwashing. If Anne Marie sees too many occurrences of dirty silverware she reports it to her managers. The managers at Border Café have a high regard for Anne Marie's work ethic. She always has a smile on her face and is ready to work Anne Marie has health challenges but she never complains and always has a positive attitude. If she is not able to work due to health reasons she always calls and informs the manager on duty.

Catherine is a bright young lady who joined Work Opportunities Unlimited in December of 2006 in search of employment. Shortly after, in April of 2007, Work Opportunities Unlimited found her a position at Walgreens just walking distance from her home. Catherine began her employment in the pharmacy with constant supervision putting items away for the pharmacist and technician. Catherine was then moved to the floor to stock snacks, beverages, and other items neatly on the shelves. Her method in completing this task was to read the labels or compare the last 3 digits of the bar code to the bar code on the shelves. After a couple of months Catherine was given a more complex task, which she is still currently performing. This task entails placing a Walgreens tape and alarm sensor sticker to every expensive boxed item. Catherine is enrolled in the Rehabilitation Center of Boca Raton where she happily participates in skill building activities. At the moment, the program is having Catherine fix cell phone chargers which she enjoys doing along with the friends she has made at the center. Catherine likes to shop at the mall, eat at McDonald's, and loves to sing and dance. Presently, Catherine continues to successfully work at Walgreens with onsite support from her CRS every week.

Chris likes to keep busy at work and in his community. He currently works at a restaurant 3 days per week and a silk screening company 2 days per week. When Chris isn't working he volunteers at the Audubon Society 4 hours a week.

Damien began services with Work Opportunities Unlimited in March 2010 through the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission. Damien was engaged right from the start and stated that he would do whatever it took to attain a meaningful job. Damien attended every Job Club that was offered sometimes walking a few miles and taking two buses to assure that he arrived on time. Job Club gives job seekers an opportunity to learn and practice interviewing, application writing and resume writing in a group setting.

At the beginning of May of 2010, Damien landed an interview with the Human Resources Manager, at The Home Depot in Worcester, MA. Damien had been struggling with speaking at an appropriate tone during his mock interview sessions with WOU team members and was nervous for his first actual interview. All the practice at Job Club paid off because he did an amazing job at the interview and was subsequently offered a job on the spot as a Lot Attendant.

The training process was lengthy and involved an 8-hour orientation and three weeks of computer training classes. WOU accompanied Damien for the orientation and was present during 80% of his training classes. The Human Resources Manager was extremely happy with Damien's dedication to his training and the fact that he completed one week early! Damien began his position in the lot in early June 2010.

During the Retention Plan meeting Damien was given much praise from the Human Resource Manager. She stated that he was one of the best employees that she has had working in the lot. At the conclusion of this meeting Damien expressed to WOU and Heather that he would do whatever it took to remain a Home Depot employee including training in a different department. As of 11/1/10 Damien remains an employee at The Home Depot in Worcester, MA as a Lot Attendant and is a valued member of the team.

Fred began work with Kmart in 2004 as a Loss Prevention Associate. He is seen here with CRS Jeff Picano at a retention plan meeting held at the Kmart in West Palm Beach. The retention plan process is an interactive process between the employee, Work Opportunities Unlimited and the employer. The goal is to ensure that all parties understand the expectations of the employer, and to ensure the employee is progressing toward meeting those expectations.

Fred has benefited from the services of WOU by learning new methods of sensor tagging merchandise, increasing his confidence in communication and relationship building with his coworkers and supervisors, as well as helping him increase his work hours to 4 days a week. Fred has done a great job of allowing WOU to offer assistance and new ideas to better help him achieve his independence. Fred continues to build on his success at Kmart and is a great example to his team at Kmart that we can create new opportunities for success in the workplace every day.

Jasmine is a very smart, well spoken, and caring young woman who loves animals and enjoys working with children.

Jasmine was referred to Work Opportunities Unlimited for our Youth Career Program. For the most part Jasmine has been very engaged and participated in all the programs activities and assignments; however, Jasmine had some confidence issues. After completing a basic photography class and a College Tour, she realized all the potential she has and chose to face her fears. After this realization she agreed to participate in a paid work assessment.

The WOU CRS was able to set up her paid work assessment at International Day Care. At the day care Jasmine is responsible for completing different activities with the children. Jasmine would read, draw, paint, do games and outdoors activities with the kids.

The opportunity for Jasmine to have an exposure to the world of work has had a positive impact on her. The fact that she has to show up to work on time, and someone is relying on her has shown her the importance of responsibility and more than anything Jasmine has proven to herself that she can achieve great things.

Joe had never had a paid job before and his speech is somewhat limited. To help offset these challenges, Joe worked with Work Opportunities Unlimited on his resume and application writing skills, and most importantly his ability to express himself effectively in an interview. Joe's job goal was to work in an office setting, which is exactly what was secured. Joe's employer is a major law firm, which had never employed someone with the challenges faced by Joe. Although nobody at the law firm had ever worked with someone like him, they all stepped up to train Joe and build a relationship with and support him in his new job. Joe's story was so compelling that a local news station filmed and showed a report on the evening news.

John is an individual who was non-communicative, had anger management issues, was hanging out with "the wrong crowd" and didn't know where his life was taking him. When Work Opportunities Unlimited started with John on his Customized Service Plan there was some resistance. John would spend as much time outside smoking or inside the bathroom as he could. Eventually John began to take an interest in the process as perhaps for the first time he felt he could choose the direction his life would take.

John then decided he wanted to present his plan to his support team. He put a lot of effort and time into preparing, and when he finally presented his plan to the people he chose to invite, it became an extremely emotional experience for both John and his extended family. It was powerful because 1) John, who had been non-communicative was speaking in front of a group 2) John spoke of his feelings for his family and 3) John was telling everyone "this is where I want my life to lead me". His team did not expect to see this out of John, much less in the short time he had been working with WOU. The planning process for John was a very powerful tool.

John is now working at McDonald's and is volunteering at an animal shelter (John wants to eventually work with animals full time).

John is a client who was referred from Vocational Rehabilitation. Despite having numerous jobs in the past, he hadn’t experienced anything that had inspired him. When he came to Work Opportunities Unlimited through VR for job exploration, he did not have much of a direction. We began by identifying several areas of interest to him through job exploration. We worked with his VR counselor on a plan to pursue something in the art field, but it was very broad. John wanted to do some curating or travelling exhibit job shadows. Once we visited a few museums and talked to some curators, he decided that this was not the field for him. Then, we switched gears and moved to computer courses and pc classes. John took one class, and realized that it was not for him so we began again. I sat with John for long hours to think about his hobbies and interests. He said that he always enjoyed writing, and so he took a one-day class through adult education in writing. He loved this class, however the prospects of finding a job in writing were few.

At this time, we began talking to local newspapers and Maine magazines in Portland and Brunswick. Several magazines and newspapers responded, but the local Times Record in Brunswick was very quick to respond. John and his Work Opportunities representative went to the Times Record for a meeting with the editor, which was followed by a job shadow with the city editor shortly afterwards. The editor was very helpful and was like a mentor to John, giving advice and suggestions. John is now on his third article for the newspaper, and each of the two articles that he has had printed in the paper already were on page 2 of the first section of the paper! The VR counselor was thrilled that John was able to become gainfully employed as a freelance writer for the paper.

Josh came to us through a referral from Vocational Rehabilitation. Josh was shy to start and had a habit of not looking into your eyes when having a conversation with him. Josh experienced challenges interacting with people on a personal level and in work situations. He went through cycles, which would result in major depression. However, it wasn't longer after beginning services with Work Opportunities Unlimited that he was placed in his first job ever. He started by working one day each week. Josh's supervisor was very pleased with his work and reported that he really fit in with the other staff. Josh continued to meet with his Career Resource Specialist from Work Opportunities and his VR counselor. About a month into working, he requested more work hours and felt that he was ready to increase his job responsibilities. Work Opportunities had been visiting him at work and checking in with his supervisor on a regular basis. As his confidence increased, Josh began working one additional day each week and then on to two days. From two he went onto three, and then four. Josh is now working full-time!

A month later Josh met with again with Work Opportunities and his VR counselor. Josh was walking a bit taller, his head was held a bit higher and he displayed more confidence. In the meeting, he told us that since he was working he was so active that he had lost 25 pounds and was feeling great. Josh had been living in a group home with two other residents and reported that he was moving into his own apartment. Josh is still thriving at his job. At the end of this meeting Josh wanted to speak to his Work Opportunities representative after his VR Counselor had left the room. He said that he didn't feel another cycle coming, at least not any time soon. Josh expressed his thanks and said that when he started his job, he didn't know if it was something that he wanted to do. He feels that this experience has changed his life.

As part of his transition from school to work, Justin was referred to Work Opportunities Unlimited to find employment. While still in school, Justin, with the assistance of Work Opportunities Unlimited secured employment at The Home Depot. Justin's core responsibilities include: watering plants, item returns, and display signs. In addition, Justin interviews coworkers for stories to be included in the Home Depot Newsletter. Justin also has an Employee of The Month award to his credit.

Ken came to WOU from the Department of Transitional Services seeking vocational support. He has a lot of enthusiasm and a strong hunger to return to the working world. He had reported all the places where he had searched for jobs and applied to. His list was extensive. However, despite all the applications and resumes he submitted, over the past year or so, he wasn't getting hired. He wasn't getting many interviews either. Ken is an x-marine and a man with a lot of opinions and passion about what he believes is correct and true. A few years ago he was asked to do something very few people would ever be asked to do. His son needed a kidney and Ken gave him his. Ken never thought that this was a big deal and was told by another job coach from another agency that he shouldn't talk about it in an interview. WOU encouraged him to tell his story because it really showed how compassionate he was. Here is a man who was the head of a household and the "bread winner." He left his job and took care of his son while his wife worked to support their family!

Besides teaching him what to say during the interviewing process, we also taught Ken how to update his resume, took him on mock interviews so he could get critical feedback on how he did, assessed his application skills and provided him with ongoing coaching throughout his job search and placement process. Ken secured a job directly resulting from his paid work assessment at the 99 Restaurant. The job didn't work out, however Ken used it as a learning experience. About a month later, Work Opportunities utilized a corporate relationship with Lowe's Home Improvement to develop a lead for Ken. He applied within 30 minutes of learning about the lead with Lowe's. He used his newly revised resume and had an interview. It went very well and he was hired! He is now working 30+ hours a week and shares that he really likes his job. His managers report that Ken is a true asset to this company. Ken has been able to buy a car and is providing a lot more financial stability for his family. Ken now likes to be referred to as Ken the "Lowe's Man". Well done Ken!

Kirk is a wonderful guy who is very sweet, friendly, and outgoing. Kirk loves the weather, enjoys meeting new people, and spending time with his family. He volunteers at the Somerville Home, where he plays games with the residents, helps serve lunch to the residents, and gives the residents the weekly forecast. Kirk also works part-time as a sales associate at Kohl's Department Store. Kirk enjoys working with customers, folding clothes, assisting cashiers with bagging, and helping customers bring their larger purchases to their cars. The management team at Kohl's love having Kirk on their team, and enjoy his pleasant attitude at work. Many customers have also said they will return to Kohl's just so they can see Kirk's smiling face! Way to go Kirk!

Krista's first job was as a cart collector, however she always wanted to be a cashier. When Krista began services with Work Opportunities Unlimited she was unemployed. The team began job development to help her reach the goal of being a cashier. After a year of job development Krista obtained a job at Wal-Mart as a part time cashier. She began working in June of 2009. Krista was very proud of her achievement; she could prove to her friends and her family that in spite of lack of high school diploma or GED, she was able to be a cashier.

Krista worked at Wal-Mart as a cashier for almost a year until she decided to move on. She provided very friendly customer service, and customers liked her a lot. Krista loved to have conversations with customers and she always remembered regular customers of Wal-Mart. She was very proud of her accomplishment of becoming a cashier when others thought it wasn't possible.

Lee was first hired on as an Assistant Coach for the Girls Basketball program at East Greenwich High School in Rhode Island. After the end of his third season, he was approached by his Athletic Director about being the Head Coach for the school’s Unified Basketball team. Lee’s AD thought that he would be a great fit for the position, while he remained as the Assistant Coach for the Girls Program. Lee embraced the opportunity and took his team to the state championship. Lee’s players fought hard for him, just as his girl players always have the last three seasons. His job as Head Coach consists of evaluating players, developing practice and game plans and directing the play on the floor during games. Work Opportunities Unlimited has helped Lee throughout his coaching career by assisting him with developing stronger relationships with fellow coaches and players, helping him to improve his communication with the players during the games and supporting his transportation needs. Lee has learned how to build and develop his connections with his players, coaches and Athletic Directors. He has also shown that he can better handle constructive criticism and game losses than he did at the beginning of his time at East Greenwich.

For more of this story, click on the following link:
http://my02818.com/articles/2010/05/17/sports/doc4bf07e262b167096165097.txt

Before working at the 99 Restaurant, Matthew had experienced difficulty developing relationships with his co-workers at previous jobs. Matthew can be very personable and friendly, so being unable to get to know the people he was working with was very troubling for him. As soon as he began working at the 99 Restaurant, Matthew and his Career Resource Specialist (CRS) at Work Opportunities Unlimited developed a goal for him to speak with his co-workers by their first names.

After being there for two years, Matthew has shown great strides in his interactions with co-workers. He understands when to joke around with them, and also when it is time to focus on his food preparation and dishwashing tasks. He enjoys talking with one co-worker in particular about the common interest they share in guitars.

WOU CRSs continue to monitor Matthew's ability to properly communicate with the 99 Restaurant team, and provide him with different opportunities in the community to feel comfortable being himself and speaking with individuals of all backgrounds. Currently, Matthew enjoys guitar lessons and is looking for different opportunities to further his education. The key for success was finding the right environment for Matthew to flourish in.

Neftali is dedicated to his job at HomeGoods. He began as a seasonal employee and was transitioned to a permanent position. Neftali takes two different buses to get to work, which means he starts his day at 4:30 a.m. Despite this he has never been late. This was challenging in the beginning, considering Neftali is unable to read.

In his job, Neftali is responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of the store. When he first started working at HomeGoods he had some difficulty getting along with co-workers, however, with some support from his Career Resource Specialist (CRS) from Work Opportunities Unlimited, Neftali is now able to maintain productive relationships at work. Additionally, Neftali struggled at first with using the digital time clock to punch in and out. This was another barrier his CRS was able to help him overcome. Neftali's store manager now states that he is one of the best employees the store has ever had.

Interview Preparation Pays Off With A Job At Best Buy:

Patrick has always had an interest in video games. That's what he does in his free time when he's not in class, and it's all he ever wanted to do for work. So when an opportunity came up at Best Buy in Palm Beach Gardens for a position to sell portable electronic games, Patrick knew he had to go for it. WOU already had a great relationship with the store manager, who was more than willing to take a look at Patrick's application. After passing the assessment, Best Buy called Patrick in for his first interview. The staff at WOU prepared Patrick for this by practicing mock interviews, and going over the importance of customer service and assisting him with a perfect resume. Once inside, Patrick was on his own. He showed such an aptitude for the electronic games he was asked to come back for a second interview. A week later, Patrick was offered the job. Patrick continues to love his job and WOU continues to have a great relationship with Best Buy!

For many years, Phil worked at a local bus company processing paperwork. Phil experiences a severe seizure disorder and he had always had the support of his supervisor at the bus company. Unfortunately, the bus company went out of business and Phil needed to find a new job.

The prospect of finding an employer that would work effectively with Phil and his seizure disorder seemed challenging. With the help of Work Opportunities Unlimited, Phil secured a position at a local investment firm where he was given the task of processing information to be mailed to customers. Phil was given a cubicle along side all of his coworkers, where he performed his work. Within the first two weeks of employment, Work Opportunities Unlimited coordinated a training for Phil's coworkers on seizure disorders and a protocol to follow when Phil experienced a seizure. The training was provided on location at the business by a licensed nurse.

Ten years later, Phil is still working at the investment firm, and his supervisor and coworkers have been an integral part of his success, due in part to building capacity within them to effectively support Phil with his seizures.

Ray was referred for job development services to WOU from VR, and during his intake, he told his Career Resource Specialist that he loved motorcycles. Shortly thereafter a position was secured at L/A Harley Davidson. The VR services that Work Opportunities Unlimited provided were the result of a real team effort. After Ray’s successful placement and VR closure, WOU took over providing excellent work site support services to help Ray maintain and expand his duties.

Although Ray cannot ride motorcycles himself, in his position as L/A Harley's maintenance man, he gets to be around motorcycles every day and interact with the customers who share his passion. Ray wears an L/A Harley shirt at work, and one can see his picture proudly displayed on the wall next to all the "other" certified Harley Davidson mechanics at the entrance to the maintenance department.

Ray has truly been totally integrated into the Harley Davidson work environment and culture, and he has become a very respected and valued member of their support team. This great example of work integration went to a whole new level recently, when the L/A Harley sales manager asked Ray if he would like to be featured in a commercial promoting a motorcycle ride from Lewiston Maine to Farmington CT to raise money for Special Olympics.

View Ray's Special Olympics Promotional Video for LA Harley

Richard, a senior at Oak Hill High School, received school services from WOU, that included Customized Career Planning, resume, applications and interview preparation, job shadows, job assessment and job placement. When Richard's Career Resource Specialist completed a Customized Career Plan with him, he told WOU that he wanted to be a "weather man", he also said his number one interest is meteorology. When WOU staff met with his parents, they told us that Richard has been interested in weather since he was a little boy, and his dream has always been to meet a meteorologist and see how they do their job. Richard was also currently working on a senior project that had to be completed as part of his high school gradation requirements, and of course, the topic he chose to do his presentation on was meteorology. Another school service WOU provided Richard was to develop several job shadows so he may learn about different careers. WOU really wanted to help this young man achieve his dream of shadowing a meteorologist, so we researched this possibility. WOU contacted Channel 6 News in Portland, and they agreed to make this happen for him. During his job shadow, Richard met Kelly, one of their seasoned Meteorologists, and she took him behind the scenes, showing him all the equipment the weather team uses, and she also explained how the weather report is put together and presented. Kelly also provided Richard a lot of good information he could use for his senior project on meteorology, including an autographed picture. After the tour of the news station, Richard was a guest of the studio, where he got to watch Kelly deliver the weather report live on the air. After the news aired, Richard was allowed to sit at the weather desk and try his hand at delivering the weather, and then they showed Richard the television screen so he could see himself doing the weather. This job shadow was a great experience for Richard, and it not only helped him achieve his dream, WOU's services increased his confidence in himself. Richard went on to do other job shadows, create a resume and learn interviewing skills, and was hired in his first ever paid job as a Front End Associate at Hannaford Supermarket.

It was difficult at first for Robin to verbalize what she wanted to do for work. However, Work Opportunities Unlimited was able to secure a work assessment for Robin with Marshall's Department Stores. Marshall's is part of the TJX Corporation, with whom Work Opportunities Unlimited has a corporate relationship. Through the work assessment, Robin was able to determine that she liked the work involved, and she was able to show her ability to perform the work up to the expectations of the employer. Marshall's subsequently hired Robin for their merchandising team three days per week, four hours per day.

When Roland first came to Work Opportunities Unlimited he wanted to work and be productive 4 hours per week. Roland has met his goal and has recently said, "I love my job." His past work experience has been in a segregated environment and he had been paid sub-minimum wage. He now works at a local restaurant in a fully integrated environment, and he earns above minimum wage.

Stacey began working at Stop & Shop in Cohasset through a high school program to assist her transition from school to work. In January of 2007, she began receiving services through Work Opportunities Unlimited in order to maintain successful employment. Stacey works on the front end as a bundler; her tasks include providing exceptional customer service support and bagging items according to requests. Her supervisor Chris has said that she always looks for additional tasks to complete and always shows a positive attitude.

During the summer of 2010, Work Opportunities began to assist Stacey in finding a volunteer position in the community. Her goal was to find a place to work a few hours each week to learn additional skills that would help her move forward with future career goals. After communicating with the Cohasset Consignment Shop, an interview was set up for Stacey to speak with the store manager and see if it would be a good fit for her. Almost immediately, Stacey felt that this would be an excellent fit for her. The manager was impressed with her commitment and offered her a weekly volunteer position.

Starting in September of 2010, Stacey has volunteered two hours every Thursday. She begins her shifts by monitoring the clothing racks for additional hangers and bringing them to the back office. Once this is completed, she will put clothes on hangers and place them onto the racks. To complete her shift, Stacey will clean different areas of the store by dusting and washing the shelves.

With the assistance of Work Opportunities Unlimited, Stacey is moving towards complete independence on the job. She gets along with all of her co-workers, which has helped her build communication skills in a new environment. Stacey has developed a great reciprocal relationship with the Cohasset Consignment Shop and has opened the doors for other Work Opportunities Unlimited clients to volunteer there as well. With all the positive attributes she has displayed at both Stop & Shop and the Cohasset Consignment Shop, Stacey will continue to reach all the goals and objectives she sets for herself in her career.

Steven is a young man with Autism. When you meet Steven, you see a young man in constant motion, rocking back and forth or pacing. When speaking with Steven, he frequently repeats what you say (echolalia) and uses short sentences to answer any questions you might ask.

Steven's goal when starting to look for a job with his Career Resource Specialis was to work in a retail environment. Steven has been successful working in the receiving department at Home Goods where he is responsible for unpacking boxes of new merchandise and placing the merchandise on shelving units according to a code number. Steven works closely with manager, Scott, his CRS from Work Opportunities Unlimited, and assigned co-workers to meet the productivity expectations required for this position. Every month Steven, manager Scott and CRS meet to review Steven's progress or problems on his retention plan which lists his goals to be successful in his position. Scott recently said that Steven has the highest productivity in the Home Goods processing department of all the employees. Steven's job is to take home decorating items out of the boxes, tag them and put them carefully on a rolling cart for another associate to put on the sales floor. When Steven started this position he was very shy and wouldn't talk to anyone, but with help from his CRS, Steven now communicates regularly with his coworkers.

Tim has worked 20 hours per week at Shaw's Supermarket for the last five years. In March of 2009, Tim joined the Community Supports program at Work Opportunities Unlimited with the hopes of getting out of the house more often. Tim began volunteering at the YMCA daycare assisting the teachers with snack preparation, cleaning, and gathering supplies. It was immediately evident that Tim has a talent when it comes to working with kids. After only a couple weeks of volunteering Tim was asked to expand his duties and become a classroom helper. He began working one on one with kids, leading groups out to recess and lunch, lining the kids up for activities, and assisting teachers with all aspects of the classroom.

This experience has helped Tim decide that he would like to work in the daycare field. With the help of Work Opportunities Unlimited, Tim has completed 2 of the 6 classes he needs to test for the Day Care Professionals License. Community Supports has helped Tim identify a career path that he had never thought of before. He always thought he would work in retail, but now thinks he can be a great daycare teacher.