Annual Appeal 2023

A Message from Our Executive Director

Dear Friends of the ODC,

2023 has been a good year for us here at the ODC. We have been able to welcome back more of our Program Participants and continue the job of providing them with vocational training and opportunities to find competitive, integrated employment in the community. Thanks to your generosity last year, we were able to make the ODC a safer place by fully replacing our aging and dilapidated hydraulic scissor lift, as well as upgrade our fire safety system.

But now it’s time to focus more on the people we serve. You may remember a few years ago you helped us raise money to purchase three Kia Souls, which we use every day to take our Participants out on Community Participation Supports (CPS) trips. They get to visit all sorts of businesses and learn about the potential jobs they might one day want to pursue.

Many of these CPS locations involve actual hands-on work that help our Participants experience a variety of vocational opportunities. From helping pack meals for Meals on Wheels and the St. Anne’s Church brown bag program, to some good ol’ farm work at Homefields and Woerth It Hollow, these CPS visits are invaluable. They help our Participants discover their interests and develop skills that prospective employers might find attractive. For instance:

• Through CPS, Jim learned that he enjoyed sorting vegetables at Homefields Farm, as well as cleaning at some of our other locations. He also says he would love to try his hand at waiting tables at a restaurant, or even get into painting houses.
• While cleaning at LCBC Lancaster City and the North Museum, Maria discovered that she, too, really enjoys cleaning and would love a job doing just that, perhaps at a restaurant.
• Randy loves the jobs we do that involve working with his hands, such as sorting and packing items for shipping. He’d love to find a job at a local manufacturer doing what he has learned here.
• And Kristen also loves light assembly tasks found in manufacturing jobs but also wouldn’t mind being in customer service position at a retail store.
  

As we continue to expand our CPS offerings, it’s also time to take the next step and reignite our Small Group Employment program. This is a program where we collaborate with area businesses to provide an opportunity for our Participants to work alongside their employees, learn the business, and earn bigger paychecks. This is generally a group of four to six participants with a certified supervisor.

But to do this AND expand our CPS program, we need yet another vehicle; one that can transport a larger group of individuals from our facility to a variety of work locations.

Therefore, this year’s Annual Appeal will go toward purchasing a larger minivan that can hold 5 to 7 passengers and get more of our Participants out into the community on a more regular basis.

Our Appeal goal this year is: $40,000

We are amazed at how you have supported us over the past few years, even during uncertain economic times, and we are grateful for all that you have done and continue to do for the ODC.

You can help us meet this goal by donating online with your tax-deductible contribution.

You’ve supported us in huge ways in the past, and we know that you will once again help us provide our Program Participants with services that help put them on a path toward independence in their lives.

On behalf of our program participants, their families, our staff, and the ODC Board of Directors, we thank you for your continued support of our mission.

P.S. One other way you can help us is by connecting us to local businesses that might be interested in hosting a group of our participants for either our Community Participation Supports or Small Group Employment programs. Let us know if your business, or any other business you know, would like to learn more about these programs.

*Also, don’t forget to join us online at the Extraordinary Give at ExtraGive.com on Friday, November 17th.

And stay tuned: 2024 is our 75th Anniversary, and we have so much planned!