Your New Year’s Resolution can help us!

Did you resolve to get in shape for the new year?

That means you’ll be getting rid of lots of old clothes!

Perhaps your resolution was to join the 21st century and update that wardrobe. Out with the bell bottoms and leisure suits, and in with…well, whatever is in these days.

Or, maybe you are decluttering your house, and trying to simplify your lifestyle and go minimalist.

Either way, whatever you’re getting rid of, we might want in our Community Aid bin!

Our bin is located right in front of our building at 640 Martha Avenue, and we get paid by Community Aid for all that we collect. In fact, here’s Brittney helping out with a bag of clothing that someone dropped off.

In other words, the more items you donate, the more money we get! It’s that simple.

So here are three options for you:

1. Bring your items to our bin at your leisure and put them in yourself.
2. Pull up to our front door between 7:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. any Monday through Friday, and we’ll help you unload your items and put them in the bin for you.
3. If you need help getting your items here, give us a call at 717-397-4269 or email us, and we will work with you to get those items here, and might even come pick it up ourselves!

Our goal this year is to Bust the Bin! It gets emptied every Thursday, and we’d love to have it overflowing each and every week.

What do you have that you no longer need? Bring it by, or give us a call, and we can Bust the Bin together!

Need a reminder? Print out this handy sheet and put it on your fridge.

Sometimes we get so caught up with the busy-ness of the work that we do, that we forget how special the people we work with are.

We see their talents and abilities every day, but we often take that for granted. 

This morning Vince came in to work with a painting. This is nothing new. Vince works here at the ODC four days a week, but on Tuesdays, he spends his time at the Friendship Heart Gallery in Downtown Lancaster where he paints. Over the past few years we’ve even had a few of his framed paintings on the walls here at the ODC, which are regular reminders of his talent.

But this morning was different. Vince had taken a picture of our Executive Director Gregg Richards with him to this week’s painting session. What he brought into work with him this morning was nothing short of amazing. An unbelievable painting of Gregg from that photo. I think you could hear every jaw in the building drop. It’s one thing to see paintings of landscapes, but to see Vince’s version of Gregg was an eye-opener. And it was done free-hand. No sketch, no drawing, nothing more than Vince’s artistic eye seeing the photo, having it pass through his eye to his brain and down to his hand.

I think I speak for most of the folks on staff here at the ODC, that if we were to try the same thing, the results would pale in comparison. 

And that’s what makes Vince, and all of our other participants, so special. 

Not only do they have to overcome their disabilities on a daily basis, they have to overcome OUR PERCEPTIONS of their disabilities. 

As a society, we look at Vince and others with intellectual/developmental disabilities, and write them off. We look at them and think (or say), “They CAN’T do that…”

And we are wrong. 

Our participants CAN do a lot of things, and do them incredibly well. They have skills, talents, and abilities that surprise us every day. Couple that with persistence, and what we see our participants doing on a daily basis is nothing short of amazing.

While Vince doesn’t paint here at the ODC, it’s just one of his many skills. Each of our participants has their own unique set of skills and talents. Each of them has their own dreams and ideas of what they want to do with their lives. 

This is what they bring to the table. This is why they would make great employees at area businesses. 

Talent. Skills. Abilities. Persistence. Dreams. Goals.

And a desire to do a job and do it well.

Thank you, Vince, for this wonderful reminder of why we do what we do. Thank you for reminding us of what you are capable of doing. Thank you for sharing your talents with us. We are truly humbled.

And, we can’t wait to see what other great things you and our other participants are capable of doing in the future!

If you’d like to be a part of helping folks like Vince discover and develop their talents and abilities, all while pursuing a life of independence, consider a year end, tax deductible gift to the ODC. 

Thank you!

It’s hard to believe, but 2018 is nearly over! Now that we are past Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, we can now focus more fully on the holidays.

And, now that the end of the year is approaching, many of us are thinking about our year-end giving in order to maximize our tax deductions.

With that in mind, there are a number of ways you can help the ODC this holiday season (and beyond), most of which won’t cost you anything!

Oh, sure, of course we would love to have you make a cash donation to our year end annual appeal, but that’s not the only way you can help us. You can also order some holiday nuts from the ODC Parents Group online (up until Monday, December 3rd).

But, here are a few more ideas for you:

Shop Amazon Smile

When you shop online via Amazon, make sure you log on at smile.amazon.com and select the Occupational Development Center as your charity of choice. A portion of all of your purchases will be donated to us! This is especially important to remember during the holiday season when many of us are most likely spending more online than usual.

Recycle your old cell phones

When you get that new phone for the holidays, why not consider donating your old cell phone to the ODC. We get cash for recycling these old phones. We can also recycle all of your old printer ink cartridges. You can drop it off here at the ODC, or at Elan Hair & Spa at 1401 Oregon Pike.

Donate your old clothing

As you get new clothing for the holidays, clean out those closets and donate your old clothing and other household items, to the Community Aid bin located in front of our building at 640 Martha Avenue. We get paid for what is donated. Have too much to haul here yourself? Give us a call!

Donate your old vehicles

Have an old car you’re looking to get rid of? How about a boat, truck, RV, or motorcycle? We’ll pick it up for you, and you’ll get a tax write-off. Just call us at 855-500-RIDE, mention the ODC, and we’ll take care of the rest. Or look for us online at CarEasy.org.

Dine Out

Use the diner card printed below each time you eat out at either Park City Diner or Knight & Day Diner, and a portion of your check will be donated to us. You get a great meal, and we benefit!

Need a reminder? Download our printable version of this list and hang it on your fridge!

Of course there are other ways to help, as well, such as liking our Facebook page and sharing our information with your friends. You can also follow us on Instagram.

In case you missed it, the Occupational Development Center and our 70th anniversary were featured in a rather long feature article in the Lancaster Sunday News this past weekend.

The article does a great job of telling who we are, where we came from, and most importantly where we are headed. We have an incredible 70 year history behind us, but we are even more excited about what is just around the corner for us as we continue to serve those with intellectual and developmental disabilities here in Lancaster County.

You can read the article at LancasterOnline.

One of our favorite programs here at the ODC is our Small Group Employment program.

This is a program where we work with you and your business to identify a small group (hence the name…) of our participants who will come out to your facility, with a supervisor, and work alongside your employees.

There’s no real cookie-cutter mold for what this looks like; it’s different for every business depending on their specific tasks and needs.

What Small Group Employment Looks Like at Kinsey’s Inc.

Our biggest success story for SGE is with Kinsey’s Inc., out in Mount Joy. A group of our participants travels to Kinsey’s two or three times a week to work in their warehouse building boxes, labeling, and packing items for shipment.

But don’t just take our word for it. Let us show you what this looks like. This video was recently produced by the folks at Kinsey’s to highlight the wonderful partnership we have with them.

What Small Group Employment Looks Like for You!

We would LOVE to have a similar partnership with your business. We have participants who are more than capable of tackling all sorts of job related tasks, which will help your business be more productive, and perhaps free up some of your employees for other important types of work. It’s a cost effective way of getting the job done while also doing something good for the community.

The first step to find out what this looks like for you, is to give us a call at 717-397-4269, and ask for either Ashley or Ken.

The next step would be for us to visit your place of business, perhaps with a few of our participants, and take a tour of your facility. This comes at no cost to you, and we can listen to your ideas as well as provide some of our own.

Once we determine what sort of work our participants can do for you, we will carefully select the participants who we believe are the best fit for everyone involved. We not only want workers who we know can do the job for you, but we want to make sure the work is in line with the skills and interests of our participants.

It’s Your Turn

If you’re interested in how we can work with you, email us or give us a call at 717-397-4269. And even if you’re not sure, we’d love to take a tour of your facility and see if we can find some way of helping you. We’re betting that we can find a way to work with you that benefits everyone involved.

You might even be our next big success story, as we seek to find employment for our participants and bring them closer to a life of independence.

This year marks the 70^th anniversary of The Occupational Development Center. The year-long anniversary celebration will include a number of landmark events and initiatives honoring the rich history of our organization.

The ODC provides high quality vocational training and employment for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It seeks to transition participants to supported employment throughout the community, and is the oldest facility of its kind in Pennsylvania.

“The work we do at the ODC has never been more in the spotlight than it is today, “says Executive Director Gregg Richards. “Employment services for individuals with developmental disabilities are expanding and changing. The ODC is expanding and changing as well. Change is inevitable. Change is good. But the one thing that will never change at the ODC is that we will continue to provide the highest quality service for each individual we serve and help them become the greatest version of themselves as possible.”

Originally called the “Help Self School” and “Child Development Center,” the ODC was founded in 1948 by Olivia Stoner and Marian Headrick, both of whom had family members with developmental disabilities.  For its first decade, the Center, which began with just two students, functioned primarily as a special education school for children. In 1958, the Center began to focus more on vocational training and employment for those graduating from area schools. We will be sharing some of these stories here on our blog throughout the year.

The anniversary celebration year will include opportunities for serving, special donor opportunities, an exciting new Food Truck event, and the presentation of the inaugural Stoner Award to area businesses and individuals.

Among the events and initiatives scheduled for this year are:

• 70 Acts of Service – Our participants will be going out into the community to volunteer at area businesses and organizations to thank them for making our community great.
• First Annual ODC Food Truck Fest at Stauffer Park – On September 29^th we will be partnering with the Manheim Township Recreation and Park Planning Commission to host a Food Truck fundraising event. The event will include food trucks, entertainment, and more. Details will be announced later this year.
• The $70 Challenge – In conjunction with our year-end annual appeal and the Lancaster County Community Foundation’s Extraordinary Give, we will be challenging our donors to give at least $70 (or increase their previous giving by $70) in honor of our anniversary. Those who give will be honored on a special anniversary wall in our building.
• The Olivia S. Stoner Award – This will be the inaugural year for this new annual award. Two awards will be given: one to a business, and another to an individual, recognizing those who embody the spirit and mission of the ODC and Mrs. Stoner, who not only co-found the ODC, but was active in its operation for more than three decades.

Other events and initiatives will also be added throughout the year.