A win win with Working Together Chicago

As many of you know, our organization began as a result of what was supposed to be a one time service project that continued to grow in a grassroots effort after one little Facebook post. All of our blessings have been a result of a lot of hard work by an ARMY of volunteer angels and what we know to be divine intervention. So when we were asked to help furnish a group home for adult graduates from the Center of Concern, it didn’t surprise us when this new opportunity presented itself. After learning that many adults with disabilities graduate the program and are prepared and ready to take on the world only to find out that opportunities for employment are rare and that they encounter more shut doors than open windows, we knew we had to find a way to make this work. During our design meeting and warehouse tour Joanne Callaghan from WTG encountered 2 very frustrated designers trying to put together an IKEA bed (with about 1000 parts) and immediately called James to save the day. His mom dropped him off, he barely looked at the directions and had it put together in less than 30 minutes! Since that day, James has been a regular at the warehouse and we are proud to say our first paid employee in a pilot program we began in partnership with Working Together Chicago. We welcome James and look forward to a bright future between both of our organizations.

James Bio:

I have lived in Western Springs nearly all of my life. After graduating from Lyons Township High School, I attended New York Institute of Technology for one year, and that has been my only time away.

I love to build and repair things. When I have a new multi-thousand piece Lego set, I will build it in just a few hours. When something is broken, I like to figure out how to fix it. That’s for both electronics and furniture.

I am really eager to work for Home 2 Home Project. My work for the Project will let me help others while also exploring my interests of assembling furniture for clients and repairing donated items that could use a little fixing up.