Busy at Jobs 'R' Us
It's business as usual at Jobs 'R' Us, which means everybody is working hard. Here are the latest on the goings-on at this hard working division of Community Living Kawartha Lakes:
Keeping safe and healthy
Community Living Kawartha Lakes staff members Barb and April just wrapped up Health & Safety trainingfor Jobs 'R' Us employees. Barb and April delivered the training over four sessions to 40 employees - including those who do contract work through Community Living's Independent Living program. Originally developed and delivered in partnership with Job Quest, the training is now presented annually by Community Living Kawartha Lakes staff members at Jobs 'R' Us.
Our wishes are coming true
Jobs 'R' Us would like to thank the Ken Reid Conservation Area, Kawartha Region Conservation Authority for their kind donation of a photocopier. It is great to have access to this technology right on site.
We are also excited to report the addition of other new technology at the Jobs 'R' Us office. We have recently purchased a new computer and cash register. It is so nice to have checked these items off of our wish list.
Last but certainly not least, a big thank you also goes out to CINTAS for donating 15 shop coats for Jobs 'R' Us employees in the woodworking shop. Your support is truly treasured.
Send us your bottles & cans!
We take all glass bottles (wine, liquor, beer etc.) and cans (food, pop, etc.) for reprocessing at Jobs 'R' Us. If you know of an organization or business that collects a lot of cans or glass bottles, please let them know how easy it is to support Jobs 'R' Us by donating these recyclables.
We clean, sanitize and re-sell glass wine bottles. Other bottles are returned for refund and support the operations of Jobs 'R' Us. Cans are processed and sold by weight, the dollars raised support Jobs 'R' Us and the Victoria County Humane Society.
All glass bottles (including beer and liquor bottles) and cans can be dropped off at Jobs 'R' Us between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. at our offices. We are located at 107 Lindsay Street South, the south entrance at the Kawartha Lakes Boys & Girls Club building. Cans can also be dropped off at the Victoria County Humane Society.
We will also pick up bottles and cans. Currently we schedule pick-ups on Monday and Tuesday (weekly or every 2 weeks), although alternate days can be arranged upon request. For more information, or to arrange pick-up or drop off, contact Jobs 'R' Us at (705) 340-0146.
We can never say it too much!
We couldn't succeed without support from the community. Thank you to all of the individuals, businesses and organizations collecting cans and glass bottles for us. We couldn't do it without you!
Thank you also the local churches helping to promote our services by including our ad in their bulletins every two weeks. Your assistance is vital in spreading the word and helping us to secure donations of glass bottles and cans.
Proposing to work together
Our supervisor, Sharon, and the Jobs 'R' Us team have submitted a proposal to the City of Kawartha Lakes to manage and operate a re-use / recycling centre. This initiative is one of many on behalf of the City of Kawartha Lakes aimed at developing creative means of diversion (reduce, reuse, recycle) that involve the community. We submitted our proposal just before Christmas. Wish us luck!
Visiting Fergus
The Community Living office in Fergus has been running an e-waste program for some time and, after hearing great things about it, Debbie and Barb called and asked for a tour. We were impressed with what we saw, particularly the extensive network of community partnerships that make the e-waste program work. What we learned helped us in the development of our proposal for the City of Kawartha Lakes (see the preceding story).
The Fergus office is a part of Community Living Guelph Wellington.
Welcome to our new supervisor!
We extend a great big welcome to Cindy, who has come on board as the new supervisor for Jobs 'R' Us and Day Supports while Sharon is on maternity leave. Congratulations to Cindy - we look forward to working with you. All the best to new-mom-to-be, Sharon, as well.
RDSP Update
More information is coming available about the new Registered Disability Savings Plan. Click here for an update from the Special Needs Planning Group.
Autism resources
Check out these recent media stories and upcoming workshops about Autism and Aspergers:
News Stories
Hope and support after Aspergers (Toronto Star)
Link discovered between genetic flaws and autism (Toronto Star)
'Underdiagnosed' girls with autism struggle to fit in (ABC News)
Thank you to Autism Ontario - Durham Region for providing these links.
Workshops
For more information about these 2008 and other workshops, click on the link provided or visit the Autism Ontario - Durham Region website.
- March 3, Oshawa:
Big Dreams ... Small Steps
- March 3, Oshawa:
Compassion in Action: Understanding and Responding to the Language of Pain
- March 3, 31 & April 7, Sunderland:
Make a Scrapbook About Your Child presented by Precious Minds Resource and Learning Centre
- March 4, 11 & 18, Toronto:
Story-Telling Through Mask and Music
- March 17, Durham Region (location TBD):
Supporting Children and Youth with a Dual Diagnosis
- March 18, Ajax:
Understanding and Supporting Parents of Children with ASD
- March 27 & 28, Durham Region:
ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training)
- March 28, Ajax:
Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorder
- March 29, Whitby:
Addressing Challenging Behaviours exhibited by Children with Autism and other Special Needs
- April 11, Ajax:
The Power of Roles
- April 14 & 15, Toronto:
Suicide Prevention, Intervention and Postvention Strategies
- April 16, Toronto:
Critical Incident Group Debriefing
- April 17, Ajax:
Professional Communication
- April 17, 18 & 19, Markham:
Understanding Your Audience ... Creating and Implementing Social Learning Curricula
- April 21, Oshawa:
Child Abuse and Duty to Report
- April 21, Chatham:
Introduction to Dynamic and Postural Reflexes
- April 23 & 24, Hamilton:
Stages of Autism: Adolescence & Beyond Conference
- April 25, Ajax:
Social Life Skills Game
- April 25, Ajax:
Sexuality - Information and Strategies for Those Supporting Children and Youth with ASD
- April 26 & May 3, Whitby:
Developing Reading & Reading Comprehension Skills for Children with Autism
- April 26 & May 3, Whitby:
Toilet Training for Children with Autism and other Special Needs
- May 3 (& April 26), Whitby:
Developing Reading & Reading Comprehension Skills for Children with Autism
- May 3 (& April 26), Whitby:
Toilet Training for Children with Autism and other Special Needs
- May 3, Mississauga:
Advocating for Appropriate Special Education
- May 14, London:
An Evening with Dr. Peter Szatmari: Autism: How far have we come?
- May 22-23, Chatham:
Integration of Dynamic and Postural Reflexes
- May 24-27, Chatham:
Integration of Dynamic and Postural Reflexes
New presence online!
Month's of hard work have finally paid off - the new Job Quest website is now online. Along with a major reorganization (dividing the site into sections for job seekers and employers), we have totally re-written and re-organized the content of the website so that it is more user-friendly and informative. In particular, we have added extensive FAQ and links sections. Our job seeker website includes pop-up definitions of some terminology to helps visitors to understand the content. We are also very pleased that our brand new brochures can be downloaded from the new site.
Local webmaster and designer John Anderson - of namebrand - has done a great job creating our new look and building our site. John worked closely with Kristin McKinnon of KDM Program & Management Services. Kristin facilitated the planning, coordinated the development and wrote the text content for the new website.
Job Quest is an employment centre that offers specialized supports and services. We help people who have a disability or other impairment to find and keep a good job. We also help employers to find trained, skilled workers - helping them to save on the costs of recruitment, training, supervision and employee turnover by finding the best person for the job.
Visit today at http://www.job-quest.ca and let us know what you think of our new online presence!
