These are difficult times. Each of us are facing different forms of uncertainty, fear and grief. Sometimes it helps to remember that there's a TON of good happening in the world right now, and some of it is right in our backyard. Today, we want to share a few things that made us smile.
It's time for some good news.
Our job-training program, GEM, may be temporarily closed, but no one told that to the garden! The garden is bursting with fresh produce, and we're taking this as an opportunity to give back to our community. We're donating 50% of all the produce we grow to individuals experiencing homelessness and at-risk seniors. The other 50% is available for purchase through our monthly CSA subscription. Our safely-handled CSA boxes can be delivered or picked up. Interested in signing up? Email Josh at josh@connectics.org.
We're so incredibly happy to report that today, every ICS client and staff member are healthy. These past few weeks, the essential services that we provide have transformed from life-changing to life-saving. A huge thank you to our staff who have stepped up in amazing ways to support the physical, mental, emotional and financial health of our clients.
Clayton, a long-time client of ICS, wanted to say thank you.
As protective gear and hygiene products are increasingly hard to find, we want to give a big shout out to Lightning Spirits, Alley 6 and Young & Yonder, who have donated gallons of hand sanitizer for our staff.
After 5 years of practice, Renee got her driver’s license! While Renee excelled at the driving portion of the test, the timed written test was a challenge. For the last six months, Renee has taken weekly literacy training with our Social Enterprise Director, Josh. Together, they worked through practice tests until Renee was ready to take the test on her own. Renee, who started at ICS as a client, has been a staff member since 2017.
"I'm so proud of myself for taking the time out for my literacy. I finally accomplished something that I've been trying so hard on for years. It finally paid off. I thank Josh so much for taking the time out to tutor me." - Renee