Coyne and Company Insurance provides jobs for Avenues clients

At a recent meeting of the Avenues to Independence Board of Directors, one of the Board members spoke of his experience with Job Placement.

He has a small business and decided to hire one of the clients of Avenues for light office work.  He is most impressed with the young man’s abilities and even more so with his work ethic.  He is always cheerful and always on time.  In fact, the other folks in the office are showing up on time now, too, because of the example set by the new employee!

Also praised was the work of the job coach and how he is able to support the employee.  The job coach takes on the responsibility of teaching the job to the employee and is available should any issues arise.

While the job coach was in this office, he suggested that some cleaning help might be appropriate, so now two more Avenues people have increased their working hours.

If you know anyone who could use a little extra help, Avenues is a great place to find excellent workers.

Lightning Take 4th at State, Andy Dominates

      March Madness has come to an end, but a little less known, possibly more exciting basketball tournament has already taken place this year.  The Special Recreation Association state tournament has swept through Bloomington, IL and with it brought some very intense competition.

      Avenues’ very own Andy led the Lightning to a very impressive 4^th place finish.  How did they accomplish this you might ask?  Well, it would be impossible to deny that Andy’s incredibly tenacious defense led the way.  This season Andy focused on all aspects of the game, but what really made the difference in making the state tournament was his Dennis Rodman like rebounding ability.  When Andy was on the court, you could almost guarantee that any missed shot would end up in his hands, a huge advantage for any team.

Go Lightning!

      With everything all said and done, Andy looks back on the 4^th place finish as a total success.  Not only did the tournament prove that the Lightning are a great team, but the experience was something Andy will never forget.  The much anticipated trip down to state included meals out on the town and of course spending the night away from home.

Congratulations Andy!!!  

All your hard work throughout the season certainly paid off!!!      

Good luck in the upcoming softball season!!!

Living Gluten Free in 2013

When the Avenues computer lab opened last summer the hope was to be able to teach our clients computer skills.  However for many clients it has had a much greater impact on their lives.

Jenny has been learning computer skills but she has also gotten so much more out of her weekly visits to the lab.  Jenny was diagnosed with Celiac disease several years ago which meant she had to completely eliminate gluten from her diet.  At the time she did not have access to the internet and living a gluten free lifestyle felt very limiting to her.  Thanks to Marissa, the computer lab instructor, Jenny was been able to gain access to an entire online gluten free community. 
 

Every Wednesday Jenny is able to spend an hour in the computer lab looking up gluten free recipes she would like to make at home.  Jenny’s favorite website EZ Gluten Free even has videos she can watch to help her decide whether or not a recipe is worth printing out.  Once Jenny gives the recipe a thumbs up Marissa helps Jenny learn the skills to be able to print out the recipe to add to her collection.

Jenny watching a video on how to make Gluten Free Tex Mex Chicken Lasagna  

Not only has Jenny been able to look up gluten free recipes but Marissa has also helped Jenny find websites that tell her what frozen meals and restaurants offer gluten free options.  Before Jenny felt like she was always being told what she couldn't have and now she can walk into the computer lab and say exactly what she would like to eat. This particular day Jenny was in the mood for lasagna and Chinese food.

Jenny with her folder full of gluten free recipes