Employment Services

Our goal through employment services is to match jobs with every individual who wants to work. Our job developers and job coaches work hard to ensure the success of both the individual and the employer: the individual by providing necessary supports; the employer by helping them meet their business goals through their employees.

Individuals served in Orange Grove day services are encouraged to consider employment as their first and best option. To that end, vocational options are discussed at least annually with each individual, and evaluations can be done any time to help assess strengths and areas of needed improvement. Orange Grove supports the individual seeking a job in various ways, including accompanying the individual to job fairs, accessing employment resources available in the community, and working with local employers to understand the benefits of hiring a diverse work force, and to identify and eliminate possible barriers to employment.

Have you ever bought a grout kit at Home Depot? Wondered who puts together Headlight Renew Doctor kits found in stores all across the country? Considered how many pens Gold Bond, Inc. in Hixson imprints every year? 

Some of the individuals we serve have been key partners in the success of those products! 
 

For many years, we successfully brought in jobs to Orange Grove where individuals worked on campus. Now, more and more, individuals work at an employer's work site, or at least in jobs where they are engaged for a good part of the day with people in the community.
 

Amy Annerton started coming to the day program at Orange Grove in 2005 and soon moved into a residential home to gain independence. Her first job was at the Industrial Training Center where she worked on different jobs for companies like Gold Bond, Inc. Amy always wanted to have a "people-facing" job, but she struggled with anxiety, which held her back from thriving in work and the community. 

Through working and encouraging, Amy's overcome her anxiety and has transitioned well into new roles. She now works five days a week assisting customers at the DuPont Recycling drop off. Amy's work is extremely important to her. She loves her job helping customers unload the recyclables from their cars and hates when she has to miss work. 

Amy also loves community service like volunteering with the Ladies of Endurance #874 Order of the Eastern Stars and playing bingo with the elderly at a local nursing home. She attends Abba's House every Sunday with her housemates, where she participates in the "Sonshine" class before the service. 

In her free time she enjoys doing word finder puzzles, but she loves spending time with her nephews most of all. Orange Grove staff member, Felecia Wilson, uses an extensive list to describe Amy: "happy, funny, bubbly, great sense of humor, thoughtful, unforgettable, friendly, and fun to be around", and sums it up by saying "she'll make your day every day." 

Amy is a great representative of Orange Grove and embodies the mission to recognize, support, and celebrate the qualities of the the individual.

Contact us to become an employment partner.