The Diamond Willow

December 2015
Kaposia invests in the
prosperity of people
with disabilities and
the profitability of our
partners.
The Diamond Willow
by Kelly Merchant
James Strand hated his walking stick. He fought using it for many years, feeling
that this walking aid created an outward appearance that suggested he was
unable to live a physical and independent life. “People think you can’t carry
stuff when you have one,” James explained. Unless he was reminded, James
often left the stick at home, stashed in a corner and argued that he didn’t need
it. All he wanted was for people to see him for what he is capable of. The truth
was, not only can James carry his groceries, he can dead lift 130 pounds and
competes in a weightlifting contest every year.
James is a nature and animal photographer.
See his work at nalastrand.weebly.com
One afternoon late in 2014, James had a terrible fall and was put on medical
leave for nearly a year. According to a neurologist, James would have to use a
walking aid to assist with his balance if he wanted to remain safe. He reluctantly
began using his walking stick once again.
It was mid-summer of 2015 when James began going on informational interviews
with his Career Consultant. They were out one particular afternoon, walking
down the street when they encountered a middle-aged man in their path. “The
diamond willow…” he spoke in an enchanting tone. It took them a moment to
realize that the man was speaking to them.
“Excuse me?”
“Every man has a walking stick whether it’s visible or not, and he should carry
it proudly,” the man explained. “You should carve one out with your own hands
and continue to shellac and stain it so that you can be proud of your piece
of art.” The man disappeared as quickly as he arrived and they both turned
around to make sure this man hadn’t disappeared into thin air.
When they got back to James’ apartment, they were still absorbed by the
mysterious man and this diamond willow he spoke of. Their curiosity drew them to
his computer where they looked them up online. What they found were beautiful
pieces of wood warped into diamond-shaped segments with alternating colors.
James was intrigued and asked to see one in person. They headed to a shop
in Bloomington and there in the back was a collection of unfinished diamond
willows. James looked at them with inquisitive eyes, removing them from the
bin one by one and testing them out. James walked to the cash register, placing
a diamond willow on the counter along with a few other tools he was planning to
purchase. The cashier proceeded to ring up only the tools.
“You forgot the diamond willow,” the cashier was reminded.
“Oh,” the cashier replied, touching his forehead, “I thought it already belonged
to you.” A smile appeared on James’ face - it was as though it was always meant
to be his. After the purchase, James put his old walking stick into a forgotten
place at home and placed the diamond willow in the living room where people
could see it. He gave it special care and applied a finish on his own.
THIS ISSUE
Tilting at Windmills.. . . . . . . . p a g e
Important Questions. . . . . . . p a g e
It’s a Game Changer. . . . . . . p a g e
Levi Goes Wild.. . . . . . . . . . . . p a g e
~and much more!
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Unfortunately, James soon learned that the diamond willow is a fragile piece of
wood and while visiting Crosby Park one afternoon, the stick broke under James’
weight. When asked if he wanted to get another, James had other plans. “I like
working with my hands,” James said, “and I have wood working equipment at
home.” He picked up a fallen branch of an elm tree that day and said that he
would work on creating one himself.
Throughout the Discovery process, “nature” and “being physical” have surfaced
many times as strong themes in James’ life. It looked as though they were
showing up yet again. For the first time, James sees the walking stick as a part
of himself.
Tilting at Windmills
Last year, Kaposia partnered with TLC Toys to deliver
handmade toys to children around the Twin Cities. Mel
Hartman, the founder of TLC, has been making toys and
partnering with other people and organizations for over 25
years and so far has donated over 250,000 toys. These
hand-made toys are amazing. Everything from classic cars
to jewelry boxes to wooden dinosaurs were collected and
distributed to kids in need.
Two of the toys were especially coveted by me: A very
cool looking dragon and a knight on horseback. (Cue the
music…)
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
Sometimes in our quest to assist individuals we serve
in achieving prosperity, we have run across those who
believe our ideals are simply unrealistic. Many of us have
been told we need to take off our rose-colored glasses, we
are too idealistic, and/or we simply don’t understand that
not everyone can work. They say increasing employment
will hurt services for those who are too disabled to work.
I strongly suspect some of these same people still use a
rotary phone.
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause
Kaposia strongly supports the tremendous changes
that are coming in our industry. Local, state, and federal
government agencies are working to improve policies
and practices to encourage increased employment
participation of people with disabilities in integrated,
competitive employment.
To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star
Recently a series of articles were published in the
StarTribune regarding services for people with disabilities.
These articles have created a great deal of emotionally
charged responses.
Some are upset as
they feel the articles
were too one-sided
and unfairly criticized
the dedicated staff
who provide the
services. Personally,
I feel these articles
are a wonderful
opportunity.
For
too
long,
our
industry has been
underfunded,
focused
on the wrong outcomes,
and ignored the wishes of
people with disabilities.
from the desk of the CEO
JON ALEXANDER
This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
The National Core Indicators recently did a survey of people in
MN receiving day services. NCI found that more than half of the
people who were not working in the community wanted a job. And
of those that wanted a job, most did not even have a goal to find
one. And yet, there are some who continue to say that the wishes
of people with disabilities are being ignored as we implement an
Employment First Policy.
And I know if I’ll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I’m laid to my rest
So I’m going to admit that I grabbed two dragons and a knight
for myself. They are sitting in my office to remind me that while
there are times I feel like I’m tilting at windmills, change is coming.
New winds are blowing and new policies and flexible funding are
being explored. State agencies, providers, families, advocacy
organizations, employers, educators, and others are working to
create a route to prosperity for people with disabilities.
And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star
Great Gala!
The Kaposia Gala was held on September 26th at
St. Catherine’s University. The evening started with a
cocktail hour where guests had the opportunity to bid on
numerous silent auction items, including everything from
autographed, framed Terrence Fogarty prints to “KFAN’s
Preposterous Statement Tournament” tickets.
The
highlight of the evening was an inspiring story spotlighting
Jessica Knoepfler who, along with her parents, partnered
and purchased Just Paws Pet Salon. Jessica’s example of
working hard, seeking support from the right people and
believing in herself shows us all that dreams can come
true. Geri Jewell, a gifted comedian and actor, wrapped
up the evening by making us laugh while still gaining an
appreciation for the seriousness of her message.
by Josh Reuter
With your help, Kaposia was able to raise over $10,000!
Thank you also to our generous sponsors:
The William and Eleanor Nickles Family
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Important Questions
by Heidi Maghan and Carol Rydell
One of the most commonly asked questions when we talk with people about job development and the Discovery
process is:
How long does it take to find a job?
The usual answer is that it varies based on the customer and their commitment
to partnering with us. Our goal has been to cultivate jobs using Discovering
Your Personal Genius™ in 6 months or less. According to the US Bureau
of Labor Statistics for citizens who became employed in September, it took
them 26.3 weeks to find a job. That’s about 6 months. When we looked
at our own data using Discovery, we found 42% of our customers secured
jobs that matched their vocational themes in 6 months or less. A year ago
that percentage was 28%. Our data also shows that 71% of our customers
found jobs in less than 9 months. As we continue to work the process and
hold customers accountable for working with us, more and more individuals
will hit that 6 month mark. It feels good to know that many of our customers
find jobs in about the same amount of time as other citizens; but that first
question leads us to another important one:
What is the job retention for individuals using the Discovery
process?
One of the reasons Kaposia utilizes Discovery is that it results in a better job
match – the key to long-term retention. We invest time and energy up front in
learning more about each jobseeker because we know people are successful
in jobs that are right for them and are unsuccessful with jobs that are not.
Traditional job development focusses on applying for existing advertised jobs
and then working to “fit” the person into that job. It provides much less
opportunity to customize the job than Discovery does. Using the Discovery
process has greatly improved job retention for the people we serve. The job
retention rate using Discovery is 82 -86 %. Before Discovery, it was about
65-70%.
It’s been a good year at Kaposia by the measures that we most value. Our customers tell us they would
recommend Kaposia to others. We are finding jobs more quickly without compromising quality. We continue to
get better at using Discovery to find a job match that results in long-term success on-the-job by linking jobseekers
and employers in a win-win situation. We developed 46 jobs this year, and every student we served through our
grant with the Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities found a job! We continue our commitment to
get better and better at working with jobseekers, their support team and employers to ensure each person who
wants a job will have the opportunity to do so and to demonstrate to the general public, the abilities individuals
with disabilities bring to the workplace.
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one step ahead...
SUCCESS
It’s a Game Changer
by Samantha Lane
Colin is a young man with an affinity for video games. He has
visited a plethora of video game stores and gaming-minded
groups and quickly found it’s a tough industry! But he also
continued to learn from each meeting and noticed what
would align with his skills and interests. As someone seeking
employment for over a year, it would be easy to become
disheartened with the employment search. However, Colin has
made such incredible strides from his very first info meeting
when he was too nervous to go in, to a year later being able to
attend a last minute appointment.
One of Colin’s meetings tipped us off to a game company in
Roseville. This company was unique because it wasn’t just a
store, but an actual game publishing company that designs,
develops, and publishes an array of board, card, digital,
roleplaying, and miniature games.
We first connected with Fantasy Flight Games back in
February 2015 for a meeting with their HR manager to learn
more. The meeting went very well and we had hopes for a
possible warehouse position opening in March, but due to
some warehouse restructuring, that did not move forward.
After more months of not hearing anything and pursuing other
environments, we checked the website again in August 2015
and noticed they were hiring. After putting in an application
and connecting with HR again, the excitement began! It took
much patience waiting the three weeks for the background
check and logistics to fall into place before receiving the actual
job offer, but it paid off. While Colin is not working directly on
the development of video games, he has the opportunity to
connect with folks who love games and video games just as
much as he does.
Colin started in the warehouse September 29th working 5
days a week. Warehouse supervisor, Tony, had in mind a
couple of projects to help Colin get used to the environment.
Some projects they’ll work as a team, but much of Colin’s
time is spent independently. The warehouse can be a
very busy and noisy environment at times. Colin brings his
headphones and listens to PodCasts – which is something
new he learned about after speaking with coworkers the first
day.
Working 40 hours a week proved to be very stressful for Colin.
So after a couple of weeks, he approached his supervisor
about the possibility of working less hours. Tony and the
whole team at FFG has been very supportive of Colin and
accommodated his request to shorten his day.
One day when Colin was working he said, “This is definitely
different than my other job. I’m enjoying the fact that everyone
is so kind here, and that I’m a part of the warehouse team.”
It’s so exciting to see how Colin has grown and persevered
over the last few months. And how much individual,
competitive employment can help change the trajectory of
someone’s life.
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Levi Goes WILD!
customer profiles...
by Samantha Lane
SUCCESS
Levi L. was new to the Twin Cities and eager to work. As a young man with a
Hospitality Certificate program at Central Lakes Community College behind him
and over 4 years of working full-time in the summers at his hometown grocery
store in Fargo, Levi had an idea of what he liked and what he didn’t like, but was
willing to explore more. Sports and Athletic Awareness immediately rose to the
top of Levi’s Discovery Themes list. When we were testing this theme, he was
able to have a meeting with the Warehouse Manager for the MN WILD at the
Xcel Energy Center.
Levi enjoyed the environment and what that would entail. However the
warehouse has less frequent hiring needs, so the manager encouraged Levi to
pursue a position in the Hockey Lodge. If you’ve ever been to a WILD game, you
know the Hockey Lodge. It has every shirt, sweatshirt, hat, and memorabilia in
forest green and red that you could possibly imagine. Levi was excited to check
it out. A couple weeks later we met with the Hockey Lodge manager, Kyle, who
answered our many questions, and conducted an interview to get to know Levi
and see how he could fit with his team.
A week later, Levi was offered the job! His first night was the very next day for
the last pre-season home game. Levi relies on public transportation and his
commute to work is just one quick bus down West 7th. Details like that, as well
as the supportive atmosphere and team environment at the Lodge, helped Levi
transition quickly into his new job. He has so many helpful coworkers he can
go to with questions at any time. Levi says his favorite part of working at the
Hockey Lodge is seeing all the customers and helping them however he can.
Congratulations to Levi!
Go WILD!
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Non-profit
US POSTAGE
PAID
TWIN CITIES, MN
Permit No. 4438
Fall 2013
Kaposia invests in the
prosperity of people
with disabilities and
the profitability of our
partners.
Chief Executive Officer:
Jon Alexander
Editors:
Scott Stivers
Carol Rydell
Josh Reuter
Kelly Merchant
223 Little Canada Road E.
Suite 100
Little Canada, MN 55117
651.224.6974 TTY • 651.224.7249 FAX
WWW.KAPOSIA.COM
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