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We are pleased to share our very own Emely Taveras is featured as the “VIA of the Month” with Sephora. This marks her second month with the company and she is already making a fantastic impression. Emely began her job search with Opportunity Works at a few other companies. She found herself discovering her real passion for cosmetics, and starting on a path to what she described as her ‘dream job’. With the help of her job developer and Interlocks of Newburyport in aiding her with interview practice combined with her vast knowledge of brands and uses for make-up products, Emely secured herself a position as a Beauty Advisor with Sephora. We are so proud of her!

Please read below the accolades presented by one of her Sephora managers.

We are pleased to announce our VIA for the month of August, Emely Taveras for her PASSION. Emely joined our team in July as part of Opportunity Works as an operations advisor. Celebrating her as our VIA winner was an easy choice. To anyone who meets Emely, her passion for beauty is abundantly clear. She gets excited when unpacking newness and is always eager to learn more. Emely always has great attention to detail. She’s assisted tremendously in getting our backstage in tip top shape. Her passion for the client is evident as she is always greeting clients while putting away shipment on stage.

Our “Wicked Cool Room” in Newburyport created these amazing “seed bombs” out of compostable materials with local wildflower seeds to celebrate Earth Day. They even look like Earth! They are plant-able and helpful to the bee population.

Fact: There are more than 20,000 distinct bee species around the world, and more than 4,000 in the U.S. alone. For much of the past ten years, beekeepers, primarily in the United States and Europe, have been reporting annual hive losses of 30 percent or higher, substantially more than is considered normal or sustainable.

Fact: Many factors are influencing the decline of bees, including habitat fragmentation, increased use of neonicotinoid pesticides, colony collapse disorder, and climate change

Fact: Bees are indispensable pollinators of most ecosystems. There are 369,000 flowering plant species, and 90% of them are dependent on insect pollination.

Fact: Usually, a honeybee can visit 50-1000 flowers in one trip. Therefore, if each bee takes ten trips a day, a colony with 25,000 forager bees can pollinate 250 million flowers in a day.

Fact: Many species of animal dependent on bees for their survival because their food source, including nuts, berries, seeds, and fruits, relies on insect pollination. Pollination not only makes food available for other organisms but also allows floral growth, which provides habitats for animals, including other insects and birds.

Information from: www.Earthday.org

This summer one of our lovely program rooms in Newburyport, currently named the “Wicked Cool Room” visited a guinea pig sanctuary. They helped feed the pigs, but guess what…they aren’t pigs. The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig, also known as the cavy or domestic cavy, is a species of rodent belonging to the genus Cavia in the family Caviidae.

My sincere and heartfelt Thanks for all you do every single day!  You make an incredible difference in the lives of the people we support.

Thank you!

Ken Moran, Chief Operating Officer

Click here to read the thank you notice from the Executive Office of Health & Human Services with the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services

Check out what the staff and folks are up to in the Wicked Cool Room in our Newburyport Location. They are propagating and growing succulents!

Learn along with us, if you are unfamiliar with the process

Photo Description: Nori, a vulture, wearing a red ball gown is perched on a tree branch with big black sunglasses. Matching red heals are at the bottom of the tree and someone is taking photos of them. The second panel looks like a dream with fog around the edges with a movie marquee reading “Now Starring…Nori”. The third panel is, without fog, a sunrise over Opportunity Works with Nori snoring away on her branch.

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Photo Description: Nori, a vulture, is tired and siting on a tree branch. Text reads “I think it’s time for a break.” Second panel is a robot Nori on the same tree, replacing Nori. The third panel is various postcard from Nori skiing and visiting the Hollywood sign. Text reads “meanwhile…” and one of the postcards reads “wish you were here.”

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As many of you know we are in the process of moving our Community Based Day Program to the lower level of the Haverhill site. Everyone has been working diligently to furnish, decorate, create schedules for the opening this month. Here is a sneak peak of what we have been working on! We will keep you updated on all changes and the start date of the grand opening!

Happy Memorial Day from OW. Here are some letters our folks wrote in honor of our fallen soldiers.

If I could thank a fallen soldier, this is what I would say…

Thank you so much for your bravery and your sacrifice. You’re an amazing and tremendous person. I’m truly blessed and I will honor your memory in so many ways. Our country is free and stronger with your bravery and sacrifice. For the rest of my life I would put fresh flowers on your grave on each Memorial Day because of your contribution to make this country safe for all of us.

Signed: James D.Keith

Dear Fallen Soldier,

I would like to thank you for your service and for all that you did in protecting our country from harm during the war. Your sacrifice and bravery is something that not only I, but the whole nation would like to honor you for. I also would like to thank you for being a true inspiration to all American citizens of every kind and for honoring our government for making our great country a free nation to live in. Our free nation would never have been in patriotic conditions it you did not serve in our wonderful military. In final thoughts, I would really like to thank you very much for be a true and loyal hero of honor, bravery, and trust for serving in our inspiring armed forces in protecting and representing our free nation.

Signed, Greer Candage

Dear fallen soldier,

I want to thank you for your service to the United States of America. I respect and honor you even though you are no longer with us. When I think of you as a fallen soldier it makes me happy because I know you sacrifice your life for our country and our freedom. After learning more about why Memorial Day so important I know now that you as a fallen soldier have sacrificed so much for the lives of the American people. Finally, I want to thank you again for your service to this country and Rest In Peace.

Sincerely,

Brianna caissie