Planning for Progress

Buddy has been a valued employee of the Paul Bunyan Thrift Shop for many years, and, he was recently welcomed as a new member of the Parents & Friends safety committee. One of Buddy’s goals involves taking paid time off from his day job in order to dedicate time to his column, BUDDY ASKS, which appears in our monthly employee newsletter. Yesterday, as he was heading to his office work day, he found some money on the ground and turned it in.  When we arrived at the office, we had an unexpected visit from Salvador Vera, Knights of Columbus Council # 8187, who made a generous donation to Parents and Friends, Inc. of the proceeds from their annual Tootsie Roll Drive. Buddy was on hand to accept!
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​In addition to interviewing employees to learn more about them (over twenty, so far), today Buddy upped his game by beginning to type up the articles himself. Buddy is a natural, and everything he learned about typing came right back to him. It was a great day of progress. He even tried an Avocado Roll for the first time! Buddy didn’t leave until we had a date chosen for our next work date together. Buddy’s self-advocacy ensures that his needs and desires are known, which then allows him opportunities to make progress on his goals, leading to a more satisfying and self-directed life of his own design. Bravo, Buddy!

Thanks to a grant from The Redwood Coast Regional Center, Parents and Friends is pleased to be able to offer a 2-day Person Centered Planning training course to our day program clients and support staff, which will provide the skills needed to gain insight into themselves, thereby enabling them to better support the individual needs of others. This grant will also allow PFI to certify two in-house trainers so that we can deliver this very important training all of our employees. Happy New Year!

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