Remembering Linda Dickerson

Posted on by Mallory Draisma

Pictured above: Ms. Dickerson (bottom left) pictured with other former chairs of the Life’sWork White House Dinner

We at Life’sWork offer our deepest condolences to the family of Linda Dickerson following her passing on September 26, 2020. Ms. Dickerson was a champion for people with disabilities and worked tirelessly to support organizations providing opportunity to those who need it, making an impact that will be felt in our community for generations to come. We honor her memory as a relentless and passionate voice on behalf of individuals seeking to overcome barriers to enjoying a full and purposeful life.

Ms. Dickerson was very active in the Pittsburgh nonprofit community through consulting work, fundraising, and advocacy. As a member of the disabled community herself, she was committed to finding paths to independence for individuals with disabilities and was a living testament to inclusion – at home, at work, or in the community. Her monumental accomplishments included the successful campaign to make the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) federal law in the early ’90s.

Life’sWork was among the many non-profit organizations Ms. Dickerson supported in Southwestern PA. We had the pleasure of working alongside Ms. Dickerson during her 11-year tenure as a member of the Life’sWork Board of Directors and in her role on the Ambassador’s Council. From 1997-2008, she guided the agency on a multitude of initiatives, including the era of transition from the Vocational Rehabilitation Center (VRC) to our current name. Her input helped to shape Life’sWork as we know it today.

Thank you, Ms. Dickerson, for being an inspiration to us all to keep working toward creating a community where everyone belongs.

Keeping Hydrated Thanks to Creekside Springs

Posted on by Mallory Draisma

Life’sWork would like to give a huge thank you to Creekside Springs!​ ​Creekside Springs is donating 30 cases of bottled water to support the ​Life’sWork of Western PA 29​th Annual Golf Invitational​. We are so grateful to Creekside Springs​ as they provide quality through their people, product and services. Through Creekside Spring’s generous donation, our golfers will stay hydrated in the hot august heat!​ ​

Creekside Springs is a​ ​local supplier​ of bottled water. The company bottles water that comes from their protected natural springs which are located in Salineville, Ohio. Creekside also operates bottling facilities in Ambridge, PA. Their spring water is never treated with any harsh chemicals or additives and is very refreshing and helps us all stay healthy and safe! All of Creekside Springs water is of the highest quality. In addition to following quality protocols of the SQF Institute and GMP, they are also inspected by the FDA, PA and OH Department of Environmental Protection, NSF, IBWA and the Bureau of Food Safety.

Thank you, Creekside Springs!

Safe in Style

Posted on by Mallory Draisma

Life’sWork would like to extend our deepest expression of gratitude and thanks to the North Pittsburgh Quilters Guild (NPQG). NPQG generously donated over 300 unique hand sewn masks. They arrived right when we needed them the most! This helps us to ensure the safety of our clients and staff as they begin to return to our facilities. Thank you for offering us the resources we need to operate with the safety of our clients in mind!

Requiring masks in our facilities is just one of the ways we are taking action to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We implemented temperature checks and screenings for everyone who enters our facilities and are practicing diligent cleaning and sanitization for all surfaces and areas. In addition, work stations are set up for social distancing and we implemented limits on the number of clients in the building at once. We also developed policies for staff safety to limit potential spread of the virus.

Our clients were excited to come back to work, and we want to ensure that all of our services operate with their safety at the forefront. It is extremely important to us that our clients and staff stay and remain as healthy as possible; we cannot thank NPQG enough for helping us to implement our safety policies in style. Lots of time is spent cutting, assembling and sewing the masks and we appreciate all of your hard work, time and generosity!

Proactive Steps to Address COVID-19

Posted on by Mallory Draisma

Our main goal is to ensure the safety and well-being of all individuals who receive services or who visit our facilities. Due to the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and increasing concerns in our community, this letter is to inform you of the steps that Life’sWork of Western PA is taking to reduce the risk of infection.
We remain open at this time. We will continue to monitor the situation on a daily basis and will inform you if that changes. Based on recommendations from Centers for Disease Control and discussions with senior leadership at Life’sWork, the following actions are now in place:
1. Ongoing disinfection of our facilities – We will continue to clean and disinfect our facility on a daily basis, which includes but not limited to bathrooms, tables and chairs in our production area, tables and chairs in our cafeteria, floors, doorknobs, railings in stairwells, and elevator buttons.
2. Staff Recommendations – All staff have been given guidelines to follow to practice good hygiene, which includes washing their hands upon arrival to work (mandated), stop handshaking, avoid touching their faces, and covering coughs and sneezes with the crux of the elbow. In addition, if meetings are needed they will occur in open, well-ventilated spaces. Staff will be sent home if they have signs of an illness.
3. Client Recommendations – All clients are encouraged to wash their hands upon arrival to work, before breaks, and before lunch. Staff will supervise to ensure proper cleaning techniques. Also, clients must not share food with each other. Again, staff will monitor this and politely remind them to not share. In addition, individuals will be encouraged to stop handshaking/fist bumping/etc., avoid touching their faces, and cover their coughs and sneezes with the crux of their elbow. Client caregivers will be contacted to make arrangements if the individual shows any signs of illness.
4. Visitor Requirements – Any visitor who enters our facilities must wash their hands or use hand sanitizer, which will be available at the front desk upon entering the building.
We understand that this is a stressful and uncertain time in our lives. We believe that the efforts listed above provide common sense solutions given the information we have today. We strive to provide our services in a safe and healthy environment and look forward to continue to work with you and all our participants to help them reach their personal goals. Please contact Chris Phelps at (412) 471-2600 x.330 or cphelps@lifesworkwpa.org with any questions or concerns.

Announcing the 2020 Business Partner of the Year Honorees

Posted on by Mallory Draisma

Honoring the 2020 Business Partners of the Year: Pitt Logistics and Printing Services, Panera Bread - BkSq, and Little Earth Productions.

We are thrilled to announce the 2020 Business Partner of the Year Honorees! This year, we are recognizing Pitt Logistics and Printing Services, Panera Bread – BkSq, and Little Earth Productions. These area organizations have made a commitment to diversity and inclusion by supporting our clients and our mission in many ways.

The Honorees

At Pitt Logistics and Printing Services, clients work in the Pitt Surplus Property warehouse on e-Waste and technology recycling projects. As a part of the recycling program there, Life’sWork clients completely disassemble and remove old hard drives so they can be destroyed as the last line of defense for data security. Pitt hired clients in the Small Group Staffing program to work at the warehouse three days a week, and they have been an immense help on the project!

Over in Bakery Square, another one of our clients has been busy at work as a front-of house associate at Panera Bread. Ronald was placed at the Bakery Square location as a part of our Supported Employment program and has been in his position for nearly a year, with great success! Supervisors were eager to take Ronald on to the team, and the staff who work alongside him have quickly become friends and enjoy the shifts they spend together.

Little Earth Productions hosts small groups of clients as a part of the Community Participation Initiatives program, which aims to get clients out and involved in organizations throughout the community. They provide packaging and quality control projects for clients to take on alongside the regular warehouse staff. Little Earth designs and produces sports fashion apparel and accessories for professional and college teams across the country – including the Pittsburgh Steelers’ own Terrible Towel, a favorite of our clients!

Join us!

The 2020 Business Partner of the Year Honorees will be recognized at the 2020 Growing Dreams Gala, taking place on March 26th at Phipps Conservatory. Tickets are available for purchase here.

Life’sWork Is On The Move

Posted on by Mallory Draisma

We are thrilled to share with you some exciting news about the future of our organization!

For some time, the leadership at Life’sWork has been conducting a systematic evaluation and assessment of our building on Forbes Avenue. The services we provide, particularly to the clients in our Direct Employment program, have evolved since we first opened our doors here in 1970; many of our clients now have the opportunity to spend much more time outside of our facility, whether in integrated work settings at businesses throughout the region as part of our Small Group Staffing Solutions program, or engaging with many different organizations through community participation experiences alongside peers and staff.

As a result, the space we have on Forbes Avenue is no longer ideally suited to meet our current and future needs. In order to provide the highest quality services to our clients, we began looking into a variety of options. It became apparent that relocation would be the most advantageous economic choice and would allow us to modernize our operations so that we can best serve our clients.

Map showing the location of Duquesne University, Uptown neighborhood, and new site on the South Side
Life’sWork is moving across the Monongahela River to Pittsburgh’s South Side.

The Weitzman Building on Forbes Avenue has served us well for nearly 50 years. The facilities were designed to fit the specific needs of our organization, including being fully accessible and barrier-free for clients with disabilities. It has allowed us to grow and expand in ways that were likely never imagined by the team who broke ground in the Uptown Pittsburgh neighborhood in the late 1960’s. We are looking forward to continuing the work that we do at our new location in Pittsburgh’s South Side, where we have found a space at the River Park Commons development on Sidney Street that will allow us to create a more engaging environment for our clients and staff.

The space is being customized specifically for Life’sWork to meet our programmatic and our clients’ needs. We are very excited about the facility and feel very confident this will be a positive change for our organization. The transition to the new space will take place in the late spring of 2020 and we anticipate completing our move prior to June 30, 2020. Until that time, our daily operations will remain the same at the Forbes Avenue facility.

River Park Commons building with the 23rd Street bridge in the background
The new Life’sWork headquarters will be in the River Park Commons business complex at 2403 Sidney St.

Duquesne University will buy the building and campus facility on Forbes Avenue. The school plans to construct an 80,000 square foot building for its new College of Osteopathic Medicine. Construction will begin in 2021 and they plan to open in 2023. We are proud that this new development will be so beneficial to all of our neighbors in the Uptown community and the City of Pittsburgh; it is a win all around!

The quality of our services will not be affected. Our goal for this relocation is to better serve our clients in a more holistic way, offering more opportunities to engage with one another as well as the Pittsburgh community.

We are excited about this next chapter in Life’sWork’s near century of service and are looking forward to continuing our mission and evolving to meet the needs of those we serve.

Project Spotlight: Black Locust Lumber

Posted on by Mallory Draisma

In the past few weeks at Life’sWork, we’ve been very busy working with Black Locust Lumber to create over 135 Proflow pavers that will be used as earth-friendly walkways in parks around the world. It’s one of the many ways that we are working to develop a thriving community!

Community Impact

Today’s buildings account for 18% of global emissions, and that could double by the year 2030 if new earth-friendly technologies are not implemented. That’s where Black Locust Lumber comes in: they specialize in green building materials – products that have low environmental impact in production, installation, and maintenance. Black Locust Lumber has a strong desire and passion for sustainability and creating a healthier planet.

By working with Black Locust Lumber, Life’sWork contributes to the Pittsburgh 2030 District’s mission and leads our community in sustainability. The 2030 District strives toward 50% reductions in energy use, water consumption, and transportation emissions by 2030, while improving indoor air quality. We are supporting Black Locust Lumber’s cause to create a better planet by manufacturing their wooden pavers right here in Pittsburgh! Our partnership can help make the earth a greener and healthier place.

Process

Our journey with Black Locust Lumber began when we met co-founders Stubby and Maria Warmbold through a Green Building Alliance (GBA) partnership here in the Pittsburgh 2030 District Project. They told us that they wanted to give back to the community, so Stubby coordinated a visit from their headquarters in Hungary for a tour of our facility to gain a better understanding of all the services that we provide at Life’sWork. They were touched by our clients, our mission, and the work that we do, and wanted to provide our clients with work that would make a difference in their community by being earth-friendly and sustainable. From there, a partnership was created, and Stubby and Maria came back to Life’sWork for a training session to teach our clients how to assemble the wooden pavers.

According to our clients in the Direct Facilities Based Employment program, putting together the wooden pavers is a very smooth process. First, blocks sent to us by Black Locust Lumber are separated into two different boxes by size. The blocks are then set down in jigs that format the pattern of the pavers – some blocks have red X’s, which indicates that they go in the jigs with the marked side facing upward. Wire mesh is placed on top and stapled onto the corners of each block. Once the paver is assembled, it is stacked on a pallet and shipped out to Allentown to be part of Black Locust’s next project in sustainability!

Partnering with Life’sWork

At Life’sWork, we take pride in our innovation and high quality of services for persons with disabilities or other barriers to employment. Projects like this tie back to our vision of being one of the foremost business resources in Western PA, and we are always looking for more ways to partner with businesses to positively impact the community.

If you are interested in a business partnership like this one or would like to learn more about our services, please contact Babs Sefiane at bsefiane@lifesworkwpa.org.