Page 36 - October 2015

A gift for the Gift Shop
Lodge 7 Program gives students from Easter Seals school work experience
As part of its ongoing partnership with Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago, Chicago Lodge 7 will soon have some new employees in its Gift Shop. In October, post-secondary stu- dents from the Easter Seals Autism Therapeutic School Chicago will begin working part-time to assist with processing apparel deliveries.
These students are part of the Employment
Readiness Program at Easter Seals, which pro-
vides individuals with disabilities job experi-
ence across diverse environments. Local
businesses and organizations partner with
Easter Seals to provide employment, internship, or volunteer opportunities. These partnerships provide the students with increased opportunities for careers and independence, the acqui- sition of industry-specific skills, and the development of soft skills and expanded social opportunities. Experiencing competitive employment while still in school increases their chances of finding a job after graduation.
Students at the Gift Shop will start off by working a short shift on one day a week, and will be accompanied by a job coach from
Easter Seals who will help them learn the neces- sary skills for the job. The first tasks the students will focus on will be folding and labeling t-shirts. The task couldn’t be a better fit, as the students already have experience doing similar tasks at HarrysButtons.com at Easter Seals, a micro-enter- prise which makes buttons, and also produces heat-pressed custom designed t-shirts and uni- forms.
The partnership is exactly what the employment team at Easter Seals looks for: the ability to train stu- dents on a particular skill in the school setting, and
then transfer that skill to a real-life employment setting.
Be on the lookout for updates about how the student employees are doing, new skills they are learning, and more developments with this great partnership between Easter Seals
Metropolitan Chicago and Chicago Lodge 7.
For more information on the Easter Seals Metropolitan
Chicago Employment Readiness Program please contact: Jason Reis, Employment Specialist at 312-432-1751 or jreis@east- ersealschicago.org,
‘Magnificent’ response leads to life-saving effort
The Magnificent Mile is “magnificent” not only because of its high-end shops, but because Lodge 7 members patrol it. They are always ready to “Serve and Protect,” as was the case on the
afternoon of March 24. Officers Michael Lawrence and Sergio Valdez, from Bike Unit 211 rolled into action to save a life that day.
As they patrolled the Magnificent Mile they were stopped by several “hand wavers” who informed them of a man lying on the road, unresponsive. Without hesitation, the officers responded to find a 75-year-old man without any vitals. Officers Lawrence and Valdez immediately started life sav- ing measures under challenging condi- tions; providing first aid and controlling
traffic at the same time. After being taken to the hospital, it was reported later that the man was in stable condition thanks to the both of these officers.
For their heroic efforts, Officers Lawrence and Valdez received an award from the Hispanic Illinois State Law Enforcement Association at the annual banquet on Sept. 12.
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