This accreditation decision represents the highest level of accreditation that can be awarded to an organization and shows the organization’s substantial conformance to the CARF standards. An organization receiving a three-year accreditation has put itself through a rigorous peer review process. It has demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an on-site visit its commitment to offering programs and services that are measurable, accountable, and of the highest quality. 

Opportunity Partners is a nonprofit organization with offices throughout the Twin Cities area. It has been providing services for people with disabilities since 1953.

In addition to its three-year accreditation, Opportunity Partners was awarded “exemplary conformance” for its Certified Learning Platform program which provides training in collaboration with Dunwoody College of Technology The program, piloted in 2010 with a certificate in professional cleaning, has recently completed several classes in retail services. A third certificate program, office assistant, is now under development.

“I am proud to work with a team of employees that supports and demonstrates the high quality level of performance and services as defined in the CARF accreditation report,” said Opportunity Partners President & CEO George Klauser. 

CARF is an independent, nonprofit accrediting body whose mission is to promote the quality, value, and optimal outcomes of services through a consultative accreditation process that centers on enhancing the lives of the persons served. Founded in 1966 as the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, CARF establishes consumer-focused standards to help organizations measure and improve the quality of their programs and services. For more information, refer to http://www.carf.org

Opportunity Partners – redefining “disability” through advanced learning, deep community support, and meaningful work – proving that everyone, when given the opportunity, adds value to our world.  Help redefine disability – become a partner in our cause at http://opportunities.org/

The cost of the dinner is $7 for adults, $4 for children under 12, and $30 for families of 5 or more. Tickets are available at the door.

The menu includes spaghetti with meatballs or meatless sauce, salad, bread, dessert and a beverage. Take- out is also available. Guests will also have a chance to tour Opportunity Partners and learn about available programs and services.

Opportunity Partners is a Twin Cities nonprofit organization serving 1,500 people with disabilities each year through employment, residential and training programs that build independence and shape a richer community.

For more information about the event, contact Opportunity Partners at events@opportunities.org or 952-930-4286.

Funds raised will be supplemented by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.

Opportunity Partners – redefining “disability” through advanced learning, deep community support, and meaningful work – proving that everyone, when given the opportunity, adds value to our world.  Help redefine disability – become a partner in our cause at www.OpportunityPartners.org.

Julie Olson Topp Employer of the Year Award, Whole Foods Market

Emily Stockinger of Whole Foods Market accepted the Julie Olson Topp Employer of the Year Award. The award spotlights a company with an inspirational strong work ethic. Whole Foods Market’s dedication to hiring workers with disabilities whenever it can and proactively contacting Opportunity Partners with job openings made them the perfect recipient for this year’s award.  

Whole Foods Market is the leading natural and organic food retailer with more than 300 stores and $9 billion in sales last year.

Laura Zemlin Employer of the Year Award, General Mills

The Laura Zemlin Employer of the Year Award recognizes a company that provides outstanding supported employment work opportunities in the community. Twenty Opportunity Partners participants currently work at one of three General Mills locations each week. The award was accepted by General Mills’ Mike Hon.

General Mills’ quality brands began with Gold Medal Flour in 1880. General Mills is now home to some of the world’s best-loved brands, including: Betty Crocker, Green Giant and Cheerios.

Customer of the Year Award, Graco  

The Customer of the Year Award is presented to a company that has provided exceptional work opportunities to Opportunity Partners’ participants. Since 2004, Graco has provided 5,000 hours of work for people with disabilities each year. Everyday, up to 10 people package a variety of filters and strainers for the company. In 2010, more than 200,000 units were packaged for Graco. Karl Hurston, Strategic Sourcing Manager at Graco, accepted the award.

Founded in 1926, Graco is a world leader in fluid handling systems and components.  

New Customer of the Year Award, Lunds & Byerly’s

Julie Griffin, Director of Lunds & Byerly’s’ Private Brands, accepted the New Customer of the Year Award. In the last year, a 100-person workforce from Opportunity Partners packaged more than 70,000 tubs containing 35 varieties of candy.

Lund Food Holdings Inc. owns and operates 10 Lunds’ and 11 Byerly’s’ supermarkets in the Twin Cities and surrounding areas.

The awards were presented by Opportunity Partners’ President and CEO, George Klauser. Four Opportunity Partners participants helped present the awards: Andy Tanghe, Katie Worrell, Jake Kukla and Michael Young.     

About Opportunity PartnersOpportunity Partners, a nonprofit organization, has been satisfying customers since 1953 with its talented workforce of people with disabilities. Today, the organization helps more than 1,700 people with disabilities live, learn and work successfully each year through employment, training, and residential programs that build independence and shape a richer community.

 Opportunity Partners – redefining “disability” through advanced learning, deep community support, and meaningful work – proving that everyone, when given the opportunity, adds value to our world.  Help redefine disability – become a partner in our cause at www.OpportunityPartners.org.

Looking to make the center cost effective and efficient, it decided to reach out to a workforce demographic that hadn’t been tapped in large numbers before – people with disabilities.

Randy Lewis, Walgreens’ senior vice president of supply chain management, who has a son with autism, came up with the concept.

Lewis used Walgreens’ story as an example when he spoke at “Celebrate Opportunity – An Executive Networking and Business Recognition Luncheon,” Nov. 1 at the Doubletree Park Place in St. Louis Park. Minnetonka nonprofit Opportunity Partners and the TwinWest Chamber of Commerce hosted the event, which about 400 business people attended.

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For every dollar Opportunity Partners receives up to $10,000, it will be matched dollar for dollar. The donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, is a long-time Opportunity Partners family member.

To give on November 16, go to www.givemn.org/opportunitypartners 
Thank you for your generosity!

The program should boost job opportunities and eventually greater independence for people with disabilities. The certified training program is designed around existing jobs and employer needs, and developed into course curriculum by Dunwoody’s Custom Training & Continuing Education department. Opportunity Partners adapts the curriculum to be delivered to students with disabilities. Arc’s Value Village Thrift Store & Donation Center serves as the training site. Currently, five students ages 18-21 are taking part in the pilot program. Once they graduate from the five-week program, they will earn a joint certificate from Opportunity Partners and Dunwoody College.

Guests mingled as they enjoyed a hand-crafted menu created by local chef Philip Dorwart. The evening also featured Minneapolis’ very own “Cheese Guy” Patrick Moore, demonstrating a live mozzarella pull – a huge hit with the attendees. Food stations included such delights as Portobello sliders on brioche buns and hand-rolled pasta featuring pork-tomato ragout. Guests also had the chance to bid on a private dinner with Opportunity Partners participant and aspiring personal chef Matt Gotham, and on a cheese and wine party with the Cheese Guy.

An evening highlight was when attendees heard from participant Mya Smith, who has lost 200 pounds by exercising and eating right.  “At Opportunity Partners I take cooking classes that teach me how to make healthy meals,” Mya told the audience. “I learn to chop fruits and vegetables, use the stove and follow recipes.  My favorite thing to cook is spicy chili.  In my free time I like to play sports, like softball, to stay fit, too.  In the future my goal is to live on my own in an apartment.”

Sponsored by Mickey and Bob Pajor, the event raised more than $20,000. A special “Fund A Need” for the evening raised dollars for Opportunity Partners’ health and wellness initiatives for people served by the organization.

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If you would like to join our e-mail list to learn about future events, contact events@opportunities.org

The certified training program is designed around existing jobs and employer needs, and developed into course curriculum by Dunwoody’s Custom Training & Continuing Education department. Opportunity Partners adapts the curriculum to be delivered to students with disabilities, and Arc’s Value Village Thrift Store & Donation Center serves as the training site. Currently, five students (ages 18-21) are taking part in the pilot program. Once they graduate from the five-week program, they will earn a joint certificate from Opportunity Partners and Dunwoody College.

The need for increased employment opportunities for people with disabilities is great, as illustrated in an eye-opening national study by The Arc.

According to Still in the Shadows with Their Future Uncertain, a report on Family and Individual Needs for Disability Supports (FINDS) issued by The Arc in June 2011:

Once it was assumed people with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities couldn’t work.  In 1988, only 21,000 people with I/DD were participating in supported/competitive employment in the U.S.; by 2006, more than 117,000 people were participating in supported/competitive employment.

The report conducted online from July 2010 to October 2010 had 4,962 participants. 85 percent of families reported that adult family members with I/DD were not employed, either full-time or part-time.

Of the 15 percent who said their family member was employed, only 41 percent worked in a regular job in the community, and only just over half of them earn at least minimum wage.

“With our expertise in how people with disabilities learn, Dunwoody’s experience in curriculum development, and the opportunity to use Arc’s Value Village stores for community-based training, we make a dynamic team for people with disabilities who want to train and succeed in employment,” said Opportunity Partners President & CEO George Klauser.

This is the second certified educational track in which Opportunity Partners has collaborated with Dunwoody. The first program, professional cleaning, was launched in 2010.

 “We want to raise the bar on employment of people with disabilities,” said Kim Keprios, Chief Executive Officer of Arc Greater Twin Cities. “Having a job opens doors to a better life. Work brings us purpose, greater financial security, and social connections and friendships. We all want to take pride in what we do and in knowing we are contributing to the community.”

Enrollees earn $7.25 per hour during the training. The pilot covers three levels of retail associate training and on-the-job work experience. Both Opportunity Partners and Arc Greater Twin Cities have raised funds through donations and grants to supplement the cost of the pilot.

Opportunity Partners is a nonprofit organization serving 1,700 people with disabilities annually through employment, training and residential programs. Opportunity Partners – redefining “disability” through advanced learning, deep community support, and meaningful work – proving that everyone, when given the opportunity, adds value to our world. www.OpportunityPartners.org

Arc Greater Twin Cities is an advocacy organization whose mission is to secure for all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families the opportunity to realize their goals of where and how they live, learn, work and play. www.Arcgreatertwincities.org

Founded in 1914, Dunwoody College of Technology is a private, not-for-profit, endowed institution of higher education. It is one of the few institutions of its kind in the nation, and has been a champion of applied education throughout its history. Its mission is to provide students with a high-quality technical education that results in an immediate job and a fulfilling career. Located in the Lowry Hills neighborhood next to downtown Minneapolis, Dunwoody College offers bachelor’s and associate’s degrees in a variety of technical fields. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. www.dunwoody.edu

About Opportunity Partners’ TBI Metro Services: TBI Metro Services, which also has an office in Richfield, expects to expand its footprint in Dakota, Washington and Ramsey counties with the move. The relocation will also grow the brain injury program’s employment training program with the addition of a classroom and a production area. In addition to training, TBI Metro Services offers community integration and inclusion, vocational services, and independent living skills for people who have survived brain injury.

Opportunity Partners currently serves nearly 60 people with brain injury out of the West St. Paul office.

About Opportunity Partners’ Autism program, Spectrum: Sharing office space at the West St. Paul location is Opportunity Partners’ new program for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other disabilities.  Licensed as a Day Training & Habilitation provider, Spectrum opened in July and will serve up to 14 individuals by the end of 2011 and 30 by late 2012.

The program is community-based, meaning participants will gain greater independence and employment skills by participating in community activities such as shopping and budgeting, accessing public transportation, volunteering, on-the-job training, and similar vocational activities.