"Ohio Valley Goodwill Welcomes Special Guest at NEW Work Center!"

L to R: Frank Lengel, (SODC), Paula Smith, OVGI, Leslie McCurley, OVGI, Kevin Brown, OVGI and Troy McCollister, (ODDD) Ohio Valley Goodwill was delighted to welcome Asst. Deputy Director Troy McCollister from the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities to its brand new Eastside Rehabilitation Services Center on Thursday, June 2nd. Accompanied by Frank Lengel, Program Director from SODC (Southwest Ohio Developmental Center), the Asst. Deputy Director was excited to tour Goodwill’s newest program offering in Clermont County which currently serves 14 individuals from the Developmental Center.Ohio Valley Goodwill’s welcoming committee and tour guides included Leslie McCurley, Asst. Director of DD Services, Paula Smith, Eastside Supervisor, and Kevin Brown, Program Participant. The tour which lasted for approximately 45 minutes allowed the Asst. Deputy Director to meet and speak with all 14 of the program participants as well as the members of the staff support team. Mr. McCollister commented at the end of the tour that he was impressed with how individuals were engaged in the program and the work opportunities provided as well as the interaction between the workers and the staff team members.The new Ohio Valley Goodwill Rehabilitation Services East is located at 4247 Grissom Drive in Batavia, Ohio and represents a precedent-setting cooperative agreement between the Clermont and Hamilton County Boards of Developmental Disabilities to serve eligible individuals from both counties. The new Eastside program offers paid work training opportunities which are both facility and community-based; door-to-door Goodwill van transportation service as well as a recreational option. The community-based work opportunity aspect of the new program includes retail merchandizing at Goodwill’s Beechmont store. The Beechmont store option will include tasks such as display assembly, clothes hanging and price tagging as well as customer service skill training.For a tour of the new Ohio Valley Goodwill Rehabilitation Services East program, please contact Sharon Hannon, Marketing Specialist at (513) 771-4800, ext. 6364 or email: shannon@cincigoodwill.orgOhio Valley Goodwill is grateful to Asst. Deputy Director McCollister for his recent visit to  its new program and to both the Clermont and Hamilton County Boards of Developmental Disabilities for their support of the new Eastside Center.