Employment Opportunities Provide Valuable Work Experience for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

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Annual Mailing Project Becomes a Holiday Tradition for Lifeworks, Ballin Law

Lifeworks, a nonprofit human services provider in Westwood that supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, announced that clients in its Employment Services program partnered with Ballin & Associates, LLC (Ballin Law) for the fourth straight year to complete its holiday mailing project.

The partnership with the Foxborough-based personal injury law firm creates opportunities for individuals in the Lifeworks program to gain meaningful hands-on work experience.

“This kind of project gives the participants skills and experience to grow into permanent employment moving forward,” said Lifeworks Job Developer Rich Donahue. “Individuals learn skills that are important to today’s employers: the importance of meeting deadlines, following directions and attention to detail. We appreciate Ballin’s continued support.”

The mailing project includes filling envelopes, affixing mailing labels and stamps, and transporting the finished material to the post office. The Ballin Law project team consists of four workers each day, overseen by a Lifeworks job coach.

The employees, who receive job training and placement services through Lifeworks Employment Services in Norwood, are paid a competitive hourly wage and the job coach is provided at no charge to the employer.

“Our partnership with Lifeworks has become a holiday tradition,” said Attorney Steven Ballin. “By engaging the Lifeworks Employment Services program, we know the job will be done well, on time and on budget. We’re pleased to be able to provide an opportunity for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to gain real-world work experience.”

Local organizations interested in engaging the supported work services of Lifeworks to meet business demands can contact Rich Donahue for more information at rdonahue@lifeworksarc.org or 508-404-7902.