Dear Editor

My name is Karrie Dorothy, with all the negativity in the world, I would like share with you a positive story from Leavenworth, Washington and how this is making an impact on the lives of many people.

I work for Tierra Village, here in Leavenworth, (www.tierravillage.org). Tierra Village is a non-profit which supports adults with developmental disabilities. We have an Adult Family Home, Coyote House, A Day Program, TRAILS, and Employment Services.

I work in Employment Services, where we assist adults with developmental disabilities with employment. We assist our clients through the entire process from figuring out what they would like to do, talking to business owners and managers, helping with the interview process, and finally assisting them at the job site while they learn new skills.

I would like to tell you about one particular client. His name is Charles. Charles lives in an adult family home in Leavenworth and is Employed at Safeway in the bakery department. Here, some of his daily tasks are panning up cookies and boxing up doughnuts, pricing, and packaging. Charles is always excited and enthusiastic in whatever he gets to do. As an employment Consultant I get to have the opportunity to help train Charles and job shadow him in the bakery at Safeway.

With Charles being employed it helps him be a part of this great community and have a sense of purpose. Charles is an enthusiastic ray of light and brings a lot of joy to customers and employees of Safeway. I've learned so much from Charles every day; to find joy and happiness in the smallest of things.

Charles was nominated Employee of the month for February 2023. It's a very big deal to receive such a distinguished award, being as there are so many hard-working employees there. Along with Charles, Tierra Village has employed two other clients at Safeway and other areas in Leavenworth, The YMCA after school program at Alpine Lakes Elementary school and at the Recycling Center. The Leavenworth community and businesses come together to support our clients with employment and support Tierra Village. Sincerely, Karrie Dorothy, Employment Consultant, Leavenworth