Anathoth House, Inc... a field of restoration, Jer. 32
Double 301.751.4870
Southern Maryland News wrote an article about Melwood, an organization that helps the disabled find jobs and they gave a nod to our foundation. We are so very proud to have had Melwood be an integral part of our volunteer team, while we operated in Southern, Maryland. Look forward to how we with with local agencies in Vance County, NC.
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Fun with Friends Keeps Melwood Employee on Job
In The News....
All in a day’s play: Connie Riggs begins her workday by picking up longtime friends Shirley Frazier and Mike Westin from their homes in Waldorf and Mechanicsville. From there, it’s up to them how they spend the day.
It’s a unique job description, but one that fits Riggs perfectly. The Nanjemoy resident grew up with cousins who had disabilities, and knew from when she was young that she wanted to work with disabled people.
“I never wanted to do anything else,” she said. “I just always loved working with them.”
Riggs has worked 30 years at Melwood, the Upper Marlboro-based nonprofit which provides services to people with disabilities, and spent most of them job coaching and as a worksite supervisor, overseeing 16 individuals working custodial jobs at the Holiday Inn in Waldorf and acting as a de-facto liaison between the hotel and the nonprofit. She’s known Frazier and Westin since she first started at Melwood, so when both were among the five individuals included under the organization’s new Community Connections program three years ago, Riggs leapt at the chance to be their coordinator.
Most of the disabled people served by Melwood fit into its
traditional employment or campus-based day programs. But occasionally there are those who cannot hold down a steady job and are also too advanced to enjoy, or are overstimulated by, the day programming, said Kimberly Visek, who oversees Community Connections and the Waldorf-based Personal Enrichment Program........(click here to read article in its entirety).
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Won't you join us at the
Southern Maryland's Food Bank Hunger Conference
Jaycees of Waldorf, MD
Please stay tuned for further details!
Staff photo by JEFF NEWMAN Connie Riggs of Nanjemoy, a 30-year Melwood employee, supervises while Shirley Frazier of Waldorf puts together dinners for the homeless at Anathoth House, an outreach ministry and food pantry in Waldorf.
The Melwood participants are an integral part of our volunteer team, arriving on a regular basis at our pantry to help with cooking, baking and clean up. Their responsibilities promote individual growth while their services help us to help others. Melwood is a non profit organization that creates jobs and opportunities to improve the lives of people with disabilities. Assisting us in the kitchen is yet another way for the participants of Melwood to maximize their independence and inclusion in the community.
