It had been over a decade since the last Life’s WORC walk event, so anticipation was high for the Walk for WORC Force on September 18, 2022. It turns out, it was worth the wait!
Life’s WORC Board of Directors Vice Chair Vanessa Rogan was not only instrumental in bringing the walk back, but she and her family were the event sponsors as well. With help from fellow Board Members including Lynne Koufakis and family; John Murn, who supplied over 35 cases of Next Level Water; David Feldman and Imperial Cleaning; as well as staff support including Family Advocacy Committee Chair Robin Havens, Director of Development Tina Moreno and Development and Events Coordinator Jennifer Velasquez, the event was a huge success.
“WORC Force will be a first-of-its-kind training program to open in 2023,” said Vanessa Rogan. “It will be a multi-purpose community center that will offer a range of programs for individuals with autism, special needs and developmental disabilities to enhance and develop specific skills for the workplace and beyond. Your participation in and support for Walk for WORC Force helps those dreams come into closer vision and will help build confidence and find purpose for the individuals we support.”
The event energy level was high from the very beginning, with music and promotional support provided by radio station K-Joy 98.3 as well as Life’s WORC’s very own DJ Drew, who helped lead a group exercise with some warm-up instruction by Maya Snaith and Rishard Hill, from Residential Services.
The Chaminade football team volunteered to assist at the walk, helping with set up, encouraging the crowd along the route and distributing lunch boxes to the people we support and their families at the end. In addition, our Day Habilitation program set up a booth selling Life’s WORC and WORC Force merchandise made by the Cricut Club, offering t-shirts, water bottles and more.
In addition to refreshments, post-walk festivities included games and a bounce house, thanks to help from the team from the Family Center for Autism including Robert White, Assistant Executive Director of HR, along with FCA Director Astrido St. Surin and Coordinator Lonnell Harrington who oversaw the various activities. Emilee Samtani, Senior Director of HR assisted with organizing staff and family member volunteers, and the walk marked Chief Administrative Officer Michael Billia’s inaugural event as a member of the Executive Team, and he pitched right in helping with setup. Representatives from all departments were on hand to assist in any way possible, and our Human Resources team happily spoke with members of the community that stopped by to learn more about career opportunities at Life’s WORC.
Sincere thanks to Vanessa Rogan and all of our sponsors for making Walk for WORC Force 2022 a huge success.
For even more photos from the walk, visit our Facebook page and Photo Booth photos: