Superhero with Down Syndrome Flies High in New Children’s Book

by Grady Chambers | Aug 11, 2021 | News, Participant Stories, Participant Stories - 2021

Clark Kent, Wonder Woman, Black Panther, and now Joey in the red cape! The superhero pantheon is welcoming a brand face, thanks to Melissa Brown’s inspiring children’s book, “The Ups and Downs of a Very Special Superhero.”  The book tells the story of Joey, a boy...

A Big Role as ‘Big Bird’ for Nate at Sesame Place

by Grady Chambers | Jul 15, 2021 | News, Participant Stories, Participant Stories - 2021

In what certainly makes the top 10 of our Cool Jobs list, we’re celebrating Nate today and his role as Big Bird at Sesame Place. To Nate, being Big Bird is a big responsibility. Growing up, he was a frequent visitor to the Sesame Street-themed park, attending as often...

Project Career Launch Sends Students Into Bright Futures

by Grady Chambers | Jun 22, 2021 | News, Participant Stories, School to Work Transition

We’re excited to wrap up the graduation celebrations of our four Philadelphia-area Project SEARCH and Project Career Launch programs with these snapshots from the PCL ceremony!  In the program’s second year, the student outcomes have been incredible: John’s got a...

Eric Turns his Passion into his Profession at Motivate Fitness

by Grady Chambers | Jun 17, 2021 | News, Participant Stories, Participant Stories - 2021

Meet Eric, who’s putting his college education to work at Motivate Fitness PA, where he was recently hired as an Apprentice Trainer with the goal of becoming a Certified Personal Trainer. Eric shared his story in Motivate’s May newsletter, and it’s one of resilience...

Tremaine Finds his Stride at Royal Farms

by Grady Chambers | Jun 10, 2021 | News, Participant Stories, Participant Stories - 2021

Congratulations to Tremaine, who is coming up on his 1-year anniversary at Royal Farms in Georgetown, DE! This milestone is even more important because the job at Royal Farms is Tremaine’s first in a fully integrated setting. Previously, his work experience had been...

Nic Brings a Green Thumb to His Job at Lowe’s

by Grady Chambers | Jun 8, 2021 | News, Participant Stories, Participant Stories - 2021

Have you ever wondered who keeps your store-bought plants and flowers looking so good before you bring them to your home? Meet Nic, garden-care extraordinaire at Lowe’s in Brookhaven. Hired in May, Nic brings a green thumb to his job in the Garden Center. We recently...

Justin Helps Community Get Its Medicine

by Grady Chambers | May 27, 2021 | News, Participant Stories, Participant Stories - 2021

Talk about a tech-forward job! We’re marveling at Justin and his role at ChristianaCare Pharmacy in Wilmington, DE, where he’s learned the ins and outs of working “The Robot,” the silver machine in the background that sorts pills for patients’ medications and orders...

ACME’S “Mr. Clean” Shines at Work

by Grady Chambers | May 19, 2021 | News, Participant Stories, Participant Stories - 2021

When ACME in Rehoboth Beach, DE came up with a comprehensive all-store cleaning regimen during the pandemic to ensure customer and employee safety, they needed someone to carry it out, and they certainly found the right man for the job. Meet Keith, pictured, who has...

CIS Places 36 People in New Jobs in April

by Grady Chambers | May 5, 2021 | News, Participant Stories, Participant Stories - 2021

April’s showers sure didn’t slow things down here at CIS: we’re excited to announce that 36 participants (!) began new jobs last month across Pennsylvania and Delaware.Madison got hired at NEST, Philly’s all-in-one playspace and child education center; Nate landed a...

Local Favorite ‘Dance Happy Designs’ Featured on the TODAY Show!

by Grady Chambers | Apr 30, 2021 | News, Participant Stories, Participant Stories - 2021

It may have been Earth Day, but we were absolutely over the moon to see one of our favorite businesses featured on the Today Show!!! This morning’s show spotlights Dance Happy Designs, a sustainability-minded screen printing business based just outside of Philly and...

Nick Celebrates Five Years on the job at GIANT

by Grady Chambers | Apr 20, 2021 | News, Participant Stories, Participant Stories - 2021

Baseball season might be back, but it’s Nick who’s knocking it out of the park: he just received his five year pin in honor of five years on the job at Giant Foods. He was hired in 2016, and since then he’s developed new skills and carved out a front-facing role he...

School-to-Work Services Help CJ Find Employment Success

by Grady Chambers | Mar 3, 2021 | News, Participant Stories, School to Work Transition

We couldn’t be more excited today to feature CJ, a CIS participant who’s been crushing it in his position at Kalan LP.  We first connected with CJ through our school-to-work transition services, with give high school students with disabilities real-world work...