As an amputee, George believed there wasn’t a job that he could do. Several years ago due to an illness, George lost his leg and now utilizes a wheelchair.
In October 2020, George was referred to Eggleston’s Collaborative Community Connections (C3) program, which is dedicated to ensuring that vulnerable populations, specifically individuals experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness have the opportunity for viable employment.
During his initial intake meeting, George shared with Mary Clark, his Eggleston C3 coordinator, he only agreed to meet because his transitional housing agreement requires all occupants to work. “George seemed petulant and moody at first. I wasn’t sure how things would go with George, but then I got the right call from a local employer” said Mary.
On November 23, 2020, Mary received a call from Madison Hahn at CozyPure. They were looking to fill an entry-level position picking apart compressed natural latex LaNoodles used in many of their products.
One week later, George and Mary toured Cozy Pure, and George completed a working interview. During the tour, George was smiling and laughing; and when the owner asked if he had any questions, his reply was: “When can I start?” George was hired on the spot and started the very next day.
“I contacted Mary at Eggleston to see if she could assist us for a somewhat unconventional activity we needed someone to perform. She brought George to our shop, and we had him start the next day!” – Madison Hahn
After George’s first day of work, he appeared excited about his job and shared with Mary what a great day he had. On his second day, he talked about how nice it was to get out of his room, having something to do, and how nice all the staff were at work.
Today, George works five days-a-week. He is responsible for separating, by-hand, the natural latex LaNoodles used in organic pillows and organic mattress toppers. He is also learning to sew so that he can jump in and help out in other parts of the business when they need him.
“Our ‘LaNoodler’ is a pretty important task because the quality of our product depends on this material being filtered, sifted, and properly loosened before we can use it; George understands this criteria and has such a great attitude! He gets in early, sets weekly goals, and completes the assignment on-time, every time. So far, it’s a big win for us and hopefully for him, as well.” – Cheryl Hahn, Owner
Click to learn more about our Collaborative Community Connections (C3) program.