Kim's Story, Voila! Essential Skills, A Cozy Fundraiser, Warm Your Soul Winter Soup No Images? Click here JANUARY 2019The Learning Exchange is proud to offer an entrepreneurial learning environment! This month, we celebrate some of our enterprising learners and classes! Meet Kim in this month's Learner Story and discover the strength that comes from asking for help! Learn about the many creative ways learners contribute to our social enterprises and come up with some enterprises of their own! Learner Story: Kim Guimond (Voila!) I came to the WES Program in 2014. I wanted a job and liked that the program offered on-the-job experience. I have a hard time with numbers, so the program really helped me with my math. My teacher would help me and was good at explaining things. I also learned how to get up in front of people and really enjoyed meeting new people. Graduation was especially exciting and I did a presentation in front of everyone. One of my favourite parts of class was making the natural cleaning products for Voila! I enjoy working with essential oils and really loved the smell. After WES, I worked with a coach through WorkLinks and she helped me get a job cleaning. I worked there for over two years so I was really disappointed when they lost a contract and I got laid off. I went back to WorkLinks and was looking for a job again. I really want to keep working. I have arthritis but I really want to keep myself mobile. I just want to keep moving! This time, I got a job with Voila! Cleaning Services. I’ve been working there since December and I love it. I get to work with the Voila! natural cleaning products that I used to make in class. I enjoy cleaning and when I struggle on the job, I can talk to my boss, Tina and she helps me. I’m really proud that I had the courage to come to the Learning Exchange and ask for help getting a job. I used to be scared to ask for help. Now, at my age, I know that I can’t be scared anymore. I’ve learned you got to ask questions! The Business of Building Essential Skills: Learners Make Natural Cleaning Products Voila! Essentials all-natural cleaning products have been manufactured by learners since 2015, when we began to supply our cleaning company Voila! with product. Since then, business has grown and these products can be purchased at the Impact Market for home use. Making these products is an exciting hands-on learning opportunity and teaches the benefits of natural products, as well as elements of business and manufacturing, and of course, numeracy and document use for the workplace. More recently, our learners have taken on more responsibilities related to the business, including refining inventory management and ordering procedures. Learners, with the support of a facilitator and skills coach, learn skills like teamwork, communication, time management, problem solving, and so much more, by participating in running the business. A Cozy Enterprise: WESLinks Raises Funds for Healthy Snacks Some WESLinks learners were coming to class hungry and finding it difficult to concentrate. The class discussed fundraising ideas to help purchase snacks for the class, and one of the learners offered to donate handmade coffee sleeves. The learners pitched their idea to the Impact Market team, created marketing materials, and started selling Coffee Cozies in mid-December. The initiative has raised over $80 to date. Based on feedback, the team are now selling Mug Cozies, handmade with local sea glass and ceramic buttons. Thank-you, Chelsey, for donating your beautiful handmade Cozies, Impact Market for selling our wares, and gratitude to all who purchased Cozies to support the healthy snack program! Coffee cozies are $2 each or 3 for $5. Pick up a cozy today and you can grab a coffee at Stone Soup Cafe while you're here! New Core Literacy Pilot Project Shares Recipes To Warm Your Soul and Build Writing Skills In January, the Learning Exchange launched a new Core Literacy Program in response to the needs of students from several of our regular programs. In this program, learners are building their reading and writing skills through a variety of individualized activities. One of the principal writing projects the class is working on is a Cookbook, hopefully to be published and sold in the Impact Market. We offer you a sneak peek with this perfect winter soup recipe! Warm Your Soul Chicken Soup Serves 8/Prep 20min /crockpot cook time 6+ hours. Ingredients2 chicken breast (boneless) 2 boxes chicken broth (no or low salt) 2 onion diced 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables 0.25 tsp ground ginger 0.5 tsp cayenne pepper 0.5 tsp paprika (hot or sweet) 0.5 tsp oregano 1 tsp curry, 1 tsp parsley, 2 tbsps. unsalted butter Pinch of black and white pepper
Method Set Crockpot to high cooking setting Add diced onion, chicken breasts, chicken broth, and spices to crockpot. Cook 5 hours with occasional stirring Shred chicken with fork Add frozen vegetables Add butter immediately before serving Serve in warm bowl with grilled Parmesan toast ENJOY! If you are looking for support achieving your academic or employment goals, The Learning Exchange has a program for you. Our staff and facilitators are ready to learn about your unique goals and help you create an individualized plan for success!
The Learning Exchange is a leader of social innovation in our community. We have created a number of services for the socially minded consumer. We pride ourselves in looking outside the box to provide our customers and program participants with the highest quality service. Our bottom line at The Learning Exchange has always been the success of every individual that walks through our doors. When people reach their full potential, our whole community benefits. We seek to share these stories in hopes of inspiring new stories of success and community engagement. |