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Author: Companies That Care

Companies That Care Leadership Opportunities

Written by Companies That Care on . Posted in Careers & Volunteers.

There are a variety of leadership opportunities with Center for Companies That Care. 

Our Governing Board is responsible for preserving our mission and values and holds fiduciary responsibility for the effective and responsible oversight of the organization.  Fundraising is a major responsibility of the Governing Board. 

Our Associates Board works to increase the reach of the programs through which we fulfill our mission.  They are mentored by the Governing Board and have opportunities to participate in the inner workings of the organization. 

The Advisory Board offers input, ideas and expert advice to our Management and Board of Directors.

Our Policy Boards contribute ideas and resources that shape, refine, and enhance the delivery of our programs and initiatives.  The AIM High Policy Board focuses on mentoring programs for college bound high school students from under-served and low-income urban communities.  The Invisible Differences Policy Board focuses on educational and career planning programs for teens and young adults with neurobehavioral disorders.

Please complete this form  to tell us about your interests and experience and to become a candidate for one of our Boards.

 

Mentor Team Recruitment Plan

Written by Companies That Care on . Posted in Careers & Volunteers.

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Individual Approach

  • Contact your first contact 
    • Contact them again until you get a response

    • Tell them about AIM High

  • Ask if their company is willing to learn more about forming mentor teams
  • Repeat with your second contact
    • If yes, ask who the decision-maker would be
    • Ask your contact if s/he would let the decision-maker know about a forthcoming invitation from AIM High to schedule an informational meeting and encourage the decision-maker to participate
    • If no, contact your next contact and begin again

 

Alternatively, there is the

Team Approach

  • Hold a meeting with all mentor teams at your organization to create a Mentor Team Prospect Listof your contacts’ employers
    • Next to each employer on list, include name of mentor who put them on the list
  • Prioritize the contacts from Most Confidence to Least Confidence for willingness to attend a meeting to learn more about forming AIM High mentor teams
  • Mentors contact each of top 5Most Confident prospectsRepeat until 5 prospects have agreed to attend meeting or have exhausted list of prospect names
    • Tell them about AIM High
    • Ask if their company is willing to learn more about forming mentor teams
      • If yes, ask who the decision-maker would be and get contact info for the decision maker
        • Ask your contact if s/he would let the decision-maker know about a forthcoming invitation from AIM High to schedule an informational meeting and encourage the decision-maker to participate
    • If no, ask how best to invite the decision-maker
  • Send contacts’ info to Dara Stigdon (darastigdon@companies-that-care.org) no later than Friday, October 25
    • Decision-maker
    • Initial contact at prospect employer
    • Mentor who identified prospect employer

 Thank you for reading through this request.  Click here to be entered in a raffle to a $100 prize. (Please include “Mentor Recruitment Raffle Entry” in the subject of the email.)

Invisible Differences Research

Written by Companies That Care on . Posted in News & Announcements.

The Prevalence is Invisible but Large

More than 20% of children today (an exponential increase from a generation ago) have been diagnosed with disorders that interfere with learning and working; these disorders are often invisible to the eye. They don’t, however, limit one’s intellectual abilities.  Unfortunately, as a group, they are not finishing college and are underemployed. Consequently, employers are missing out on talented employees and society carries the burden of caring for capable adults who could be supporting themselves.

Which colleges provide the best learning and social environment for students with Invisible Differences? Take a CONFIDENTIAL survey.

Did You Know?

  • About 1 in 88 children has been identified with an autism spectrum disorder.
  • As of 2007, approximately 9.5% of children 4 to 17 years of age have been diagnosed with ADHD, with rates of diagnosis increasing each year.
  • 15%-20% of people in the US have a language-based disability, dyslexia being the most prevalent.
  • More than 1 out of 20 Americans 12 years of age and older report current depression.
  • A higher proportion of students with disabilities leave college without earning a degree.

On Society

  • 20% of children ages 4-17 have been diagnosed with an invisible difference.
  • 15% of the disease burden in established market economies; more than the disease burden caused by all cancers (mental disorders).

On Employers

  • 9% of working adults are a parent of at least one child with special needs.
  • 43% of working caregivers of children with special needs reduce their hours or opt out altogether.
  • 13% of people with invisible differences attend college

Transition to College Workshops

Written by Companies That Care on . Posted in Event Calendar.

 

This series of ten, interactive workshops prepares high school students who have Invisible Differences, and their parents, to overcome known barriers to college persistence that are unique to diverse learners and to successfully transition and adapt to a post-secondary education environment.  These workshops are offered by high schools, by corporations as an employee benefit, and at Center for Companies That Care.

Topics include:

 

  1. Overview:  Best Practices for College Success 
  2. Legal Rights
  3. Disclosure, Documentation, Disability Services
  4. Choosing and Applying to College
  5. Accommodations
  6. Self-Advocacy Overview
  7. Self-Advocacy Intensive
  8. College Life
  9. Resources, Roommates and Tips for Success
  10. Finding and Keeping a Job

 

 

95% of attendees felt more prepared for the transtion afterwards.  

Register for a Workshop
Register here for a workshop.

Monthly Parents Meetings

Written by Companies That Care on . Posted in Students and Mentors.

The Invisible Differences Monthly Parents Meetings will benefit you because you, as a parent of a child with an invisible difference, (learning disabled, non-verbal learning disabled, autism spectrum, etc.), will have the chance to interact with other parents who have children with similar needs.  Parents will have the opportunity to learn that the invisible difference should not define the child, rather is just apart of what makes the child who they are.  

Each meeting, which will be held monthly, there will be a speaker about a topic relevant to children with invisible differences.  These speakers will include:

  • A speaker who will discuss the issues/challenges you, as parents, want to hear about.
  • Real people with invisible differences who “made it”
  • Educational experts who will give tips on how to best teach children how to advocate for themselves, and how you as parents can help
  • A speaker who outlines the difference between the high school and college experience    
  • A speaker who demonstrates how assistive technology can be beneficial to students.

Furthermore, and possibly the biggest benefit of joining us for these meetings, is the chance for the students to interact with one another, and for students to hear the success stories of people who are like them.

 

Mark Your Calendar!

Sessions will be held on the second Tuesday of each month, and will include a guest speaker, networking sessions, and a Q + A portion.  All sessions are at the Center for Companies That Care office (954 West Washington Blvd., Chicago).

October 15: Parent Network Kick-Off Meeting

November 12: “Holidays and Special Needs”

December 12: “Legal Issues”

 

PEERS® Social Skills Intervention

Written by Companies That Care on . Posted in Event Calendar.

PEERS® is a 14-week social skills workshop, developed at UCLA, that teaches teenagers  and young adults with special needs to make and keep friends. Center for Companies That Care is the only certified provider of PEERS® in Chicago. Classes start again soon! Click here to register.  

About PEERS®

PEERS® (Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills) is an evidence-based, ecologically valid, program for middle-school and high-school students who have difficulty making or keeping friends. Regular parent participation is key to the effectiveness of this program. 

There are separate parent and teen sessions that meet at the same time for 90 minutes each week over a 14-week period. The group focuses on skills like: having two-way conversations, finding common interests, entering and exiting conversations, making phone calls, handling teasing and bullying, healing interpersonal conflict, using humor appropriately, good sportsmanship, and being a good host and guest during get-togethers and other group social events. 

Parents/guardians are taught how to help their teens make and keep friends by acting as social coaches outside the group. During the teen session, students are presented with a lesson, modeling of appropriate and inappropriate behaviors and then practice the skills they learn each lesson which participating in socialization activities or playing board games, card games or outdoor sports. Homework assignments are also given each week to make sure teens are practicing the skills they are learning.

Each week, the class meets on Monday evenings. The next series of PEERS® classes for adolescents begins September 22, 2014. Each session is 14 weeks long, and classes are Monday nights from 5:30 to 7:00. The same parent must be able to attend at least 11 out of 14 sessions. Both parents are always welcome to attend. 

 

Adolescents who would Benefit from the PEERS® approach to learning social skills include those who:

  • Have difficulty making and/or keeping friends
  • Function best when they have a set of concrete rules to follow
  • Use humor inappropriately
  • Have a bad reputation in school or the community
  • Are perceived as bossy
  • Talk too much and don’t engage in a give-and-take dialogue
  • Are teased or bullied by their peers
  • Tend to talk about the same thing over and over
  • Are afraid of social interactions

 

The PEERS® approach is less effective for teenagers who:

  • Are not socially motivated (truly don’t care whether they have or keep friends)
  • Are emotionally dis-regulated (have poor control over the display of their emotions)
  • Have below average intelligence

Learn More About PEERS®

PEERS® is the only evidence-based social skills intervention for adolescents and young adults. Its effectiveness is due to several factors:

  1. Social skills are broken down into concrete rules and steps that are practiced repeatedly in a variety of settings.
  2. The rules and steps are ecologically valid for teens and young adults. The strategies taught to the teens and young adults are actually used by teens and young adults in the real world. These strategies may or may not be the strategies adults think teenagers should use.
  3. Parents are an integral part of the process.
  4. The intervention can be modified according to the individual needs of each teenager. 

We encourage you to call us at 312.661.1010 with any questions you have! The PEERS® program is a significant time commitment and we want to help you determine whether it’s a good fit for your family. 

Please feel free to check out two articles written about the effectiveness of PEERS®:

Fees

The fee for 16-week workshop includes the student’s as well as the parent’s participation.  Scholarships are available.  Please call for additional information.  (312.661.1010)

Register for PEERS®

To register, please call Center for Companies That Care at 312.661.1010 or click here.  You can also email us us with any questions or concerns.  Following an initial telephone conversation, families will receive enrollment materials and participate in an Intake Interview to determine whether the teenager is eligible for the program.  Click here for a flyer to pass along to someone you know.

 

Which Colleges Support Invisible Differences?

Written by Companies That Care on . Posted in News & Announcements.

Getting through college with an invisible difference can be a challenge.  Some schools make it much easier than others.  If you: would like to be in college, are in college, or are a recent graduate, please take this confidential survey.  We’re using the data to determine which colleges to recommend to students with invisible differences, and to share your recommendations with the colleges so they can improve their services and support. We don’t ask for your name so nothing can be linked back to you.

Take the survey now.

Office Manager

Written by Companies That Care on . Posted in Careers & Volunteers.

Click here for full job description

Center for Companies That Care, a national not-for-profit committed to improving lives and social sustainability, seeks a high-energy, proactive, super organized professional to run the office and support the President and Board of Directors.  Start date is ASAP.  More info about this career opportunity and Center for Companies That Care is below.

This is the perfect position for someone who wants to be “in the thick of things.”  As the “face/voice” of the organization, enjoying interacting with many people is a must.  The candidate with the right fit takes pride in figuring out how to get things done with limited resources and knowing things are running smoothly because of him/her.  In addition, the right person thrives in a very fast-paced office, and relishes variety in an environment where every day is different. 

Interested candidates should forward a resume with a letter describing experience and characteristics that would be assets in helping Center for Companies That Care grow and function effectively. Also include how you heard about this role and salary requirements. Please send resume and letter to Marci Koblenz.

 

Position: Office Manager (Communication and Operations)

Employer: Center for Companies That Care

Center for Companies That Care is a national, 501(c)(3) non-profit committed to ensuring social sustainability by improving the lives of individuals, families and communities. 

You may be hired for this job if you:

  • Project an upbeat, “customer”-focused, can-do attitude
  • Take pride in consistently producing high quality work
  • Have exceptional people and relationship-building skills
  • Are able to prioritize effectively and juggle many tasks and stakeholders
  • Are resourceful and can figure things out on your own
  • Communicate often and effectively in writing and verbally
  • Work fast and adjust quickly to changing priorities and unexpected situations
  • Seek opportunities for learning and learn quickly
  • Have proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook and knowledge of website content management, database management, and social media
  • Have a Bachelor’s Degree and a minimum of 5 years work experience

The Office Manager is fully responsible for having a thorough knowledge of the organization’s initiatives and events in order to be an effective voice/face of the organization.  The role also includes primary responsibility for (but is not limited to):

  • Office and Vendor Management
  • Event Planning
  • Data Management
  • Oversight and Support for Finance, Marketing and Human Resources
  • Support President and Board of Directors