Meaningful community employment is a critical focus of our mission to enhance the lives of the people we support at The Arc of Opportunity. At this year’s annual Community Works Legislative event, held Friday, April 17 at Clark University, we were proud to recognize Dave Aronson and Creative Print Products for stand-out support of this mission.
Creative Print Products is a full-service print, warehousing and distribution provider located in Leominster, serving a range of customers from local nonprofits to international Fortune 500 companies. As a partner for employment, Dave and the entire team at Creative Print Products have truly gone above and beyond.
When our work group of six individuals, accompanied by a job coach, head into Creative Print Products for a full day of work performing critical fulfillment, kitting and collating, all are welcomed as part of the collective team. We’ve witnessed friendships forming and bonds building. We’ve witness personal growth, pride, and an enhanced sense of self-worth in the individuals who eagerly head into work at Creative Print Products. At work, dressed in business-casual attire, individuals have their own work stations, desks in an office not separated from staff but integrated with everyone else—not to mention windows with quite a nice view.
At the helm of Creative Print Products, Dave Aronson not only interacts regularly with individuals in the work group; he goes out of his way to sit with our team, thank them sincerely for their contributions to his company, and explain the true importance of the work they perform for Creative Print Products and its customers.
Recently, when speaking with the parents of an individual who works on the team at Creative Print Products, I was told, “We never thought our daughter would ever have the chance to go to work in the community, be productive and earn a paycheck and feel good about it. Now she talks all about how much she enjoys going to work, and looks forward to her next workday.”
To see such a significantly positive impact to the lives of people with developmental and intellectual disabilities is highly worth recognizing, and a story well worth sharing.