2018 Annual Campaign

By supporting Greater Opportunities, you can help people with developmental disabilities to…

• Grow their self-sufficiency
• Expand their skills and confidence to live independently                   
• Lead more enriched lives with expanded interests, life purpose, healthy habits, and a sense of belonging
• Be a valued, active part of the community

Over the past year, Greater Opportunities’ 83 staff provided direct, daily support services to 170 people with developmental disabilities so that they could live, work and play independently in their own homes, and in the community.  

By supporting Greater Opportunities this year, you can help individuals like Jeanene and William achieve their life goals.

Jeanene, 55, is a lively and talkative participant in the Greater Opportunities Day Program, with no shortage of opinions.  She’s been attending the program for 14 years, and she works at Hometown Buffet, a job she got through the program.

          “I like a paying job,” she said.  

          Jeanene is in the Supported Living Program, and has a roommate.  Through the SLS program, she gets extensive assistance so she can live in her own apartment.  She especially likes cooking, and rattles off a long list of dishes she likes to prepare.  Especially blackberry pie.

          She is a lively and eager participant in all the program’s activities, including the art program, cooking in the center’s kitchen, and many physical activities.  Jeanene was in Special Olympics, where she ran, threw softballs, and golfed.  

Jeanene has developed many friendships at the Day Program, which isn’t surprising because she is a tremendously friendly and chatty person.   

Her Hometown Buffet job involves mainly janitorial work, which she enjoys immensely.  She is starting work on a two day a week schedule and hopes to expand her schedule.

          And guess what?  She likes the idea of making more money because she can start paying taxes.

          “I like paying taxes,” she said.  “I like giving some money back to the government.  They help me.”

          We might all be in better shape if more people had Jeanene’s attitude.

William is 66 but he keeps himself fit and trim and looks like he is in his 50s. He’s a participant in our Supported Living Program, and enjoys a happy life on his own.

          Never married, William worked as a janitor for 35 years with Kaiser Hospitals until a stroke forced him into retirement.  His sly sense of humor, however, never retired.  

He has an especially amusing relationship with his Greater Opportunities support person, Jewel Elaciaon.  They like to tease each other in an affectionate way.Jewel shops with him and helps him with cooking and housekeeping.  She must be pretty good at her job, right, William?

          “Jewel is okay,” he said.

          Just okay?

          “I always say, ‘okay,’” he said. “But when I say okay, that means good.”

So Jewel is really good?

“She’s okay,” he said.

And Jewel burst into peals of laughter.    

          “Day by day, I want to get more activities going, get out and do more,” 

William also enjoys doing pottery at the Day Program, and has sold a number of the pieces of ceramics he has painted.  He works with a potter who fires the pieces after he has painted.  

Greater Opportunities has really helped bring William out of his shell.  He claims to be a quiet person and shy, but during his time at Greater Opportunities, he has turned into quite a talker.

“I’m kind of a flirt,” he said.

You can help make the hopes and dreams of individuals like Jeanene and William with developmental disabilities a reality. Make a significant gift of opportunity - $50, $100, or more - whatever you can afford to share during this holiday season.

Your investment in Greater Opportunities will fund individual pathways to success. Your generous donation will…

• train folks in skills of independent living, like cooking, shopping and money management, communication skills, relationship skills, health, and safety
• ensure consumers can live safely in the community
• provide affordable housing with onsite classroom training at our Cortez apartments
• foster community integration and positive work habits through paid and volunteer work experience 
• build friendships and social competencies through the Day Program and community cultural and recreational activities