Community Options Hosts Successful Social Capital Training in Allentown, PA
April 30, 2021 | Press Release.pdf
Allentown, PA– Community Options, Inc. hosted an outdoor training on April 28th at Shepherd Hills Golf Club Pavilion. The training was conducted by Dr. Al Condeluci as part of a national training series across multiple states. The event in Allentown was sponsored by the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council.
More than 130 people attended the training. Community Options staff and representatives from other community organizations were present, including Applied Counseling and Consulting and Independent Living.
As a nonprofit that provides housing and employment supports to people with disabilities nation-wide, Community Options also hosted sessions in Dallas, Texas and Nashville, Tennessee.
Dr. Al Condeluci has been an advocate for building community capacities, and a leader in understanding social culture for over fifty years. He has authored seven books, including the acclaimed, Interdependence: The Route to Community and most recently, The Macro Change Handbook.
“I want to thank Dr. Condeluci, our staff, and the community partners who helped make this training a great success. I’d also like to thank the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council again for sponsoring the event.” said Allyson Pors-Boitz, Executive Director for Community Options in Allentown. “Loneliness and social isolation are issues that do not always come to mind when designing supports for people with disabilities. I know our staff will utilize the lessons learned today to further improve our services.”
During the event, Community Options recognized five finalists for the Outstanding Direct Support Professional in the Community Award. The Direct Support Professionals were nominated by their peers and then further vetted by a panel that included organization leadership and people with disabilities. The five finalists honored in Allentown were:
Shannel Fonville
Shylah Watkins
Kim Palmer
Sam Roberts
John Cato
The finalists are eligible to win two roundtrip flights to anywhere in the contiguous United States. The winner will be randomly selected in a drawing that includes finalists from all three participating cities. The grand prize winner will be announced virtually on April 29th.
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About Community Options, Inc.:
For over 30 years, Community Options has developed housing and employment supports for people with disabilities – serving thousands of people from over 50 offices across 10 states. Community Options provides advocacy assistance to empower people with disabilities because all people – regardless of ability level – should live and work in the community with dignity, choice and self-determination. For more information, please visit our website: www.comop.org and to follow along with the #AllItTakes campaign, search #AllItTakes on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.