A Few of Our Favorite Things from VersAbility Resources
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things
We’re in the thick of the holiday season, cause for us to share a few of our favorite things from the past year as we bid adieu to 2023!
We love our Able Acres Market Garden, three raised beds of young vegetable plants and edible flowers created by adults with disabilities in our day support program who share an interest in gardening and plants. The veggies grown are donated to the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank and THRIVE Peninsula. Several from VersAbility also enjoyed their regular Thursday outings at the Peninsula Farmers Market held at the Jewish Community Center in Newport News, where they join the Super Local Food Project booth, encouraging community members to start their own garden by offering young plants and seeds.
We love expanding our reach so that people with disabilities can explore career fields of their choosing and work jobs they enjoy. Our Future of Work program provides wraparound support services to facilitate people with disabilities successfully completing certification, training and apprenticeship programs to expand their occupational opportunities in high-demand industries. A new training center lets people with disabilities prepare for a future in the evolving field of information technology. We partnered with new businesses to grow our Supported Employment program that contributes to the economy by offering meaningful jobs to people with disabilities right here in our community. Through our Government Contract work, we expanded our U.S. Air Force contract to create new jobs for people with disabilities across the nation.
We love the results of our two signature fundraisers, the Ability Am Golf Tournament last spring and the Havana Nights Gala in the fall. Raising over $150,000 through these two events allows us to do more on behalf of people with disabilities, helping them lead full and productive lives of their choosing. We’re grateful for Phillips Energy designating us as its charity of choice for Giving Tuesday, and we are grateful to Tradition’s Brewing in partnership with WYDaily/The Tide for naming VersAbility its first beneficiary nonprofit for its new series Tides Brews and Good News.
We love the independence we’ve been able to foster for people with disabilities thanks to a program we call Project Independence. Our goal is to equip people with disabilities to make independent choices and navigate the community with confidence.
We love our community! Over delicious Thanksgiving fare, we shared the joy and fellowship of being together at our annual luncheon for the individuals with disabilities we serve. In 2023, we really felt the embrace of the local community and appreciate being named Nonprofit of the Year by Coastal Virginia magazine.