Jenifer Welch - T-V-S Overcoming Challenges | Feeding Our World

COVID-19 Info Center: - Click to view TVS policies & other helpful resources

TVS & Mountain Sun Community School Partnership Highlighted for Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

TVS & Mountain Sun Community School Partnership Highlighted for Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

In honor of Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month and its annual campaign highlighting how people with and without disabilities come together to form strong communities; Transylvania Vocational Services (TVS) is proudly celebrating our community partnership, “Reading Buddies,” with Mountain Sun Community School.

The National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) 2024 theme, “A World of Opportunities” aims to raise awareness about inclusion of people with Developmental Disabilities (DD) in all areas of community life and reminds us to explore the work still needed to remove barriers.

TVS and Mountain Sun Community School have been working together since 2018 with the Reading Buddies program. “This partnership helps the TVS participants learn leaderships skills, along with helping the students and participants to have relationships with others that are not paid service providers,” said TVS DSP Ashleigh Alquiza. “When you look at communities and individuals with DD, there is a critical divide that sometimes separates rather than includes them. Reading Buddies is helping bridge that gap.”

Participants join students every other Friday for reading and literacy activities. Each group ranging from five to six students plus a TVS participant showcase creativity by creating skits, crafts, songs, and dances to accompany the readings.

“Through our adventures with Mountain Sun Community School we have grown, gained confidence, and made some lifelong friendships,” said TVS INTERACT Supervisor Brooke Wilson. “A true partnership is about people listening to one another and working together to accomplish a common goal. Each person contributes in their own unique way and with respect and learning for all.”

This partnership offers TVS participants opportunities to develop leadership skills while encouraging long lasting relationships in an inclusive and mutually benefiting environment. 

“Our class reading lessons are far more engaging with our [TVS] Reading Buddies here,” said Brigid Cameron, Mountain Sun Community School Teacher. “Concepts such as literal and figurative, inferring, setting, or plot are the main focus for our morning lessons, but the real learning is about working with diversity.”

The benefits of this community partnership stretch past the immediate benefits of reading and literacy. Each individual and student is developing self-advocacy skills, gaining confidence, and creating problem-solving skills with life-long friendships.

“I have seen children grow more comfortable with diversity, engage more fully with new people and guests, and their creativity and openness expand,” reflected Cameron. “Having a break from our Reading Buddy program during COVID impressed upon me the need we all have to embrace the beautiful friendships we have created with our class and our friends who learn with us every other Friday.”

Mountain Sun Community School holistically nurtures, challenges, and guides each unique child to discover academic skills using Montessori principles, explore the natural world, create through self-expression, and belong to a collaborative, diverse, and peaceful community. We invite you to learn more at: https://mountainsunschool.org/

Read in the Transylvania Times

carf logo

TVS Participants ‘Bake for Good’ with King Arthur Baking Company

TVS Participants ‘Bake for Good’ with King Arthur Baking Company

carf logo

Transylvania Vocational Services (TVS) participants from INTERACT spent last Friday morning learning how to bake scones from scratch with the King Arthur Bake for Good program thanks to the recent partnership between TVS and King Arthur Baking Company.

“Baking is a wonderful way to connect with others,” said Bake for Good Program Manager Amy Driscoll. “We were thrilled to have a chance to meet some of our TVS partners and share our love of baking.”

Bake for Good is King Arthur Baking Company’s free outreach program with the main goals to learn, bake, and share. TVS participants practiced math and science skills while making scones from scratch.

They learned to measure dry ingredients, mix in butter, and were able to customize their scones with either blueberry jammy bits or cinnamon.

“Even our participants that don’t like to get their hands dirty were kneading and working the butter and flour mixtures like champs,” said TVS INTERACT Supervisor Brooke Wilson. “Working with King Arthur crew was a wonderful experience – everyone was kind, helpful, and inclusive.”

Each baker made half a dozen scones to enjoy later and share with family and friends. After the event, the INTERACT team was able to keep the extra baking supplies to support their baking club at TVS.

“The Bake for Good event was a great way to show how business and mission can be even more interconnected,” said TVS VP of Business Development and Marketing Beth Rich. “Having King Arthur as a partner is a benefit to TVS and our community in so many different ways, and we could not be happier working with them.”

Looking ahead, King Arthur Baking Company will be in the Greenville area from November 2 – December 22 for their pop-up store and has plans to continue teaching the Bake for Good program in schools across Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina.

TVS joins annual National Disability Employment Awareness Month

TVS joins annual National Disability Employment Awareness Month

carf logo

Transylvania Vocational Services (TVS) today announced it is joining the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy in recognizing National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), an annual awareness campaign that takes place each October. The purpose of National Disability Employment Awareness Month is to educate about disability employment issues and celebrate the many and varied contributions of America’s workers with disabilities. This year’s theme is “Advancing Access and Equity.”

The history of NDEAM traces back to 1945, when it started as a week and focused only on people with physical disabilities. Later, it expanded to a full month, and its name and scope evolved to acknowledge the importance of increasing the workforce inclusion of people with all nature of disabilities.

“TVS is proud to be a part of this year’s National Disability Employment Awareness Month,” said Beth Rich, TVS VP and Business Development and Marketing. “We want to spread the important message that we value all perspectives, including those of individuals with disabilities not only in the month of October, but year-round.”

Reflecting this year’s theme, throughout the month, TVS will be educating employees on disability employment issues and its commitment to an accessible and equitable work culture.

“National Disability Employment Awareness Month reminds us of the valued contributions people with disabilities make in our nation’s workplaces, and the 50th anniversary of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 marks a major milestone in our nation’s ongoing quest to advance access and equity for all Americans,” said Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy Taryn M. Williams. “So, from now through October, we will be exploring the act’s impact on everything from employment to community living to non-discrimination to accessible technology.”

Employers and employees in all industries can learn more about how to participate in National Disability Employment Awareness Month and ways they can promote its messages—during October and throughout the year—by visiting dol.gov/NDEAM.

King Arthur Baking Company and TVS Forge a Partnership to Deliver Quality Baking Products and Empower Local Communities

King Arthur Baking Company and TVS Forge a Partnership to Deliver Quality Baking Products and Empower Local Communities

Party Animal - acrylic on wood uses abstract lines and colors to create a fun and colorful cow sticking out its tongue.

King Arthur Baking Company, based in Norwich, VT, and renowned for its commitment to producing high-quality baking products, and TVS, a distinguished 3rd party logistics partner based in Brevard, North Carolina, are proud to announce their groundbreaking partnership to enhance the availability of King Arthur’s premium baking mixes and flours, while empowering the local community through inclusive employment opportunities. As a result of the partnership TVS now blends, fills, and packs a large variety of baking mixes and flour blends for King Arthur, like their Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour and 00 Pizza Flour. 

When King Arthur Baking was searching for a co-manufacturer to meet rapidly increasing wholesale demand for their gluten-free products, TVS stood out among the competition due to their ability to maintain King Arthur’s unwavering quality standards, and their alignment with the company’s values as an employee-owned, founding B Corp. TVS shares King Arthur’s commitment to conducting business in a manner that not only benefits their organization but also positively impacts their employees and the community.                                 

“We are thrilled to embark on this new journey alongside TVS,” says King Arthur Baking Company CEO Karen Colberg. “From the pride they take in their work, to all that they do for their employees and community, we couldn’t be more grateful to have them as our partner.

For more than 50 years, TVS has been dedicated to enhancing the dignity and quality of life for people with disabilities and other barriers to employment. Beginning in 1967 as a day program for adults with developmental disabilities, TVS has grown to become one of the largest employers in Brevard and Transylvania County.

“As a 100% employee-owned company, King Arthur Baking has demonstrated a powerful commitment to their employees,” said TVS CEO Jamie Brandenburg. “And, thanks to King Arthur, there are now dozens more individuals with significant disabilities and other barriers to employment working at TVS and receiving a living wage!  I can’t say enough about what this relationship means to us and the impact that King Arthur Baking is making to everyone in our communities.”

The partnership of King Arthur Baking Company and TVS is already creating a ripple of positive change within the community, starting with King Arthur’s Bake for Good outreach program visiting the area in October to bring baking to the extended community of TVS employees. In addition to social impact programs, King Arthur strives to make planet-forward, people-positive business decisions in all that they do, including their commitment to source 100% regeneratively grown wheat by 2030. The partnership between King Arthur Baking and TVS aligns two purpose focused organizations to scale impact and meet increased customer demand.

For more information, please follow King Arthur Baking Company on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and visit www.tvsinc.org to learn more about TVS’ manufacturing capabilities and mission.

TVS partnership facilitates Laila Ali spice donation to local food pantries

TVS partnership facilitates Laila Ali spice donation to local food pantries

TVS HR representatives stand beside the organized school supply donations.

Laila Ali Lifestyle spices are freshly stocked at local pantries thanks to a partnership between Transylvania Vocational Services (TVS) and Laila Ali. The spices were distributed to the Transylvania County Sharing House and the Asheville Manna Food Bank last week.

“TVS pursues partnerships with brands that want to build relationships,” said TVS Director of Business Development Nan Higgins. “We love watching our partners not only support our mission of employing adults with disabilities but by also collaborating and supporting others in our community.”

A total of 2,592 canisters were donated to the Transylvania County Sharing House and the Asheville Manna Food Bank. Each pantry received 54 boxes containing a mixture of Spicy Pepper, Sassy, and Soulful spice seasonings.

“I have been dedicated to supporting food banks for more than a decade due to my concern for the numerous Americans suffering from hunger. It is a privilege for me to contribute to this cause by donating my Spice Blends to local food banks,” said Laila Ali Lifestyle owner and founder Laila Ali. “By donating these spice blends, I hope to enable families in need to create nutritious meals at home.”

Ali also donated spices to other food pantries located near her home in Georgia.

“We rarely have spices to offer our neighbors. We strive to make it look like a grocery store with options to choose from— items they need and desire,” said Transylvania County Sharing House Executive Director Rev Shelly Webb. “We also love the opportunity to collaborate and prop up each other’s impactful work as organizations seeking to do good work.”

Helping facilitate and deliver the donation, TVS was happy to see the relationship turn into community support.

“TVS’ commitment to supporting their community resonates deeply with me and I am proud to be a part,” reflects Ali. “It was one of the reasons I decided to partner with TVS as well as their prioritization of quality manufacturing practices. Moreover, they actively promote inclusivity by offering employment and support to individuals with disabilities.”

Laila Ali Lifestyle Spices are organic, gluten-free, sugar-free, and non-GMO. To learn more about her brand and products visit: https://lailaali.com/ 

Read it here in the Transylvania Times.

 

TVS HR representatives stand beside the organized school supply donations.