To all of our Friends and Community Partners:
We had an unexpectedly active April at the Career Development Center! 

We all know that during the past few years, there have been some barriers when it comes to supply and demand. This month, we ended up with a couple of days without product for some of our employees to work with. This lead to some quick brainstorming and problem solving, resulting in a quick trip to the movies! Some employees were given the opportunity to see Sonic 2 at Micon Cinemas (who opened early for us) while enjoying a ride from Cody Limousine's. Employees enjoyed the movie while eating popcorn and drinking soda

Another unexpected event happened on April 14, the Career Development Center was given the unfortunate news that the building that makes our pizzas had a small electrical fire. With the help of our community and employees, the tasks of clean up and inspections were all done by the end of April. We are happy to say we are up and running once again. We are grateful to work with dedicated staff and a loyal community. Thank you for your hard work! ​

The month of March brought us festive fun at the Career Development Center! We had a Shamrock Surprise on St. Patrick's Day, while also getting down to business at our March Business After Hours! 

February was short, and certainly sweet! 
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In the short amount of days we have in February, we were able to have two small celebrations at the Career Development Center. 

Earlier this month, our dear friend and colleague Nina had her 60th birthday. 60th birthdays are quite special and we were able to surprise her with a Johnny Cash tribute band. We had some people dancing, some people signing along and some people doing both. It was nice to have a lunch break with some tunes and cake. 

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During February we were also given the opportunity to celebrate Valentine's Day! During lunch, employees were given Valentine's Day cards with one dollar coins to take home. Valentine's Day was also Free Lunch Day this month. What better way than to celebrate by eating spaghetti and heart shaped cookies? It was a nice treat! 
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As usual, our Christmas party could not have been the success that it was without our community coming together and creating magic for our employees. This year we have so many people to thank and recognize for making our party a night to remember. 

First, we have to thank Clear Water Kiwanis for truly bringing the magic. We could never have done our party without the help of Santa and his elves. Santa was so gracious to let our employees take pictures with him and tell him what they want for Christmas, while his elves walked around and made sure everyone was being cared for. Also,  huge thank you to those community members who did not come with Clear Water Kiwanis, but were still gracious enough to volunteer their time. 

Clear Water Kiwanis also helped us find the Madrigals from Memorial High School which was an absolute hit. They sang theatrical Christmas songs that made everyone laugh, and lead us in carols. 

After dinner, everyone had the privilege of being served Christmas themed cake donated from both Hy-Vee and Walmart. Huge thank you to these grocery stores for contributing to our night!

Another essential part of the night was the band. Michael Rambo and The Jam played background music throughout the night that gave our event the ambiance and upbeat atmosphere we needed. 

​Lastly, we'd like to thank The River Prairie Center for hosting us. There was little Christmas cheer that needed to be added because of how magical their event center was already decorated. Be on the lookout for more photos of our event on our social media pages! 

L.E PHILLIPS CAREER DEVELOPMENT CENTER OUTREACH OFFICE PROVIDES EMERGENCY SHELTER FOR INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS IN CHIPPEWA COUNTY
 The L.E. Phillips Career Development Center Outreach Office provides homeless services to those in need or experiencing crisis. With the cold weather already upon us, emergency shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness is a great need, as there is no homeless shelter in Chippewa County. The Outreach Office is reaching out to the community to raise money for motel vouchers to help those in need. The cost for a motel room is $75.00/per night and all proceeds will benefit individuals experiencing homelessness in Chippewa County. The goal is to raise enough money for 100 motel rooms for emergency shelter.
Donations are accepted online at https://www.lecdc.org/chippewa-county-outreach.html (scroll to the bottom of the page) or checks are made payable to the L.E. Phillips Career Development Center to 1515 Ball St, Eau Claire, WI 54703. This fundraising effort began November 12, 2021 and will run throughout the winter. The Outreach Office provides services for, on average, eight individuals/households every day the office is open. From September 1st 2020- September 1st 2021, the office provided services to almost 400 households with over 2,000 services offered. Services like emergency shelter, rent assistance, and help with transportation are crucial. In a community like Chippewa Falls where the population is about 14,000, these numbers are very impactful.

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On August 27th The Career Development Center displayed their appreciation for their employees by bringing in country star Chris Kroeze for their very own private concert. Every year we celebrate our employees by planning a "Summer Bash". This year we had the privilege of getting the country star to perform at our annual party, what a treat!

This private concert included tents for everyone to sit under as well as a free meal for all employees. Before the concert the CDC had their very own employee, Claude, design t-shirts for all employees to wear on the day Chris Kroeze performed. Everyone had an amazing time dancing, singing and laughing along with Chris Kroeze. Chris was even kind enough to stay an hour after the concert to sign autographs and take pictures with our employees. After the concert, we had pictures printed and handed out to each employee so that they can remember this amazing day. Without a doubt this was a parking lot party to remember! 

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More pictures from this event can be found at:
 https://photos.app.goo.gl/DbUSvg1wUi71bYPq6

Written by Angela Kjellberg, Marketing Coordinator

Grant Supports Noise Cancelling Headphones at L.E. Phillips Career Development Center
Eau Claire, WI – June 18, 2021 – The L.E. Phillips Career Development Center announced today that it has received a $2000.00 grant supported by three Eau Claire Community Foundation Funds—the Dr. Joseph M. and Jean M. Tobin Fund, Richard T. Gannon Fund, and T. Gordon and Gladys P. Keith Fund—to provide our employees with noise cancelling headphones.  Since 1959, the L.E. Phillips Career Development Center has continued to serve over one thousand individuals with disabilities or disadvantages on a yearly basis, while maintaining the original purpose for which the Center was originated.

The L.E. Phillips Career Development Center’s mission is to be a viable business enterprise as a means to provide meaningful and appropriate vocational services, employment opportunities, and outreach services for individuals with disabilities or disadvantages.  Noise cancelling headphones will support this mission by improving work experiences for our employees by “cancelling out” the unwanted noise and allowing our employees to hear audio in a noisy environment without turning up the volume.  Noise cancelling headphones will also allow our employees to work more efficiently and eliminate distractions to focus on the task at hand in order to reduce anxiety and stress while working on the production floor.
 
The Eau Claire Community Foundation’s grant is part of the Center’s economic sustainability focus area, which supports our nonprofit organization’s operations, goals and mission.