Hello, Friends of Kerr!
As we welcome the crisp fall days, my family and I are enjoying all the beauty our new city offers. I continuously marvel at my good fortune to lead this great organization. September has been a busy month for Kerr, and I wanted to share a few highlights.
In honor of Direct Support Professional Recognition Week (Sept. 11-17, 2022), we celebrated Kerr’s outstanding Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) with picnics (taco trucks!), fun games, and cool Kerr swag in each county we serve. We are so proud of our DSPs! They are the heart and soul of everything we do at Kerr to support children, teens, and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in feeling, and being, included and empowered. Below are photos of the festivities.
Thanks to B.U.L.L. Session Invitational Charity Events for choosing Kerr as one of its six nonprofit partners. We had a wonderful evening at their Dinner & Auction (Sept. 12) and their annual Golf Tournament (Sept. 13). Stay tuned for more details about the funds raised for Kerr’s Children’s Crisis Psychiatric Care Facility during this two-day extravaganza.
In partnership with Multnomah County, our Project SEARCH program kicked off on Sept. 15, with our nine interns signing on for a nine-month employment internship with the county. The program helps adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities acquire competitive and transferable job skills that will lead to future career success. Thank you, Multnomah County! We are also grateful for the financial support of our Employment Services team from the Kuni Foundation, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, CommuniCare, and Pacific Power Foundation.
Sept. 20, we celebrated the Grand Opening of Kerr’s Wynne Watts Commons. Thank you to everyone who joined us as we opened the doors to this first-of-its-kind inclusive, accessible, affordable, and sustainable housing development for people with and without disabilities. Be sure to check out our video.
Over the past few months, we have been repurposing the first floor of our administration building (424 NE 22nd Ave.) that was formerly occupied by our social enterprise resale shops and restaurant known as Albertina’s Place. For many years, Kerr has needed dedicated training space for our direct support staff to learn and stay current with the critical skills required to work with our clients. To sustainably accommodate these training classes, we are converting the space into five training rooms that, once completed, will have the capacity for 72 staff.
Sincerely,
Allison Stark
CEO, Albertina Kerr