Published: March 28, 2008 05:35 pm            

Luncheon honors achievements of disabled citizens

INDIANAPOLIS — Patrick Cockrum, executive director and CEO of Sycamore Services, calls it his favorite day of the year.

“It recharges my batteries,” he said during remarks Wednesday at Sycamore Services’ annual Disability Awareness Luncheon, conducted this year at the Adam’s Mark Hotel.

The organization’s mission is to coordinate employment opportunities for those with disabilities and help them live self-sufficient and fulfilling lives.

“Those with handicaps have as much right to live as independently as possible as anyone else,” Cockrum said.

The luncheon honors those who’ve achieved that potential, and the people and businesses who’ve helped them. This year’s theme was “Together We Can.”

There’s Jim, who works as a waiter’s assistant at Santorini’s Greek Kitchen in Fountain Square. Jim approached Sycamore about helping him find his dream job of working in a Greek restaurant. Not just any Greek restaurant, but an authentic one, just like Jim’s heritage. An employment consultant helped get him the job at Santorini’s, where he’s thrived. Customers know him by name and owner Jeanette Sawi raves about his dedication.

“If the buses are running late he’ll literally call a cab and pay for it so he can get to work on time,” she said.

Sycamore assists individuals in more than just employment. The program helped Amanda and her young son find a new home, as well as John and Larry, whose parents had passed away. All were recognized Wednesday.

“These are the successes of the people we serve, not the agency,” Cockrum said. “Because if the people we serve are not successful, then we as an agency cannot be.”

Then there are the Sycamore employees and volunteers who complete that equation of success. Three of them were honored at the luncheon, including Lorraine Ott and Josh Boyer.

Ott is unique in that she’s retired from Sycamore twice, only to return both times.

“I cannot leave,” she said. “I just love it.”

After moving to Danville, her husband had an accident that left him wheelchair-bound. With young children at the time too, Ott had to get a job. A friend told her about Sycamore in 1973, then known as Opportunity Cottage. In that time she’s worked with clients from preschool age and watched them grow to adulthood.

“Working with people that long, they become like family,” she said.

She said it’s also been rewarding to see individuals, whom others thought weren’t capable of doing anything, develop special skills. Ott never imagined the work would have such a profound effect on her life.

“I thought it would just be a job,” she said. “It’s developed into so much more.”

Boyer joined the family after seeing a newspaper listing for a peer buddy, similar to the Big Brother and Big Sister programs. His peer was an employee at Sycamore’s work center, and Boyer soon started working part-time for them as a community consultant. He said he gets as much satisfaction as the residents he assists.

“It’s not like an everyday job,” Boyer said. “Everyone says hi when you come in every day and are genuinely happy to see you. It makes you feel appreciated.”

A full-time finance major at IUPUI, Boyer figures he’ll always make time for such work, even if he’s employed in an entirely different field.

“I’ll probably never get away from this,” he said.

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Online:

www.sycamoreservices.com

wade.coggeshall@flyergroup.com

        

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