Going above and beyond often describes Envision Unlimited employees, and Catherine Woods and Raul Barrera are dedicated team members who embody this phrase.
Through our Horticulture program, our members are taught basic gardening principles to help them understand healthy living and meal preparation. They tend and harvest crops, which are then shared with our residential homes, sold at discounted prices to neighbors and enjoyed in freshly-prepared meals from our Frick Center kitchen.
Under Garden Coordinator Catherine’s guidance, the Van Vorhees Garden at our Frick Center produced more than 1,700 pounds of produce last year – from corn, tomatoes and radishes to spinach, mustard greens and lettuce! So far this year, the garden has donated more than 750 plants to the community. Catherine also designed a mentoring program, in which our expert gardeners provide advice to other Envision Unlimited sites, such as making compost, regenerative farming techniques and immune support techniques.
Similarly, Raul demonstrates our mission in everything he does as Program Director of our Rose Center. For the last three years, he has supported our members in hosting community partners at our annual Mardi Gras dinner, and he has initiated weekend support for members to participate in a community running group.
During the height of heavy ICE activity in Chicago, Raul was also a pillar of strength and support for some Envision Unlimited families who were too afraid to leave their homes. To ensure members were able to attend our programming, Raul offered to transport them to and from Rose Center to keep families protected.
Raul and Catherine’s achievements were recently recognized with awards at disability advocacy organization The Arc of Illinois’ annual convention. Fellow Envision Unlimited staff and members also led inspiring presentations on our efforts to create less restrictive community living options and how connecting with nature empowers members to build skills, confidence and a sense of belonging.
The dedication of our staff makes a difference for our members every day, and we’re so proud of them!
