NHA Vocational Skills & Work Study Expansion
New Horizons Academy (NHA) is so excited to announce its Vocational Skills & Work Study Expansion at its Springfield Campus in Holland! With the completion of the Skills Lab renovation, SO MANY vocational opportunities have opened up for our special needs students.
Springfield Skills Lab & Coffee Cart
After over a year and a half of fundraising, renovations, and inspections, NHA has officially unveiled its new Skills Lab for students’ daily living skills practice and work study use. Thanks to the Roach Foundation and other funders, the Skills Lab includes one room with a full coffee-making station to support our Coffee Cart and Blessings in a Box Program and another room with a washer and dryer to practice daily living and laundry skills.
Blessings in a Box
In addition to the Coffee Cart, the Skills Lab is also supporting our Blessings in a Box Program in the Springfield Township and Greater Toledo Area. The Blessings in a Box Program was created to give our students the opportunity to go out into the community, and bless local businesses and organizations with coffee that is brewed and delivered by our students. Blessings in a Box helps our students to develop stronger communication, customer service, and vocational skills while also getting to know their community better and providing great coffee.
Blessings in a Box kicked off in late September with trips to Proclaim FM and Springfield Fire Station #51 and followed up with deliveries to Anne Grady Services in December and The Epilepsy Center of Northwest Ohio in mid-January. Our goal is to continue to brew and deliver coffee to local businesses in the Holland/Toledo area each Monday throughout the school year.
Special Grounds Coffee Truck & Mobile Skills Lab
Thanks to the Zeisloft Family Trust, the Special Grounds Coffee Truck is now on the road every week to Springfield! The coffee truck is a real–life mobile skills lab for our special needs students. It allows our students to practice their food service, brewing, communication, customer service, financial management, and other work skills in a community setting. Stop out, and have our students (along with their job coaches and staff) serve you Special Grounds coffees and sweet treats! For a complete weekly coffee truck schedule, check out our Special Grounds Coffee Facebook Page at: https://www.facebook.com/SpecialGroundsCoffeeCo/
