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Urban Harvest, a local hero

The Pathways Abilities Society in Kelowna celebrates Heroes of Diversability
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Urban Harvest employee Lucille is a hero of diversability. - Image: Pathways Abilities

To hear Lisa McIntosh of Urban Harvest describe her, Lucille sounds like the perfect employee.

“She’s confident, reliable, she’s very committed. She’s always looking to do a better job,” says McIntosh.

In fact, Lucille exhibits the qualities most employers look for in an employee, qualities that can be hard to find in the workforce these days.

But what makes Lucille’s story even more unique is that Lucille is an individual with diverse abilities; one of many now being employed throughout the community, in large part due to the efforts of organizations like Pathways Abilities Society.

Pathways is a local Kelowna non-profit that has provided services to individuals with diverse abilities in and around Kelowna for 64 years. Today Pathways works with local businesses like Urban Harvest to develop customized employment programs for their individuals, and the results have been overwhelmingly positive.

“We have individuals who want to work and are capable of performing many functions in a workplace; functions that often distract higher paid employees from doing the jobs their paid to do,” explained Bonnie Fraser, Pathways employment manager. “Our individuals take on those jobs and they do them with such enthusiasm and commitment they very quickly become valuable assets to their employers.”

Count Lisa McIntosh as one of those happy employers.

“We love having her [Lucille] here. Pathways does a great job of integrating people into the workforce and supporting the employer. In our case, Lucille has just been wonderful to work with,” said McIntosh.

Pathways, in partnership with Century 21 Assurance Realty, has been celebrating local business ‘Heroes’ like Urban Harvest through Heroes of Diversability, an initiative that showcases local businesses employing individuals with diverse abilities.

Check out the latest ‘Heroes’ video featuring Urban Harvest at https://youtu.be/D10ioAQHTeM.

View more videos at the Heroes of Diversabilities website and find out more about Pathways Abilities Society here.

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