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You can help by donating warehouse space, funds, materials, time, providing job opportunities, or volunteering to raise money for Career Resources.
For more information, contact:
Career Resources Corporation
Attn: Bradley Howell
Executive Director
165 Winter St.
Haverhill, MA 01830
Telephone: 978-374-9122
E-mail:
bhowellcrc@gmail.com
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This page honors local organizations that help the community and its residents improve their lives. Each quarter a new organization will be honored.
This quarter Haverhill Bank honors:
Upstairs at Career Resources, Mark Friedman and his crew of 60 are putting together tins of doggy cookies.
When the work is done, the fancy little tins of Howie’s Hearts will be shipped off to T.J.Maxx’s warehouse for sale in its stores across the country.
Friedman’s crew also packs up goodies for Panorama Foods of Lynn. In small packages, the crew bags up mix for apple crisp, cinnamon sticks and more.
“I have been in the food business for 30 years,” said Thomas H. Siplon, president and CEO. “I never wanted to get in to the manufacturing end. This is great.”
Siplon’s connection with Career Resources allows his company to deliver premium packages to local markets including Shaw’s, Hannafords and Stop & Shop.
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| Shown are: Melissa Sweeney and Timothy Jones with Executive Director Bradley Howell |
Siplon orders all the ingredients and has it delivered to Career Resources, 165 Winter St., Haverhill. Inside the workshop, the 60 clients who work for Friedman mix, weigh and package the ingredients which will be shipped out both locally and nationally. “This is a seasonal business, so to have manufacturing I would have a floor idle half the year,” said Siplon. Teaming up with Career Resources has been a winning solution all the way around.
“I get great satisfaction when I go into a store and see the packages on the shelves,” said Friedman.
Career Resources has been putting people with disabilities to work since 1968. The mission then and now is to empower people with disabilities to be as self-sufficient, self-determining and successful as possible.
Last year, Career Resources provided services to 277 individuals. The services include jobs both in the workshop at 165 Winter St., as well as going out into the community to go to work. Some of the places where clients work include B&W Press in Georgetown, JetBlue, Home Depot, SG National, Haverhill City Hall, Shaw’s.
“B&W Press and SG National are award winning companies for us,” said Bethany Tsiropoulos, director of vocational services for Career Resources. Tsiropoulos has been working at Career Resources for 11 years. She also oversees a job club which meets twice a week to help clients work on their job hunting and interviewing skills.
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| Shown is: Dan Wheeler |
Career Resources is a growing enterprise. Bradley Howell recently joined the organization as its executive director. He brings more than 20 years of experience of working with the disabled to his new job.
“I love the fact that the mission here is to put people to work,” he said. “ That is one of the reasons I wanted to come to work here.”
One of Howell’s goals is to increase fundraising. This will make Career Resources better able to expand its ability to serve even more clients and customers. “Right now, we could really use an extra 3,000 square feet of warehouse space,” he said. This would help the workshop manufacturing program to expand.
“We don’t want to turn any business away, but we are really at full capacity,” he said. Career Resources is located in an old school building, with narrow stairs and a small freight elevator. It sometimes requires a little ingenuity and a lot of muscle to get tons of sugar, for example, upstairs where it will be turned into packages for Panorama. A warehouse within three to five miles of the original building would really help.
Howell has worked for 22 years in various agencies. He spent the last ten years at CLASS Inc. in Lawrence, where he was director of clinical services. His background includes grant writing and fund raising, which are a vital part of the job. Career Resources is also in the midst of trying to raise enough money to replace its wheelchair accessible van. Part of the services it provides to clients is getting them to appointments and to work.
The Haverhill Bank donated $1,000 towards the cost of a new van. “The bank has been very supportive and we really appreciate it,” said Howell. On March 31 Career Resources held its annual fundraiser at DiBurro’s in Ward Hill.
In addition to putting clients to work, Career Resources helps support its clients who want to live either independently, in a group home setting or with family care providers. Two of the clients at Career Resources own their condos and receive support from Career Resources staff.
“Our goal is to help people achieve what they want to achieve,” he said. As the population begins to age, a new challenge will be helping clients who want to enjoy retirement.
“This is the newest challenge all the agencies are facing. These are adults who have worked and now want to retire, just like we all have the goal of one day retiring,” he said. Career Resources assists clients through the Department of Mental Retardation, Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission and New Hampshire Supported Employment.
Most clients who come to work for and with Career Resources will stay with the agency throughout their adult life. There are rehabilitation clients who will get assistance in finding a job. They will usually receive help in job coaching for the first 90 days of their work.
The ultimate goal of Career Resources is to integrate people into the community. “Career Resources has a strong reputation in the community. I want to keep that reputation and keep this agency strong,” said Howell.
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