Meet the People You Help

Alan is an entrepreneur at heart. Just this year, Alan started his own business, Alan's Express, offering clerical and mailing assistance to local businesses and nonprofit agencies. The name of the business is quite fitting: Alan can collate and stuff mailings at lightening speed!

Elizabeth graduated from Albert Einstein High School and became a part of the SEEC family in 2008. She loves visual arts and takes classes several times a week. In this picture, Elizabeth puts her final touches on a mosaic table she created to sell at SEEC's Holiday Gift Boutique. Elizabeth is an animal lover, having spent many hours volunteering at the Washington Humane Society from which she adopted her cat, Patches.  

Bill has received residential services from SEEC since moving out of the Great Oaks Institution in 1994. Bill and his long-time friend and roomate are the owners of the townhouse they have shared for more than 12 years.

An avid coffee lover, Bill is on first-name basis with most of the barristas at his local Starbucks. Bill is a very likeable fellow and looks forward to a position in a coffee shop, to combine is love of java with his desire to be around people.

Katie and Mike tied the knot in June 2008 after many years of friendship and dating. The couple met in 1998 as fellow students at Wotten High School. They enjoy eating out, going concerts and movies, bowling, and generally being out and about! Both have jobs in the community and many friends and loved ones.

Kip Jarrett loves books and cats. Rarely seen with out a book or magazine, Kip enjoys visiting the library and reading as he gets around town by bus or MetroRail. Kip talks a lot about fluffy cats, and fittingly enough, he has secured a volunteer position as a “cat socializer” for the Washington Human Society. After attending orientation and training, Kip is all set for the task at hand. At the facility, he takes one kitten out of the cage at a time, gives them one to one play and affection, then returns the cat to the cage in exchange for another one needing a little love. 

Laura most cherished dreams came true when she and Steve Blanks, SEEC’s Vocational Services Director, drove to Philadelphia with one goal in mind: to see Nickelback live in concert at the Wachovia Center.

Laura is a die-hard Nickelback fan –owning all six of the award-winning Canadian band’s albums. “I love all of their music. Some of my favorite songs are “To Be Somebody,” “This How You Remind Me” and “All the Right Reasons.” I have wanted to see them in concert for years, so when the chance came to see them in Philly – I took it!” Laura loved the concert, she danced to every song and screamed in excitement while applauding each one. “It was absolutely awesome!” In fact, Laura danced so much that she almost collapsed, and had to sit through the encore. She bonded with fellow Nickelback-ers who were swooning over their main crush, the Chadster (lead singer of the band).  Despite a very late night for Laura, she could not contain the smile and squeals of delight throughout the night and onto the next morning, as she rode back to Maryland.

Laura’s ultimate dream is to meet the band, but for now she has set up an email account so she can be a member of the Nickelback Fan Club online. She is setting her sights on seeing them again and continues to listen avidly to her CDs while at work and home.

For more than four years, Joseph has volunteered in a variety of capacities for the Silver Spring YMCA. In fact, Joe received Volunteer of the Year award for his contributions. Joseph recently participated in a 10-week wheelchair dancing class and is looking forward to his art class at Montgomery College. When not working or taking classes, Joseph and his direct support staff, Thommasenia, can be seen cruising the downtown Silver Spring area taking advantage of the multitude of entertainment options of the area.

Liz is an extremely outgoing young lady who loves to be with people and loves to be of help. Her job at the Sunnyvale Retirement center gives her plenty of opportunities to do both.  There she helps out in the laundry, bakes banana bread, sells snacks to the residents and entertains people by playing the piano. She has made lots of friends with both the staff and residents over the course of the past year. Her hobbies include playing the piano, swimming, and working out. She also enjoys her once a week trip to the Wheaton Mall eatery where she typically orders something nice and healthy.