Wow, what a year! We had some transformative changes this year so let’s review some high points together:
The Opportunity Club opened with our brand-new, official Day Support Activities program in May, providing coverage to even more of our community than ever before;
Our prestigious Work Incentive program launched in the third quarter, counseling individuals in hardened times to understand benefits, how to achieve their financial goals and successful employment/life balance, and to monitor for suspicious activity. Our clients have seen a higher chance of catching and reporting financial abuse when receiving support from our benefits counselors, and our counselors report satisfaction with easing stress on their clients and their families, teaching them the power they have in their hands to confidently take action!;
I like having someone who helps. You helped me get my benefits back – Sara, WIPA participant
Paired with changes to our services, we are also pleased to announce that Tanisha, our lovely, dedicated benefits counselor, DSP, and Excellence Reviewer, has been promoted to…drum roll please…TOC’s Community Living Director! Paige, our esteemed former Community Living Director, has shifted gears to fulfill our Day Support Activities Director role, overseeing our group program to ensure the activities run as smooth as butter. We are loving this collaboration between two powerful pillars of TOC’s administration to ensure our agency soars year-in-and-year-out!
And for our 2025 recap, let’s recount some of the ways we united, inspired, and empowered our community!
Unite
TOC worked extensively this year to connect to the wonderful community Oregon has to offer! Our clients rallied to visit and explore Anna and Abby’s Yard, the Ole Bolle, OMSI, the Evergreen Space Museum, Forest Grove Fire Station, Disability Pride Celebration & Concert, Hillsboro Pumpkin Patch, and much more!
We hosted two inclusive, welcoming speed dating events open to the public and the response was MASSIVE. We were pleasantly surprised to see so many people join us and leave constructive feedback, and we are working hard behind the scenes to respond to the demand for even more opportunities for people to gather and make lasting relationships. We are also looking to partner with other agencies to provide workshops beforehand to educate participants on helpful tips and vital information that people might not have thought about, boosting their overall social skills and decreasing anxiety. We assure you we’ll be reaching out as soon as we have updates on this sensational event!
What’s more, our growth into multiple branches led us to open a whole new office! TOC now welcomes our clients to unite at our Hillsboro Clubhouse, reorganizing our first office to become TOC Headquarters. The DSA program functions at our Clubhouse, supporting us in serving individuals with higher-level needs and providing a bigger space for privately sponsored parties!
Other examples of the uniting activities offered this year include our TOC 5 Year Anniversary Bash with karaoke, festive photo booth, and Employee Nominations, the 4th of July Community BBQ at Shute Park, and handwritten letters from our DSA participants on Veteran’s Day to show their appreciation on a day of remembrance.
Inspire
We move with pride knowing we provide person-centered support, tapping into each person’s inner strengths, talents and unique personalities! Hosting talent shows, theater days, and spirit weeks brings out their playful side, reminding them to keep things playful and fun. Our Harvest Time Costume Party was an opportunity to spark creativity and conversation, we even had a prize for best costume!
One of TOC’s noted artists, Eli, hosted his first art showing titled As I See It, featuring a collection of his powerful, moving pieces. We are so honored to get to be a part of his journey, seeing him blossom as an author and writer. He is an inspiration to us and we can’t wait to see what the future has in store for him!
Our day program clients are regularly offered activities designed to build skills and encourage independence, inspiring hobbies that can last a lifetime! Some of this year’s popular activities included bingo to build recognition skills, creative writing and sewing workshops, crafting fairy and bird houses, short film projects, and geocaching.
We are inspired every day by the people we have the privilege to meet and work with, channeling that energy back into our work to keep the momentum thriving so inspiration continues to ripple across the state. As inspiration sparks, we see people achieve what once felt impossible, igniting a fire within that burns bright and beautiful like the sun.
Empower
Empowerment is about possibility and the belief that everyone has potential for excellence. We aim to create a space for that potential to flourish, and we take every opportunity to learn how we can continue to do this year in and out.
One way we achieve this is by having our clients and staff members backs, regularly checking so they can prioritize their goals and health knowing they can take charge. Ensuring people regularly have access to helpful guides and tools gives people the power and confidence to assure their safety, in turn lessening the risk of injury, harm, and illness.
For the second year, we signed up for the seasonal Holiday Market hosted at Farmington Gardens, providing the opportunity for our TOC community to sell their hand-crafted creations to the public.
We’ve participated in athletic activities such as swimming at aquatic centers, walks in nature parks, archery, and the highly requested TOC Lake Day featuring paddle boarding and beachside tanning providing accommodations so everyone can get some exercise and fresh air!
In-house cooking classes afforded people to develop their cooking skills and knowledge of fresh, home-cooked meals they can replicate at home.
In the last quarter of the year, we saw many people impacted by the government going into shutdown. Between helping them understand what this meant for them to accessing vital resources that could provide coverage until their benefits could resume as normal, our community could count on us through the whole process. We put our thinking caps on and got straight to banding together, making sure no one was left feeling hopeless.
Lastly, we have recently implemented the use of these handy one page profiles to support individuals with introductions, seamless transitions with new support team members, and even doctors appointments, support groups, therapy, and much more! These break the mold of hardened service paperwork to make a good first impression, reminding people in a brief summary that these are lovely people with unique personalities, hopes, and dreams.
We also want to pause and acknowledge how much we’ve grown as an employer this year. As we’ve expanded our services, we’ve been able to welcome even more talented, caring people into our team by offering competitive, meaningful employment. With four stellar services now in place, the need for dedicated support workers has grown substantially, opening more doors for people who want to build a fulfilling career in this field while earning a solid wage. To expand our reach, we’ve participating in job fairs to give job seekers a chance to learn who we are and whether TOC feels like the right fit for them.
Just as importantly, we continue to recognize the commitment and heart our longtime team members bring quarter after quarter. We believe in lifting our people up from within, promoting internally whenever possible and honoring experience, reliability, and the unique strengths each person brings from our loyal team. When someone has a talent that can help our team grow, we offer personalized career options for unique specialties that can lift our company to greater heights. If you have a staff member you’d like to recognize, please consider submitting a DSP Excellence Review; we consider feedback, compliments, and Excellence Reviews when evaluating staff promotions!
Whoo, that’s a lot of activity for one year! So now you might be thinking, “what’s in store for 2026?”, well we’ve got a couple of things cooking currently! We are working toward serving even more communities across Oregon by exploring initiatives in service expansion, additional office locations, multilingual support, ongoing program development, and much more to ensure our work remains responsive and inclusive. With more opportunities to thrive and flourish, everyone can shape their own path and become who they choose to be!
Above all, we are unbelievably grateful for each and every client, employee, partner, family member, and associate that contributed to our mission. Going on six years and counting, we would not be where we are without everyone’s love, support, and dedication. Here’s to the journey ahead and all that the new year will bring, thank you all for being with us and until next time 👋
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