PEO Sisterhood Visits the Academy

Philanthropic women’s organization joins us for a Lunch & Learn

The Philanthropic Educational Organization or PEO Sisterhood as they are known, is a community-based women’s organization that dates back to 1869. Their focus is on empowering the education of women through philanthropic endeavors. They came across a news article about the Academy and they were intrigued enough to reach out to us to request a lunch and learn.

Ten women from the organization joined us for a comprehensive tour led by Academy members Chantel Gingrich and Candy El-Azzaoui. They listened with rapt attention as Chantel and Candy explained how and why our work-structured day is organized, and the progression for many of our members from volunteer to highly-supported transitional employment to permanent competitive supported employment.

The tour was followed by a beautiful buffet lunch prepared and served by our culinary team. As the women enjoyed chicken cordon bleu, buttery white fish amandine and caramelized roasted vegetables, they were clearly interested in learning more. Their many insightful questions sought a deeper understanding of our employment programs as well as our focus on wellness, personal growth and social opportunities for our members.

We love these opportunities to demonstrate our passion for what we do while educating others about the abundant potential of those who live with a mental health diagnoses. We can talk about it all day, but a picture is worth a thousand words. We invite any organization that would like to gain a deeper understanding of who we are to call to schedule a lunch and learn. We promise you one hour that you won’t soon forget.