10/09/2003 Last month, Portland Archbishop John Vlazny honored three retiring members of the DePaul Industries board of trustees: Art Wiese, 21 years of service, Bob Belding, 22 years, and Mark Moothart, 16 years.
All three have been active volunteers in the Catholic community with a particular interest in assisting people with disabilities. Volunteering for service with DePaul Industries, they have helped give training and employment to tens of thousands of people with disabilities. The Portland-based not-for-profit operates branch offices in Salem, Corvallis, and Eugene, as well as in Bremerton, Wash.
In 1971, the Oregon Vocational Rehabilitation Division came to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and explained the need for new workshops in the community to provide training and jobs for people with disabilities. Charles Royer, then executive director of the society, proposed a new corporation to fill the need. Barney Comerford chaired the committee that approved the idea. He knew of a building, which had formerly housed an automobile dealership, that would be ideal for such a venture. Henry Casey, who owned the property, donated the building. Volunteers did the work to get it ready.
In the spring of 1972, the company opened for business with five disabled workers (called clients) and a budget of $27,000. Focusing at first on jobs involving woodworking and other light manufacturing, the number of clients grew to 30 a year later.
Board members, understanding that a variety of jobs would be necessary, approved new programs such as job search, job development, and cable soldering. They knew the best way to help people with disabilities is to match the worker’s abilities with the job that uses those abilities to the fullest, providing both challenge and potential for the worker without placing demands on the disability……
…..Archbishop Vlazny said, “You can give a person a fish or you can teach him to fish. DePaul Industries is teaching people to fish, which is in the Vincentian tradition.”
For the full story and photos see http://www.sentinel.org/articles/2003-41/11882.html
