A Cascade of Dollars
On August 11, 2021 Barre Rotary met at the American Legion and dined on salad with chicken and ex post facto cookies and water. Caroline began the festivities with a Happy Dollar for Daren, our guest speaker, being here and a fine on Tom for having barbeque sauce on his badge. The “it showed that I enjoyed my meals” defense didn’t stick like the sauce did and so the fine passed. Doug contributed a couple of Happy Dollars in reporting that his son Bryan, last week’s speaker, had a great time and enjoyed being with us and that Bianca, his granddaughter, found being at our meeting to be a theatrical-like experience. Brenda threw a buck in the basket in appreciation of being so warmly received today. Joe followed suit because he met a Northfield Rotarian in the post office. President Tony followed the trend and gave a Happy Dollar in celebration of his and Cindy’s 35th Wedding Anniversary. Karl introduced Tracy Lewis of the Barre Partnership and Loren introduced her daughter, Adela, who recently returned from studying in Paris. That motivated Joe to throw in two more dollars in recognition of the notion of returning from Paris and the good work of the Barre Partnership. Tracy added another in thanks to Karl and Barre Rotary for the Barre Art Splash which, as she exclaimed, “has been huge for Barre!”
President Tony asked Caroline to introduce our guest speaker Daren Austin.
Second Chances
Daren is an Account Manager for Working Fields, a supportive employment agency. Its mission is to provide opportunities “for successful employment and recovery by empowering individuals to manage challenges because of substance use addiction and past convictions.” Individuals who are referred to Working Fields become associates and are paired with a recovery coach who gets to know the associate, including skills and experience. As defined on their website: “Recovery coaching is not therapy or addiction treatment. It is a strength-based, action-oriented, supportive relationship in which a coach helps individuals in recovery to connect with resources, identify a change plan, and stay accountable to making progress toward their goals in areas such as work, education and relationships.” Through coaching, trust is built and the associate becomes “grateful” and then a dedicated employee. Clients (employers) hold the belief, along with Working Fields, that people deserve second chances. Working Fields seeks to create “a community of recovery-friendly workplaces that treat people in recovery or those with past convictions as they would treat all others.”
Daren’s talk was filled with compassion, reflecting his commitment to the work he does in helping others to have “a second chance.” Rotarians showed their appreciation with a warm round of applause.
You can find more information at: secondchances@workingfields.com
Until next time...that's all folks.