Bill and Sharon Dunbar are grateful for the 24-hour support Candeo provides their daughter, Kelly, and can’t imagine her life without Candeo. Diagnosed with mental retardation, the 31-year-old Kelly would not be able to live – or work – by herself without the assistance from Candeo.
Kelly works three half-days a week
at the Ankeny Hy-Vee bakery, where she receives supportive employment services
from Candeo.
“We couldn’t ask the people at Hy-Vee to be any nicer,” says Bill, “but things change in any workplace, and Candeo helps Kelly adjust to those changes.”
For example, a Candeo staffer helped Kelly learn how to label packages of baked goods when the process changed.
“It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s significant to Kelly and her contemporaries,” says Bill, a founding board member for the organization, formerly known as Creative Community Options. “They don’t do the job for her, but they help her understand the processes.“
Jobs change as time goes on, and most employers can’t commit as much time as it takes to help a person with Kelly’s challenges adapt to those changes. Candeo and other organizations have helped Kelly take on new challenges as she gets more involved with the community.
“Help from Candeo and Hy-Vee is giving Kelly a quality of life that we never imagined she’d have,” says Bill. “I can’t say enough good about the people involved.”
