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Thursday November 11, 2010

A Break in the Routine Leads to Laughter

(click for larger image) At Parky’s Farm, VIP group participants Amy Zeff, left, Sue Shallat and Bernard Wiesen selected pumpkins to take home.

On any other weekday, Bernard Wiesen would be at JVS in Blue Ash, working as hard as he can on the assembly line. But today, he’s on a hay wagon ride, smiling and laughing.

Wiesen is on the monthly outing of the VIP group. The participants in the Vocational Improvement Program, run by JVS, have profound developmental disabilities.

VIP, which is funded by the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, organizes these trips for fun and social interaction. Past trips have included the Carew Tower observatory, bowling, miniature golf, the Cincinnati Art Museum and an annual cookout.

On this chilly but sunny fall day, six of the nine VIP participants are at Parky’s Farm, a demonstration farm in Winton Woods Park in Springfield Township.

Wiesen is amused because he’s on the wagon ride through woods and fields during Halloween season. The gravel road is lined with inflatable figures, including Disney characters and jack-o'-lanterns.

“He’s dead serious at work,” says Barry Essig, another VIP participant. “Get him away from the Work Center and he’s like this, joking.”

The wagon stops at a Pumpkin Patch. Each participant selects a pumpkin to take home. Then, they head toward the barn where they see a demonstration about making apple cider with an old hand press.

Outside, they brush a goat, who’s sitting on the ground, enjoying it, and they talk to a llama, who couldn’t care less that he has visitors.

Before heading back to work in a maroon-and-white JVS van, they’ll stop for lunch, which is always a highlight of their trips.

JVS Case Manager Jennifer Kouns, who has worked with this group for 10 years, calls the outing a success. “They just like to get out and explore,” she says.

This story appeared in the JVS Pathways Fall 2010 newsletter. To receive a free subscription to the JVS Pathways' email edition, please submit your email address here.