A.B.E. Doors & Windows Blog

At the start of September, A.B.E. Door & Windows had the wonderful opportunity to welcome our newest addition to the office staff – Kathleen!   Kathleen, who has been chosen to work alongside us through the Work Experience Program, offered at Mercy Special Learning Center, will be joining us every week for the duration of the 2013 – 2014 school year.  Along with her job coach, Joan, the pair provides great assistance to our busy office staff by labeling product literature and compiling company folders that our estimators use in large quantity when providing free quotes to our customers.  This month, we had a chance to talk with Kathleen, in the great hopes of learning more about her.

Seventeen-year-old Kathleen is most distinguished by her always cheerful, polite, humble, and pleasant personality, which lights up our office on even the dreariest of Monday mornings.  She is very involved in both her studies at school and extracurricular activities.  Kathleen has a great appreciation for attending Mass, and is more than happy to be an Altar server at school.  She also is a member of the “Tone Chimes,” a group of musically gifted students who play bell chimes and perform for others during special school functions.  Kathleen is passionate and quite talented in both gymnastics and dance, and has found a love for anything involving physical activity.  She was excited to explain that she is a great at running and shares this common bond with her parents, whom are both passionate runners as well.  She enjoys listening to country music and is a great fan of baseball.  Kathleen is very close with her Mom, whom she admits is her best friend, and is happiest when spending time with her.

Kathleen has enjoyed her time working with A.B.E. Doors & Windows so far, though, we must mention, that it has been our absolute pleasure to be blessed with the presence of such positively lovely women in our office almost every week!  We are truly fortunate and honored to be involved in the Work Experience Program at Mercy Special Learning Center.  From the bottom of our hearts, we offer our deepest gratitude and thanks!

After sorting through our closets for the past several months, the entire staff of A.B.E. Doors & Windows cleaned out their personal wardrobes and gave away a large collection of gently used clothing to the Big Brothers Big Sisters Lehigh Valley.  All donations will benefit this long-running mentoring program, which focuses on supporting children who most need positive fostering and inspiration in our community.  Not only was this company project a unique opportunity to strengthen unity within our staff, but it also cultivated a greater sense of personal well-being.  The final results were a brilliant reminder that our seemingly small acts of kindness, compassion, and selflessness do indeed add up to create a world of difference in the lives of those around us.

Picture above (viewed from left to right):  Shannon Seng, Jim Lett, and Jim Lett II

Over the past ten years, A.B.E. Doors & Windows has worked together with Mercy Special Learning Center in providing our Showroom as a worksite for the Work Experience Program that is offered to the school's students.  Every Monday, since the start of the 2012 school year, one of Mercy's students, Irina, comes into work dutifully with her job coach, Joan.  Together, they provide greatly appreciated assistance to our busy staff by labeling all of our product literature and putting together company folders that our estimators rely on when providing free quotes to our customers.  This month, we were given an opportunity to sit down with Irina and had the great pleasure of learning more about her.

Irina, who is 16 years old, looks forward to attending school every morning and enjoys her studies in Reading.  She is a very busy student and hard worker, participating daily with food preparation in the kitchen at school, rolling silverware, and delivering lunch trays to classrooms.  Irina is also a member of the Tone Chime Choir, performing for others during special occasions and Mass.  Her favorite extracurricular activities include swimming and practicing gymnastics at Parkettes.  Outside of school and work, Irina has a passion for horseback riding, something that she has been doing since the age of 9.  She enjoys spending time outdoors and is looking forward to the weather becoming warmer.  Irina loves listening to music and some of her favorite artists include Rihanna, Usher, Dave Matthews Band, and Ke$ha.  Irina's sunny disposition, authenticity, compassion, and kindness shine brightly in everything that she says and does.  Joan expressed that the most satisfying part of her job is working alongside and interacting with the students she is paired with and witnessing their personal growth.

We consider ourselves truly blessed to be involved with such a terrific program at Mercy Special Learning Center and are honored to have Irina and Joan's presence in our office.  A.B.E. Doors & Windows holds deep gratitude and admiration for both of these lovely women.  We thank you eternally for your selfless hearts and the uplifting positivity that you emanate into the world!