NW Works breaks ground on expanded workshop

By Christin Coyne
The Winchester Star

Kernstown — NW Works Inc., a Frederick County nonprofit business that provides job opportunities to people with disabilities, broke ground Thursday morning for a new workshop on Shady Elm Road south of Winchester.

NW Works Inc. CEO John Brauer (left) and some of the organization’s clients toss confetti into the air Thursday to celebrate the groundbreaking of NW Works new workshop on Shady Elm Road. (Photo by Ginger Perry)

Serving about 160 people a year who would normally be considered unemployable, NW Works (formerly known as Northwestern Workshop) is hoping to expand its services to area residents with an additional 18,000 square feet in the new facility.

The 45,000-square-foot building will allow the organization to offer more jobs and serve more people, particularly workers who need a quieter, calmer environment.

“Our [current] building isn’t conducive for people with autism,” said John Brauer, CEO of NW Works.

The crowded, busy rooms at the existing work center at 828 Smithfield Ave. in Winchester can be overwhelming to some, Brauer said.

Scheduled to be completed in 2010, the new building will also cut down on the number of in-house jobs NW Works must turn away due to lack of storage space.

About 85 workers are employed in-house, doing contract work such as assembling kits for Rubbermaid or packing light bulbs for General Electric.

Brauer said he is constantly having to turn away work because of the lack of room at Smithfield Avenue.

Though Brauer said he tries never to turn away a worker, he would like to keep his employees busier. With only four loading docks and limited space for storage, workers must often wait while projects are shifted in and out of the current facility.

Plans for the new building include seven loading docks and more space for big projects.

The building will also include a cafe to provide lunch for both NW Works employees and other workers in the community.

Brauer hopes the cafe will also provide a training experience for some of his clients to work under a professional chef.

Additionally, the nonprofit organization hopes to eventually establish a garden center at the new site.

Nancy Cartier said she has worked at NW Works for 38 years and is a jack-of-all-trades.

Cartier helped hold the ribbon during the ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday.

She’s so excited about the new building, Cartier put her half of the cut ribbon in her pocket as a keepsake.

With retired state Sen. H. Russell Potts Jr. heading up a capital campaign to raise $4.5 million, NW Works has reached the halfway mark in raising funds for its new building.

Brauer said the organization has not decided what it will do with its current building in Winchester, though they are looking to eventually sell it or make it available to other nonprofit groups.

NW Works serves people older than 17 who have intellectual disabilities, sight or hearing impairments, traumatic brain injuries, or other chronic disabilities and who are normally considered unemployable, but who want to work.

NW Works isn’t a typical charity. During fiscal year 2007, $1.8 million of NW Work’s $3 million budget was earned through its work contracts.

The majority of its employees come to the organization with limited work experience or huge gaps in their work history.

New workers spend their first month training and trying out as many jobs as possible before being placed with a work assignment that provides the best fit.

While the goal is to move workers into traditional jobs in the community, Brauer said NW Works is more concerned about what is best for each client.

Some spend only a month in-house before moving on to other jobs in the community; others have been working in-house since the organization launched in 1970.

Tasks such as those that require basic counting skills can be a challenge for some NW Works employees, but the nonprofit organization’s staff tries to help workers overcome obstacles.

Workers who put together kits for Rubbermaid or other businesses are provided optional boards to help with their jobs. The boards have specially shaped holes and pegs to help them put the correct number of components into each kit.

As the kits are moved down the line from person to person, workers weigh and reweigh to double check each finished product for accuracy.

The end result rarely disappoints.

“We have had Rubbermaid staff come out to see why the quality is so high,” Brauer said.

NW Works has several options for those clients who want jobs outside of the building. Workers can help with janitorial services, landscaping, or other services provided to companies and individuals by NW Works.

Workers can also receive training and help with finding a job with an outside firm.

Recent placements have included The George Washington Hotel, Food Lion, Target, and TJ Maxx.

“Everyone can see what [NW Works] has done for me,” David Russell, one of NW’s success stories and the unofficial ambassador for the Loudoun Street Mall, told the crowd Thursday morning.

“Nothing comes overnight. You have to work for it,” Russell said.

...www.nwworks.com

— Contact Christin Coyne at
citydesk@winchesterstar.com