While I’ve been constantly updating the website and social media channels for JACK’S PLACE For Autism Foundation, I’ve not really had the time to make any entries into the blog. At the same time, when you don’t have much you want to talk about, it becomes harder to put something together. But now that I’ve got time – however little it may be – I thought it would be good to put something together.

It’s been just about a year since I joined JACK’S PLACE For Autism Foundation, which is crazy to me, considering where I am now compared to back then. A year ago, I was brought in to just make updates to the Foundation’s social media channels and write blog posts. Today, I am responsible for those same tasks, but in addition, I am responsible for making constant updates to the aesthetics and internal workings of the Foundation’s website, putting together the Foundation’s online store (coming soon), taking photography for events and a lot more.

Getting to work here at JACK’S PLACE has been a tremendous honor. Being able to interact with families who attend our events has been nothing short of a good feeling. Seeing parents and their children enjoying a day or evening at one of our many events makes me feel good about the job I’m doing. Whether my work directly or indirectly affects them, I know that at the end of each day, I can say that I’ve made a positive change in someone’s life, at least for a day or evening.

Working with the staff at JACK’S PLACE has been a great experience. In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, one of the levels of human needs is the feeling of belongingness. Every day I come to work, I feel like I belong here, and it’s in part thanks to the people here who make me feel appreciated for what I do. However it goes beyond that. These people genuinely care about my personal life, asking how my family is, what I’ve been doing outside of work and just displaying care for an employee. These people empower me to do so much more than what I was brought in to do. I feel like I’m part of a family here at work, given the comfortable and cordial treatment.

Whether you are or have been a part of JACK’S PLACE For Autism Foundation, someone who has attended one of our many events, or has supported the Foundation, I want to say thank you. It becomes a lot easier to go to work when you know the people you’re doing this for have been so kind to you in the community. I’ve always told people I want to give back to the community, because the community in a way raised me and supported me.

I just wanted to get this out of the way because I’d be remiss in not making a quick entry about how appreciative I am of the opportunity that has been given to me a year after joining the Foundation. As I mentioned, it’s hard to write about stuff when you don’t have a lot to talk about. There will be more blog entries to come because I definitely have things to talk about.