| 1957 |
A group of New Britain area residents began collaborating
to create a vocational rehabilitation agency providing real
work for local persons with disabilities. |
| 1964 |
Constructive Workshop, Inc. was incorporated and had its
first facility – a Quonset Hut type structure on Slater
Road in New Britain. It opened with a staff of three led by
Berry Marchburn, Jr., Director, and Dr.
John McIntosh, President
of the Board of Directors, and thirty-three clients. Local
industries provided CW with subcontract work that enabled people
with disabilities to develop their work skills on such tasks
as assembly, packaging, salvaging, sorting, mailing and other
light industrial activities. Evaluations, counseling and job
placement services were also offered. |
| 1965 |
Clay Oliver was named Executive Director. |
| 1970 |
Kurt Hansen became President of CW. He remained at the helm
for 30 years, until 2000. |
| 1973 |
The Ellis Street Branch opened to accommodate a growing need
for more space. |
| 1974 |
CW opened a Bristol Work Center at 165 Hill Street in response
to community needs. |
| 1976 |
CW began a Food Service Program preparing Congregate and
Meals on Wheels. What started as a small, local program has
grown to be a statewide business preparing and delivering meals
to 1,800 customers. |
| 1982 |
A group of concerned citizens, spearheaded by Charles Heilig,
and the town built the West Hartford Work
Center at 130 South
Street to meet the needs of their community. |
| 1986 |
The East Hartford Center, CW’s first community-based
center, was opened and remained opened until 2003 when it merged
with our Greater Hartford Center. |
| 1988 |
The New London Center opened marking the beginning of our
janitorial contracts with the U.S. Coast Guard. |
| 1989 |
The Greater Hartford Center was opened. |
| |
CW began providing DSO, adult day treatment services, to
42 individuals. Today, this program, because of the need, has
expanded to most of our centers. |
| 1994 |
The Waterbury Center opened.
|
| |
CW began providing Supported Living
Services for individuals
needing assistance living independently in the community. This
program has quadrupled since its beginnings and now includes
the managing of supported living homes. |
| 1994 |
Constructive Workshop changed its name to CW
Resources to
more accurately reflect CW’s mission of providing employment
and training opportunities to all challenged persons in an
ever-expanding variety of jobs in the community. |
| |
- The governing structure also changed. CW
Group, Inc. was incorporated to be the umbrella agency for the organization.
- CW
Resources and The Connecticut Enterprise
Center (a small
business incubator program) were created to be its two
nonprofit companies and CW Enterprises, a for-profit affiliate,
to help support CW’s mission.
|
| 1995 |
CW headquarters moved into its present headquarters
building at 200 Myrtle Street, New Britain enabling the expansion
and re-structuring of many of our programs, such as:
- The
Food Service program was relocated in New Britain to our
new 6,000 square foot food preparation facility
- The Connecticut
Enterprise Center (CEC) began leasing space to small and
start-up businesses. Since it’s inception, 25 businesses have created
100 jobs in the community.
- CW’s Production Division, with expanded production
space, separate shipping and receiving area and warehousing capabilities
could now take on large packaging and fulfillment contracts. It was able
to venture into the food processing and the packaging market.
CW was awarded the janitorial contract
to clean the entire Coast Guard Academy. This one contract
enabled CW to expand the New London
Center, hire 50 persons
with disabilities, partner with other rehabilitation agencies
and opened doors to other large janitorial contracts. It also won CW
the prestigious NISH Award and the Mutual of America
Community Partnership Award. |
| 1999 |
CW took on a new venture serving the employment needs
of residents at Southbury Training School. CW now operates
a bottle and can redemption center, The
Bottle Stop, that is
co-located at the Waterbury Center. |
| 2000 |
Ronald H. Buccilli, Psy.D. was named President of CW Group,
Inc. |
| |
CW won a major contract with the Submarine
Base in Groton and a minority-owned janitorial service that enhanced CW’s
services in the Groton/New London area. This partnership was
the first such contract in the United States and is a model
that other agencies in Washington, D.C. are monitoring. |
| 2001 |
CW opened a Groton Center at the Groton
Inn & Suites and went into the hotel maid service business. It now provides
employment for almost 20 clients cleaning the guestrooms on
a daily basis. |
| 2002 |
River Valley Products, CW’s dry food-packaging facility,
opened at 140 Production Ct., New Britain. Contracts with the
U.S. Department of Agriculture to package instantized dry milk
are employing 30 persons with disabilities. |
| 2004 |
CW celebrated 40 years of empowering persons through
employment. River Valley Products produced and shipped 14
million pounds of powdered milk for the Iraqi and other humanitarian
causes. Awarded the first Board of Education & Services
for the Blind contract. Inaugurated a Therapeutic Recreational
Program.
|
| 2005 |
The commissary at the Newport Naval Station became
the first work site in Rhode Island. The Food Service Division
opened a restaurant, the Huskies Café at
Uncas on the Thames. The Meals-on-Wheels program
began preparing 800 Russian meals a day, bringing their grand
total to more than 4,500 meals per day.
|
| 2006 |
CW became an Elderly Nutrition Provider for
persons 60 and over in New Britain, Bristol, Southington, Berlin,
and Terryville/Plymouth. the Southeastern Center opened in
Gales Ferry to service individuals in the eastern part of CT. |
| 2007 |
CW was awarded a contract for the Hanscom Air Force
Base Commissary in Lexington, Massachusetts, providing new 40 jobs. |
| 2008 |
Both the Bristol and Waterbury Centers moved to larger facilities
to accommodate more individuals and a growing number of programs.
CW received a landscaping contract at the Groton Sub
Base creating
new job opportunities for 30 people.
|
