JANESVILLE, WI – Amy Golackson, Sales Manager for KANDU Industries, now serves on the Beloit Chamber of Commerce Board.

Says Golackson, “The Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce is a wonderful organization that helps local businesses connect to each other in today’s complex business environment, advocating growth and progress for the Beloit Area. I am impressed with their ability to bring different entities together to collaborate and embrace a shared vision for the future. I’m honored to be selected to serve on the board.” She also includes, “KANDU Industries can be viewed as a labor resource for attracting new businesses by helping them respond to seasonal needs, growth, and extraordinary demands with low cost, flexible labor. I have always been interested in economic development and feel that sharing industry and political knowledge will help both KANDU and the Chamber.”

KANDU is a not-for-profit organization that creates, promotes and provides diverse opportunities within the community that offer persons with disabilities or disadvantages the opportunity to pursue greater independence and meet their full potential.

For more information, contact Jim McMullen at 755-4123 x304.

Recalling memories from the past can be a great activity for the person who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia.  As the disease progresses, we see that it is difficult to learn new information but some memories created long ago may remain intact.  With guided discussion, these memories can sometimes be recalled and wonderful dialog can take place.

As a family member or caregiver, keep in mind the age of the person you are caring for.   Use this information to guide your discussion.  For example, let’s consider that someone grew up during the 1940’s.  This is the time of Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart.  World War II was raging during the first half of the decade.  The world was recovering and re-organizing during the second half.  Computers were arriving on the scene.  It’s a Wonderful Life and Citizen Kane were in the cinema.  This type of information can provide useful topics for discussion.  The information is relevant to the time when memories were developed for this person.  The names Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart may trigger memories for this person.  Talk about the war might spark conversation about living conditions, employment and other related events.

The internet is an excellent source of information related to time periods that would be relevant to the person you are caring for.  At KANDU Day Services/Memory Care, we also use a tool called the Leisure Interest Inventory.  It is a comprehensive list of hobbies and activities that people may have been involved in during recreation and leisure throughout their life.  Whether they have a current interest or have participated in named activities in the past is indicated. This allows us to individualize their support while at KANDU.  Again, it also gives us information into the likes/dislikes of the individuals we support.  Along with identifying preferences for activities, it also exposes topics for discussion.  For instance, if a person has been involved in sewing projects in the past, we can use this information to discuss what types of sewing; cross stitch, knitting, crocheting or quilting.  We can ask about favorite fabrics, stitches and projects.  Furthermore, we can gather resources from the library related to sewing.  Books and videos regarding the sewing topic can be provided.  Fabrics and quilts can be brought in to share with the group during discussion.  The number of possibilities seems endless once the leisure interest has been uncovered.

Not every person will respond to memory recall discussions or activities but in a group setting, it can be very effective.  It is a valuable tool that can provide meaningful activity for your loved one. 

Respectfully submitted by:
Julie Smith, Program Manager
KANDU Day Services/Memory Care Program

I was out on the production floor recently, with customers. They were watching us in the initial stages as we started a job for them. A client worker from one of the other lines, Joel *, came over to our customers and asked “Who are you?” They smiled and said they were customers visiting from their company. Joel said, “but who are you?”  They laughed and said they were the quality control people and they were here to help set up the job. He looked at me and said, “Who are they?” I made the introductions using their first and last names. Joel said “Oh! So you are Carla and you are Jim.” Then he smiled, turned and walked away. As we realized that he was just looking for their first names, it made us all chuckle.  Sometimes, “Who are you?” doesn’t mean, what are you doing, what is your title , or even why are you here. It can just mean, what is your name and I will give you a welcoming smile. KANDU is awesome like that!

*Not his real name.

This is the third in a series of four blogs touching on when and why companies would work with KANDU for production services.

Companies making decisions about their future regularly review the balance of expense versus revenue or “return on investment.” The question of whether to take on permanent overhead costs for growth within your walls depends on your needs including timing, predictability, risk-tolerance and market demand.

Company C is growing. They have a new product that takes up too much space and they don’t want to invest in a move or expansion project until they know how the market receives this new product. They call us. We have the space, the capacity and we manage the inventory seamlessly to their monthly requirements.  By working with KANDU Industries they respond to the market quicker and with less long-term risk. It is a win-win.

This is the second in a series of four blogs touching on when and why companies would work with KANDU production services.
During these recovering economic times, companies are understandably a bit more cautious about hiring people. The decision to add people to the payroll involves real bottom line costs, not only in paying the person but also in the recruitment, training & benefits for that position. Then there is the possible cost of unemployment tax if the market takes a dip or the person doesn’t fit well past the probationary period. Working with KANDU’s labor force can help companies avoid or delay those costs.
Do you want to avoid hiring and training costs?
Company A could have hired temps or extra employees but then they didn’t know if the additional growth in product sales would continue. They needed to respond quickly to the orders but they weren’t sure they wanted to commit to the extra time and costs needed to hire, train, and supervise new employees. Now they contract us to do the work and we help them respond to the market quickly.
Do you need flexible, reliable labor for business growth or peak seasons?
Company B has a really busy season and they just need extra help for a few months of the year. They don’t want to hire and then lay off people so they call us. We flex with their needs and give them quality service so they trust us and come back to us each time the sales increase beyond their usual capacity!