Paperworks gives them a Purpose in Life, a place to be where they are needed and share a safe haven with coworkers all on the same mission, reaching life goals. The paperworks crew led by director Brian Lewis, far right.
As we head into the Holiday season, it’s quite fitting to liken the comparison of touring the Paperworks facility to visiting the North Pole and catching a secret peek inside Santa’s Workshop. (Although the radio was playing the Bee Gees, not “Jingle Bells.”) Director Brian Lewis proudly led us room to room where we watched in awe, now privy to the coveted made from scratch Magic Recipe that creates the one-of-a-kind recycled paper. Spoiler alert! It even contains Super Sparkle! In the first room, we met Dan, recently promoted to Assistant Team Leader. His task is to take all the shredded denims, wools, cottons and linens and “beat them to a pulp” with the help of a big machine, of course. He also adds the dye and shows us his blue Smurf hands. But his big accomplishment is actually that he has turned his life around with a job he feels blessed to have. “I enjoy working with people and making a difference. I feel proud with a sense of accomplishment,” he tells us. So he should, as it wasn’t long ago he called the Goodwill Inn home. They didn’t think he would be able to handle just a few days of work, but he has now been flourishing at Paperworks for three years. Audrey is one of many dedicated workers in the next room. She looks like a prospector mining for Gold, only it’s the Blue Rush. She starts to make a wet paper. Once it’s in place, it gets hung to dry, literally changing the Dan, who was recently promoted to Assistant Team Leader
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november /december 2013 | BAY LIFE NORTH