Keeping Up with JJ's List

Written by Tricia Luzadder, Ventures Program Manager

Despite ongoing impacts of the pandemic, JJ's List had a fun and successful 2021. 

We managed to sneak in a few in-person Disability Awareness Trainings for close to 50 people when it was deemed safe to do so. When it wasn’t, we managed to reach over 400 individuals virtually, including students at Loyola Academy, as well as staff at businesses and organizations as diverse as Ulta Beauty and the Museum of Contemporary Art. The Players have become experts in transitioning back and forth to our virtual platforms.

The dedicated Hop on the Bus to Independence workshop (HOTB) team learned some new technology skills, too. By adapting the workshop to Zoom, the HOTB team was able to reach 376 individuals across Cook, Will, Lake, and DuPage counties, sharing important safety tips and the benefits of public transportation. The HOTB team remains committed to teaching young adults with disabilities about the importance of fixed-route public transportation as a life skill and is hoping to continue to do so in 2022.

The participants in No Boundaries continued to meet virtually in 2021 and built stronger technology skills because of it. Working together virtually was not without some challenges but everyone adjusted to this format fairly well and worked hard to be successful. Alana even landed a job! We are grateful for the opportunities technology provides, but we do hope to be able to meet and work on building and reinforcing skills in person sometime soon.

In the meantime, JJ’s List is working on redesigning our website to make it easier to use. Stay tuned for updates and continue to follow along on Facebook!