Rancho Works Café & Gift Shop
The California Foundation for Occupational Therapy (CFOT) honors individuals/groups who, through their humanitarian activities, have demonstrated exceptional commitment to the philosophical principles of occupational therapy and to the mission and vision of CFOT.
CFOT is pleased to present our 2024 Humanitarian Award to the Rancho Works Café & Gift Shop for their significant humanitarian activities: helping people with severe physical disabilities make a successful transition to becoming productive and contributing members of the community.
Following a devastating life change, adjustment to disability and community reintegration are serious challenges that patients face. The Rancho Works Café & Gift Shop is an innovative initiative within the Occupational Therapy Work Rehabilitation Continuum at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey, California. As a non-profit business selling freshly prepared food, beverages, and handcrafted novelty items, it provides a vital platform for former patients to build essential job skills and habits in a real-life supportive work environment that prepares them for community employment. Rancho Works Café & Gift Shop Workers learn a variety of transferable work skills such as food preparation, stocking shelves, monitoring inventory, cashiering, and customer service. Graduate workers have found long term employment with businesses including Sodexo, Servicon, and Home Depot. Of note is that the origin of Rancho Works dates back to 2012 with partial start-up funding from a CFOT Seed Money award.
CFOT Salutes you and is pleased to present you with our 2024 Humanitarian Award!
The CFOT Honored Lecturer Award recognizes California occupational therapy practitioners who have demonstrated leadership and promoted ideas and visions in occupational therapy for the profession, and a presentation gives them an opportunity to share their insights and knowledge with the OT community at the CFOT Awards Luncheon and Symposium.
Heather J. Kitching, OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Loyalty in the Face of Adversity: Sustaining Ourselves, Each Other, and the Profession
Providing services to those in need and doing so competently and enthusiastically challenges us to our very core. The provision of healthcare and wellness interventions can be so rewarding yet so exhausting. We can choose to take the lead in facing the multitude of challenges before all of us by focusing on ourselves and each other. Loyalty as leadership allows us to acknowledge one another honestly, to accept and forgive when necessary, and to take the necessary risks to promote change, growth, and sustainability. Let us change some pervasive dynamics around us by intentionally daring to stand by each other with transparency, courage, and compassion. Sustaining ourselves and each other will create a sustainable and vibrant future for the profession.
Shannon Rutledge, CMP
CFOT is pleased to present Shannon with our Award of Appreciation for her unwavering support and invaluable guidance that has continually ensured the success of our
Awards Luncheon & Symposium at the OTAC Annual Conference.
Shannon is a Certified Meeting Planner (CMP) who has served the Occupational Therapy Association of California (OTAC) for 16 years. She is the Senior Membership and
Events Director at OTAC and works closely with their executive director and board of directors to service its members, plan and organize its annual conference, and support its strategic plan. In this
role at OTAC, Shannon has been a tremendous help and resource to CFOT over the years, mitigating both foreseen and unanticipated issues, allowing our signature annual event to thrive.
OTAC Executive Director Karen C. Polastri shared that …. “From her first day with OTAC, Shannon has been an invaluable asset utilizing her people and technology
skills, resourcefulness, and can-do spirit. We are all fortunate to have her on the OTAC team.”
We couldn’t agree more, and for that, CFOT is deeply grateful.
San Jose State University
San Jose State University
San Jose State University
San Jose State University
Dominican University of California
San Jose State University
California State University Dominguez Hills
California State University Dominguez Hills
California State University Dominguez Hills
California State University Dominguez Hills