Lizzie works two days per week doing a ‘tea towel run’ for local businesses in Perth. With the assistance of her Mum and mentors from Inclusion wa, Lizzie visits 9 businesses. She collects their dirty tea towels and delivers beautifully cleaned, ironed and folded tea towels, straight to their kitchen. Lizzie spends one day per week doing the deliveries (with an essential hot chocolate stop on the way) and washing and drying the tea towels. The next day, Lizzie irons, folds and packs the tea towels ready for the following week.

Lizzie operates her tea towel run as a branch of Heather’s Tea Towels, which she was connected with via her Coordinator at Inclusion wa. Lizzie is a young lady with cerebral palsy but this has not haltered the progress with her employment goals. Although the job is all about the tea towels, there’s a lot more to it than that. Lizzie is learning to organise her day, she practices her reading and writing skills as she writes her delivery list, her social skills get a work out as she often stops for a chat with staff at the businesses we visit, she deals with money as she also purchases kitchen items, such as milk for the businesses. The skills Lizzie is learning have come in handy in other areas of Lizzie’s life, particularly, her role as a volunteer. Lizzie helps out at an animal sanctuary, where her ironing skills have been put to use preparing the animals’ bedding.

Lizzie tells me that having a job makes her feel happy, she gets satisfaction from her job knowing she is helping people. Providing the businesses with this service means a hassle free kitchen for the business and a meaningful role for Lizzie in her community. Who knows where the skills she is learning will lead her in future.

Lizzie Heynemann
Morley