Options Employment Outreach Inc.

04/16/2026

Reminder our April 30th HR Rise & Learn Breakfast with Eddie LeMoine is coming up fast — don’t forget to register!

🎥 Check out the video message from Eddie
https://vimeo.com/1170286313

Building Capacity in 2026: Skills, Generations & Employee Engagement
📍 Riverside Country Club
🕣 April 30th from 8:30–10:00 AM
We’re excited to celebrate our 30th Anniversary with this special session in partnership with CPHR/CRHA NB.
👉 Register here: https://secure.cphrnb.ca/events-calendar/english.php...

Our April 30th HR Rise & Learn Breakfast with Eddie LeMoine is coming up fast — don’t forget to register!

🎥 Check out the video message from Eddie
https://vimeo.com/1170286313

Building Capacity in 2026: Skills, Generations & Employee Engagement
📍 Riverside Country Club
🕣 April 30th from 8:30–10:00 AM

We’re excited to celebrate our 30th Anniversary with this special session in partnership with CPHR/CRHA NB.

👉 Register here: https://secure.cphrnb.ca/events-calendar/english.php...

04/10/2026

In March, we were proud to celebrate a huge milestone — Crystal’s 10 years with Options!

Crystal began her journey with us as our Admin/Office Coordinator, where her strong work ethic, organization, and genuine care for others quickly stood out. A few years ago, she stepped into the role of Employment Counsellor, bringing with her a deep passion for Options’ mission and a true love for helping people reach their goals.

Throughout her time here, Crystal’s dedication to Options and the people we serve has always been evident. She consistently went above and beyond, building meaningful connections with clients and supporting her teammates in ways that made a real difference.

While we’ll definitely miss Crystal, we’re excited for her as she begins her next chapter in British Columbia. This new adventure is so well deserved, and we know she’ll continue to make a positive impact wherever she goes.

Thank you, Crystal, for 10 wonderful years with Options. Your love for this organization and your commitment to helping others will always be part of our story

04/03/2026

The Learning Disabilities Association of New Brunswick (LDANB) is a charitable organization founded in 1970. Our mission is to promote the understanding and acceptance of the ability of persons with learning disabilities to lead meaningful and successful lives. LDANB recognizes that access to higher education plays an important role in this mission, and as such LDANB is pleased to open the application period for its annual scholarship.

The scholarship of $1,000 will be awarded to a grade 12 student entering post-secondary in the 2026-2027 academic year, or a current post-secondary student who will be continuing their studies into the 2026-2027 academic year.

Applications due on Friday, May 15, 2026!!

https://www.ldanb-taanb.ca/learning-disabilities-association-of-new-brunswick-2026-2027-scholarship/

04/01/2026

🎉 Happy 30th Anniversary, Options! 🎉

Today, we are proud to celebrate 30 years of impact, growth, and community connection. For three decades, Options has been dedicated to empowering job seekers and supporting students as they begin their post‑secondary journey, while creating inclusive pathways that help individuals reach their goals.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to our staff, clients, employers, partners, and community supporters past and present who have been part of this journey. Your dedication, collaboration, and belief in our mission have made these 30 years possible.

We would also like to offer a sincere thank you to our Board Members, past and present. Your leadership, guidance, and commitment have played a vital role in shaping Options and supporting our growth over the years.

Here’s to 30 years of making a difference, and to many more years of empowering individuals and strengthening our community.

🎂 Happy Birthday, Options! 🎂

03/30/2026

As we celebrate Options’ 30th Anniversary, we’re taking time to recognize some of the remarkable individuals who helped shape our organization over the years.

We’re grateful to Jeff for sharing a message about his time with Options:

“In the early 90’s I was honored to be one of the first clients of Options Outreach Employment. Their dedicated staff was such a great help in setting up my transition plan from High School to University, accessing funding for my caregivers at the university through the Training and Employment Support Services Program from the New Brunswick Government, and in my job search post university. This took a lot of pressure off me and helped me be on a level playing field. This helped me to become a leader in disability community and a Chartered Professional in Human Resources. I was pleased to be able to refer my wife to this great organization and they also supported her in her job search.

I also had the opportunity to partner with options as a private business owner offering caregiving services. We provided these services to the Department of Post Secondary Education, Training and Labour. Options was always there to support the needs of their clients.

In the early 2000’s I was very pleased to be invited to join the board. This was a great experience for me, due to diverse nature of the board. It provide me with great experience to move into leadership roles within both Provincial and National Boards of Directors of several organizations.

What I was most impressed with during my time on the board was that they ensured that they had people with lived experience on the board before it became popular.

I am so happy that options continues to thrive and support so many people in our community. I am glad to be able to say that I have such a great organization to refer community members to and will be delighted to continue to do so.

Congratulations Team. Keep up the great work.”

03/26/2026

Options was pleased to attend the Envision Saint John 2025 Year in Review & State of the Economy event yesterday

This annual update offered a valuable look back at our region’s progress in 2025 and the economic forces shaping the year ahead.

Envision Saint John CEO Andrew Beckett shared highlights from the Agency’s work over the past year, along with priorities moving into 2026. Lana Asaff, Senior Economist with the Atlantic Economic Council, provided an in‑depth overview of the Saint John region’s economic landscape including employment trends, population shifts, housing pressures, and business activity.

You can watch the event or read the full reports here:
www.envisionsaintjohn.com/2025-year-review-state-economy

Thank you to Envision Saint John for an informative and forward‑looking session.

03/26/2026

As we celebrate Options’ 30th Anniversary, we’re taking time to recognize some of the remarkable individuals who helped shape our organization over the years.

We’re grateful to Fabie for sharing a message about her time with Options:

"I first joined the Options Board as a volunteer in 2010 and the following year stepped into the role of Vice-President on the Executive.

My years of supporting persons with Learning Disabilities in our community from preschool, through to the school system and employment was beneficial to Options in supporting students in post-secondary education. Twenty years ago Options staff was supporting just a handful of students with Learning Disabilities. Over time, by working more closely with LDASJ chapter and LDANB-TAANB the partnership allowed us to reach even more students.

Today, Options supports nearly 200 post-secondary students in partnership with LDANB-TAANB, as well as another valued partner, Neil Squire, for Assistive Technology support. Getting to know the client while they are still a student in high school is an essential part of effective employment counselling. Getting to this point required many years of promoting the need. Establishing a trusting relationship between the student and counsellor is essential. By building this foundation early, students with Learning Disabilities feel more confident, supported, and better prepared to transition from school into successful employment.

My volunteer work with LDANB began in the 1980s when one of our sons experienced extremely difficulty finding success with reading in school. He was diagnosed as being dyslexic and the work began to help him find knowledgeable support staff in the schools. Hence my road to the many years of volunteering began. For the many years of community work with the association at the Chapter, Provincial and National levels I received the Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002. I volunteered with Options for nine years which I enjoyed and met the great people which made Options what it is today. It brings me great joy to see the organization continuing to flourish today. Happy anniversary, Options!"

03/24/2026

🌟 Thank You to Crosby’s 🌟

Last week, our team at Options had the pleasure of touring Crosby’s, guided by Ian who gave us an incredible behind‑the‑scenes look at their workplace and operations.

Tours like this are such an important part of what we do. They allow us to connect with potential employers, learn more about different work environments, and explore how we can help our clients succeed in meaningful and inclusive employment opportunities.

Seeing firsthand the roles, expectations, and supports available at Crosby’s helps us better understand how to match the right client with the right job and how to set them up for long‑term success.

A huge thank‑you to Ian and the team at Crosby’s for welcoming us and for being open to ongoing partnership. We look forward to continuing to work together to support inclusive hiring in our community!

03/23/2026

As we celebrate Options’ 30th Anniversary, we’re taking time to recognize some of the remarkable individuals who helped shape our organization over the years.

Today, we are honoured to highlight Christine Evans , whose long-standing dedication, leadership, and advocacy have had a lasting impact on Options Employment Outreach.

We’re grateful to Christine for sharing a message about her time with Options:

"I was proud to serve on the Options Outreach Board of Directors for many years. It was truly an honour to work alongside such passionate and dedicated people who care deeply about the work they do in our community. Over the years, I’ve seen Options Outreach grow and evolve into an organization that is making a real difference by supporting the employment needs of people with disabilities. Their success speaks for itself, and it’s inspiring to see the impact they continue to have. It was an honour to be part of their past, and we’re incredibly grateful to now collaborate with their amazing employment team as a valued community partner."

03/13/2026

As we celebrate Options’ 30th Anniversary, we’re taking time to recognize some of the remarkable individuals who helped shape our organization over the years. Today, we are honoured to highlight Nancy Riven, whose long-standing dedication, leadership, and advocacy have had a lasting impact on Options Employment Outreach.

We’re grateful to Nancy for sharing a message about her time with Options:

"I was recruited back in 1996 by one of the founding employees of Options, Hazel Pickering. Hazel was my neighbour, I trusted her with my children, so it was not a stretch to consider her request to join the new found Board of Options. I had just completed a multi year Board experience with the Saint John Deaf and Hard of Hearing Society and was open to continuing my community involvement with persons with barriers to employment.

How I got involved in the first place is interesting, as we had a technology company (Fundy Computer Services Ltd) and many of our clients back in the late 90's were looking for "skilled" workers in the area of Office Automation and Technology. We were already delivering training and support in these areas to our clients, but the idea of actually delivering courses to unemployed individuals in these new skills was exciting. With the support of the federal government and a beautiful human who worked there (Carolyn Stephenson) we designed the first classroom training curriculum and delivered this training to unemployed individuals in multiple sectors of the population. What a learning experience that was for all of us.

During our heyday we had 3 classrooms operating full time, at the conclusion of their studies, the students would be placed for a work term generally at one of our clients, anxious for the new skills that these students could provide. Our permanent placement rate was over 80%. I will always be proud of this achievement.

So, that is what motivated me to become involved, and to stay involved for so many years with Options. The most interesting thing about Options was it was a NEW Board, we needed to develop policy and procedure, we needed to understand what was the most important items to deliver to our clients. It was a learning experience, and certainly we had many bumps in the road along the way, but I will say that the dedication of the staff and the Board was the ability to take every seeming insurmountable challenge and biting it off, one chew at a time.

I am proud to see you all at Options continuing to thrive, and I am grateful that I may have played a small part in your legacy of success. Keep on keeping on."

03/11/2026

Thank You Bruce Washburn!

As we celebrate Options’ 30th Anniversary, we’re taking time to recognize some of the remarkable individuals who helped shape our organization over the years. Today, we are honoured to highlight Bruce Washburn, whose long-standing dedication, leadership, and advocacy have had a lasting impact on Options Employment Outreach.

We’re grateful to Bruce for sharing a message about his time with Options and the work that meant so much to him. His words speak for themselves:

“I was blessed in my career to be at the forefront of the establishment of accessibility services within the New Brunswick Community College, as a response to Bill 85 in 1986, which mandated inclusive education in the province. My involvement with Options Employment Outreach was a way of nurturing my connection to the community and better understanding the training needs of people with disabilities. I had the pleasure of serving on the Board of Directors of Options Employment Outreach for twenty-three years (1997-2020) due to the fulfillment I gained through the good work that we supported as a Board. I also understood that the work that was being done was genuinely helping people with disabilities find inclusion and fulfillment through employment and the valorization of their roles in the community.

The diversity of the skill sets that my fellow Board members brought to the table was impressive, and I learned much from them about the world of work. The membership represented experience in education, finance, law, IT, entrepreneurship, social service, disability services, marketing, and human resources, and this brought different perspectives to the challenges of inclusion of people with disabilities in the community and the workforce.

My commitment to the organization was also reinforced by the staff’s commitment to annual employment targets and their wise management of the resources at their disposal. The proof is in the celebration of thirty-years service to the community. I offer my congratulations on a job well done.”

03/10/2026

Our April 30th HR Rise & Learn Breakfast with Eddie LeMoine is coming up fast — don’t forget to register!

🎥 Check out the video message from Eddie
https://vimeo.com/1170286313

Building Capacity in 2026: Skills, Generations & Employee Engagement
📍 Riverside Country Club
🕣 April 30th from 8:30–10:00 AM

We’re excited to celebrate our 30th Anniversary with this special session in partnership with CPHR/CRHA NB.

👉 Register here: https://secure.cphrnb.ca/events-calendar/english.php...