The Lionheart School, Lionheart WORKS, and Lionheart Radio USA (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 655)
North Fulton Business Radio host John Ray was live in the studio by a variety of community members from The Lionheart School and Lionheart WORKS, including Davis, Marco, Ryan, Garrison, Griffin, and Mason. Teacher Abigail Patel spoke about the school and especially about the Heart Reach Class she leads, which teaches on-the-job skills. Katie Menosky explained how the Lionheart WORKS program provides vocational training for students after graduation. As one component of the Lionheart WORKS program, Lionheart Radio USA is a 24/7 internet radio station staffed by Lionheart’s students and young adults who are interested in radio as a vocation. Radio mentors Jimmy Moore and Michael Hessing talked about how Lionheart Radio USA was started and has grown.
North Fulton Business Radio is produced and broadcast by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.
The Lionheart School
The Lionheart School is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in the year 2000 by a group of parents and professionals who created a supportive and nurturing environment for children with challenges in relating and communicating.
Lionheart started in a small cottage on the grounds of the Alpharetta Presbyterian Church and worked diligently to create a model program that focused on each child’s individual differences.
In 2010, with the support of families, friends, foundations, and the community, Lionheart moved into a new building that was designed specifically for the population it serves. The Lionheart School emphasizes relationships, emotional intelligence, abstract critical thinking, problem-solving, and social cognition. The academic program integrates the principles of evidence-based practices for students with learning differences while always considering their individual profiles. Each student has an individual learning plan that considers interests, strengths, and preferences, as well as strategies to address targeted challenge areas.
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Lionheart Works
Lionheart WORKS is a vocational training program for young adults ages 18 and up with autism and other neurodevelopmental differences who desire an individualized, person-centered program that prepares and supports them in the workforce.
The goal of Lionheart WORKS is to secure meaningful and sustainable employment by matching participants with their ideal work site while maximizing independence and natural support on the job. Participants entering the WORKS program begin with a discovery process to identify affinities, abilities, and work readiness. Individualized vocational instruction, social thinking, and self-advocacy skill building, as related to the work environment, occur in the training center and at work sites. The program assigns trained job coaches who are specifically paired with individual participants based on their interests and needs.
Their worksites are businesses, organizations, schools, and churches in the north metro Atlanta area that want to train and employ our participants. Each worksite makes a commitment to the growth and vocational success of the participants they employ with the goal of sustainable employment. Participants’ families, Lionheart WORKS staff, vocational counselors, and worksite supervisors form a team to encourage participants to attain their highest level of independence and happiness.
Lionheart Works staff comes from a variety of backgrounds including social work, speech and language pathology, psychology, education, recreation, and political science. They are ACRE (Association of Community Rehabilitation Educators) trained and members of TASH and APSE on the national level. Our staff participates in continuing education opportunities yearly.
Interested businesses can contact the school through the website and Instagram. Heather Wagner is the Director of Lionheart Works.
Lionheart Radio USA
Offering a variety of music and sports, Lionheart Radio is on 24/7 and is staffed by students at Lionheart Works and is led by Jimmy Moore. Mr. Moore is a retired YMCA director who is now the volunteer and radio mentor for Lionheart Radio. Michael Hessing also serves as a mentor at Lionheart Radio USA. Mr. Hessing is a campus coordinator and instructor at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting.
North Fulton Business Radio is hosted by John Ray and broadcast and produced from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, TuneIn, and others.
Renasant Bank has humble roots, starting in 1904 as a $100,000 bank in a Lee County, Mississippi, bakery. Since then, Renasant has grown to become one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions with over $13 billion in assets and more than 190 banking, lending, wealth management and financial services offices in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. All of Renasant’s success stems from each of their bankers’ commitment to investing in their communities as a way of better understanding the people they serve. At Renasant Bank, they understand you because they work and live alongside you every day.
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