{"id":94499,"date":"2017-07-06T10:45:47","date_gmt":"2017-07-06T14:45:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestbuddies.org\/?p=94394"},"modified":"2019-11-13T14:27:04","modified_gmt":"2019-11-13T19:27:04","slug":"paradigm-receives-best-buddies-californias-vanguard-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2017\/07\/06\/paradigm-receives-best-buddies-californias-vanguard-award\/","title":{"rendered":"Paradigm Receives Best Buddies California’s Vanguard Award"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Hollywood Reporter<\/a><\/h2>\n

By\u00a0REBECCA SUN<\/p>\n

\"\"

Ben Silverman, Bradley Gunther, Debbee Klein and Paradigm chairman Sam Gores<\/p><\/div>\n

For the past nine years, three days a week, Bradley Gunther leaves his home in Marina del Rey and takes the bus to Beverly Hills, where he is the most veteran employee in the mailroom at Paradigm.<\/p>\n

\u201cI deliver mail and supplies for both buildings, and it\u2019s a very important job to me,\u201d says Gunther, 62. \u201cI enjoy my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gunther is a participant in the jobs program at Best Buddies, a nonprofit founded by Anthony Kennedy Shriver that works for the social integration and economic independence of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. During a reception in Paradigm\u2019s courtyard Friday evening, the organization honored the agency with its annual Vanguard Award, presented to a partner company that has hired an individual with IDD.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a person-centered model that pitches each individual\u2019s ability and skill set,\u201d says Best Buddies California state director Jessica Brooks of the program, which finds long-term job placements for its participants. Best Buddies participants, whom the organization touts as reliable and highly motivated, are therefore well-suited for jobs that otherwise typically experience high turnover.<\/p>\n

Paradigm joined the program nine years ago when Ben Silverman, a member of Best Buddies\u2019 board of directors, called agency partner Debbee Klein and told her to get involved. \u201cIt was not really a request; it was a demand,\u201d Klein tells\u00a0The Hollywood Reporter<\/em>. \u201cI did some very quick research, and within 48 hours, I said, \u2018We\u2019re in.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Like every other Best Buddies participant, Gunther, who describes himself as a \u201cslow learner,\u201d came with a job coach who continues to work closely with him and his supervisors on a regular basis. In all other aspects, he is a regular employee on the payroll. \u201cIt takes me a long time to learn something, but as long as the boss has patience, I can learn the job,\u201d he says. \u201cAs long as I put my mind to something, I can do anything just like anybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n

An estimated 84 percent of adults with IDD are unemployed. Since 1992, Best Buddies California has placed 94 individuals in jobs across the state. At Friday\u2019s reception, Best Buddies honored other participants who had reached employment milestones, such as Colleen Moriarty, who is marking her 20th year at UTA, which was the first company to join the jobs program and was the inaugural Vanguard recipient. Other companies that have hired through the jobs program include Fox, WME, Netflix, the NFL Network and law firm Manatt Phelps.<\/p>\n

The reception also featured remarks from program participant Tzvi Burston, who works as a production assistant on\u00a0Fuller House<\/em>. Burston\u2019s long list of tasks \u2014 making sure trailers are properly stocked, keeping track of castmembers on set, answering phones and emails \u2014 is identical to any other PA’s, the only difference being that his hours are scheduled around certain filming times, as his wheelchair (Burston has cerebral palsy) makes it hard to navigate around cameras.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to prove yourself more, and I enjoy the challenge of it,\u201d says Burston, who credits series creator Jeff Franklin for giving him the life-changing opportunity. \u201cI like the fact that at Warner Bros. I\u2019m indirectly breaking barriers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe culture of a workplace changes when they hire a participant of ours,\u201d says Best Buddies director of operations and programs Ryan Erickson-Kulas, and Klein agrees that Gunther has indeed had that effect on Paradigm.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a tough business. It can get very intense and competitive,\u201d she says. \u201cMost of us are so wrapped up in our deals and our clients\u2019 lives, but Bradley reminds us every single day when he walks the hall with a smile on his face of what\u2019s important in life. I\u2019ve never not seen him like that, ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Multiple Paradigm employees cited Gunther\u2019s reputation for ceaseless cheer and for being the first one on the dance floor at agency parties. Gunther, who fielded a steady stream of congratulations throughout the evening, said that his colleagues have become his friends, ordering coconut cake \u2014 his favorite \u2014 on his birthday and taking him on trips to the beach and movies.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery person who has come through this mailroom in the last eight years has formed a unique and interesting relationship with Bradley,\u201d says Ben Scott, Paradigm vp human resources, who adds that the agency is next looking to expand its participation in Best Buddies to its\u00a0New York office<\/a>. \u201cBradley\u2019s really been seamlessly integrated into the organization, and he\u2019s done phenomenal work over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can do a lot of things on my own. I live alone, I cook, I shop, I do my checkbook,\u201d says Gunther, who urges other employers to give people with disabilities a chance. \u201cI have to work and pay bills, just like everybody. I don\u2019t want to be hidden anywhere; I want to be out in the open mingling with people. I can do a lot for somebody who has a disability.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the past nine years, three days a week, Bradley Gunther leaves his home in Marina del Rey and takes the bus to Beverly Hills, where he is the most veteran employee in the mailroom at Paradigm. \u201cI deliver mail and supplies for both buildings, and it\u2019s a very important job to me,\u201d says Gunther, 62. \u201cI enjoy my life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":109113,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"blog-news-single-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82,676],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-news-archive"],"yoast_head":"\nParadigm Receives Best Buddies California's Vanguard Award - Best Buddies International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2017\/07\/06\/paradigm-receives-best-buddies-californias-vanguard-award\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Paradigm Receives Best Buddies California's Vanguard Award - 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