Williams Company gets involved with Quest, Inc.
04/21/09
The great ideas always start small and simple and Quest Inc. started just that way. In 1962 a group of parents, who were frustrated with the lack of support for their special needs children, banded together and started The Central Florida Sheltered Workshop (CFSW). What began as a way for their children to receive special -needs education has evolved into so much more. In 1980 Life Concepts was founded to provide residential services and specialized programs to children and adults who had formally resided in state institutions. During the first year of inception, Life Concepts opened two group homes, three supervised apartments and a vocational training center. In 1994 The Central Florida Sheltered Workshop and Life Concepts joined forces and the name Quest, Inc. was adopted in 1995. Since then Quest, Inc. has grown to include QuestHomes, QuestWorks, Camp Thunderbird, and QuestKids.
QuestHomes provides residential options in the Orlando and Tampa areas for over 200 people. There are group homes, transitional living, supported living, and intermediate care facilities. QuestWorks is an amazing division of Quest Inc. that offers a variety of employment opportunities that help people with disabilities get job training and career placement both within Quest and in the community. Camp Thunderbird started in 1969 and gives special needs individuals a real summer camp experience.
In 1997 QuestKids was developed to ensure early intervention for children with developmental disabilities and delays. QuestKids uses Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to help children with autism, pervasive development disorder and many other learning and behavior concerns. Their early intervention program, in concert with speech pathologists, occupational therapists and educational professionals allows children to reach goals and require fewer support services later in life. In fact, a large percentage of the children that come to QuestKids enter the public school system with their peers at little to no delay in their education levels.
Williams Company’s involvement with Quest began in 2007 when we were approached to help remodel a building in downtown Orlando, which would become the new Quest Headquarters Building. The project was presented to potential donors as an edition of Extreme Home Makeover because of the condition of the 1960’s era building. Williams Company reached out to its community of subcontractors, and was able to garner over $100,000 of financial support for the project. Since completing the new headquarters project, Williams Company has donated services to renovate two other Quest educational centers. The most recent in downtown Orlando, QuestKids Academy, services children with autism and other developmental disabilities and delays, and offers children a clean, safe environment for early intervention learning. Quest will continue to grow its facilities in the Orlando and Tampa markets and Williams Company will continue to assist them with their construction needs.