Who puts together the tens of thousands of Celebrate Urban Birds educational kits that are shipped to all corners of the continent?

Celebrate Urban Birds is lucky to work closely with Challenge Industries here in Ithaca NY.

Since 1968 Challenge has provided job placement and employment services for individuals with physical, developmental, psychological and economic disabilities. Today Challenge partners with over 300 area businesses to serve nearly 800 individuals annually.

 Challenge’s Business Services Department provides professional subcontracting services for businesses – both locally and nationally, while employing approximately 50 workers with disabilities. However, the vast majority of clients Challenge serves are employed throughout the community by the hundreds of supportive businesses with which they partner.

The Challenge staff works with each client to develop the unique service plan that best addresses individual needs and goals. Their mission is about empowerment; helping those they serve to reach their full potential and achieve the highest possible level of personal and professional success. 

For more information about Challenge’s services visit their website at www.aboutchallenge.org

Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology has been using Challenge Business Services to assemble their Urban Bird Study kits for several years. To examine one kit of seven separate items, one would think the task was simple! Now imagine that the order size is 20,000 completed packets, start to finish, in just a couple of days. How smoothly our two offices coordinate 160,000 pieces is a sight to behold. From Karen Purcell’s meticulous ordering of materials, to an assembly line of 20 Challenge workers collating and stuffing, it is the essence of a win-win collaboration that both Challenge and Cornell University embrace. Challenge workers thoroughly enjoy the work Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology provides, and we all appreciate this very positive community partnership.