Saskatoon's Cosmo Industries brings back open house after 3 years
CBC
Cosmopolitan Industries, a Saskatoon organization that works to enhance the quality of life for adults with intellectual disabilities, welcomed back the public with big smiles Wednesday.
The social enterprise opened its doors to the community for the first time after a three-year hiatus on open houses due to the pandemic.
"It's fantastic. When we can have the community that supports Cosmo so much, to have them come in and see what we all do," Sharlene Duquette, Cosmo's executive director, said in an interview.
Cosmo supports almost 400 people, providing them with workplace training and opportunities.
Cosmo is very well known for its recycling program and is the city's multi-unit recycling provider. In the '80s, Cosmo was also the first local company to offer shredding services.
Now, the organization is kicking it up a notch with its plant pot washing program. Cosmo collects and cleans pots so that they can be reused, keeping 200,000 plant pots out of the landfill every year, according to the organization.
"This day program gives people an opportunity to participate in our community, develop their own potential, create connections and long-lasting friendships with their fellow participants," said Lisa Lambert, MLA for Saskatoon Churchill-Wildwood, who attended the open house on behalf of the social services minister.
Participants used to clean the pots out of tubs, but on Wednesday the organization unveiled a new plumbed washing system. People now have access to warm water that they can easily drain.
"And the participants ergonomically have a better space to work within and they are loving it," Duquette said.
Cosmo also showed off renovations it made to the building for better accessibility, in part thanks to $100,000 from the provincial government.
The organization installed brighter lights and levelled, anti-slip flooring. It was also able to fix damages incurred in a flood from a few years ago.
"We were able to make some amazing renovations from an industrial location space to a much brighter, efficient [and] welcoming space for the program participants and our staff," Duquette said.
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