“She was so excited because she saw the dragons. She started dancing!”

When Momentum Program Coordinator Bonnie Shultz describes her disabled client’s excitement at landing a volunteer opportunity at an Asian Art Museum, she beams.

Perhaps it was the oriental decor, the workforce diversity, or the many cultures in the workplace. Maybe through the surroundings her client felt a connection to her roots.

Whatever it was, Shultz has one happy client!

Another client was so excited when he received his first paycheck that he decided to have a “Paycheck Party!” He promptly took half of his paycheck and donated it to charity.

Imagine the excitement!

These are the success stories -- the ones that matter most. Call it a huge success. And it is originating in a small office in downtown Burien.

Momentum. It is where goals, dreams and employment opportunities are being created. Nestled among businesses at 653 S.W. 152nd St., it bears a catchy name for a social service agency.

What happens inside its doors is something of great benefit to clients with disabilities, and to local businesses.

Through Momentum, everyone is winning.

The four staff who make up Momentum see these success stories unfold on a regular basis. Momentum serves and supports adults ages 21 to 62 with disabilities, along with the businesses and communities in which they live.

Clients may have learning and developmental disabilities, Down’s Syndrome, autism, or other significant challenges to employment.

The agency and its staff do much more than just support people in their employment efforts. They help support and build the futures of a very determined clientele.

Christine Simmons, another job coach, trains Momentum students at their job sites in the community.

Simmons is currently training two Momentum clients who work for Robinson Newspapers, publisher of The Highline Times/Des Moines News.

One man delivers newspapers for the Times each week.

“My client needs help remembering which houses to deliver to and needs frequent reminders not to walk in the middle of the street, which he really loves to do,” Simmons noted.

The other works at the West Seattle Herald, another Robinson Newspaper, marking advertising tear sheets.

Simmons helps this participant identify which advertisements to mark with a pen.

“I love my job,” declared Simmons, who has been working for Momentum for over two years.

“I feel blessed to have found this job that is so meaningful and rewarding to me.”

Simmons said she enjoys being a job coach because of the variety her job offers.

She coached at two schools as well as newspaper route and newspaper office work.

Simmons finds that working at the schools is especially rewarding because “it offers children opportunities to interact with people who have disabilities.”

She hopes the children she works with will see the person and not their disabilities.

Momentum is also involved with a “School to Work” pilot program through school districts. The program assists students before they graduate.

Work in the Momentum office presently involves 28 eager, enthusiastic individuals, often referred from the Department of Developmental Disabilities and the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation.

With each client, a planning meeting is conducted in which the client’s goals, dreams, challenges and skills are discussed.

This sets the course for services. Things then get underway.

Agency staff meet with the family, build a support team, network and brainstorm ideas and potential employment, and assist the client in relationship building.

The support team springs into action by viewing objectives, setting priorities and adhering to -- or sometimes even adapting -- job descriptions. The client’s skills and interests are assessed, then matched to a potential employer and the employer’s business needs.

Businesses win. They gain skilled, productive employees and an often noticeable increase in morale.

The real advantage to a business is that it benefits by learning more about the employee before the hiring process even begins.

Momentum is under the umbrella of “Vadis,” a private, non-profit agency, which began in October 1979. It 1985, it opened in Sumner.

Formerly known as “Vadis Northwest,” the agency operates primarily in Western Washington. It has sustained an annual growth rate of over 10 percent per year. It has a seven-member board of directors.

Serving or supporting over 400 clients annually, the agency has established substantial partnerships with businesses, government agencies, the community, people with disabilities and their families.

Daniel Gross is the Employment Services manager. Speaking from the Burien office, he raves about the benefits to local businesses.

“They (the clients) come with our assistance to help that company in the training process.” He adds that the agency assists employers with accommodations and supports.

“We partner with businesses. That employee they hire is theirs. I strongly believe in the rights of individuals with disabilities to make wages. I enjoy the experience of watching someone earn a meaningful wage.”

The major question may be, how can the community help? Funding and more services are definitely needed.

This is important because partnering with the community helps clients discover life paths that lead to employment, more independent living and new skills for community participation.

Of the 28 people Momentum currently serves, 12 or 13 of the clients are employed. Eleven or 12 are volunteering in key positions. All positions provide excellent experience in diverse settings.

Debra George, executive director of Discover Burien, boasts that two Momentum clients have worked with her.

Gross shares the Momentum way of thinking: “We never compromise service to grow or make bigger. We stay involved because we want the clients to be successful.”

He has a dream for Momentum. He smiles. “I hope the agency becomes so successful for its clients that when people hear the name Momentum, they will know what we do.”

If you would like to learn more about how Momentum can serve an individual or your business, call 206-243-2561, ext. 203.

Gross can be emailed at Daniel@vadis.org. and Shultz can be reached at bonnie@vadis.org.

(TIMES/NEWS Intern Thao Nguyen contributed to this article.)