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<p>HANOVER TWP. &#8212; When I arrived at Cori&#8217;s Place, just about everybody was dancing to a Richard Simmons video.</p><p>It was exercise time. Lunch time was a few minutes away. Then there would be down time before it was back to learning.</p><p>Cori&#8217;s Place is a non-profit day program agency serving adults with intellectual disabilities from Luzerne and Wyoming Counties since 2002. Currently, there are about 54 participants in the program that runs Monday through Friday.</p><p>It&#8217;s named after Cori Gwilliam, whose parents &#8212; George and Therese Gwilliam &#8212; wanted to establish a place to improve the quality of life for adults like Cori who come to the center to learn and have fun.</p><p>The Gwilliams have succeeded in their goal. Their younger daughter, Tara Gwilliam Gorski, 25, is second in command and loves working with her sister, now 35, and her friends &#8212; the 50-plus other clients at the center.</p><p>Tara told me she goes to work every day for many reasons, the least of which is her salary.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a fulfillment,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Just to see them accomplish new things every day and to give them the opportunity to have friends is so rewarding.&#8221;</p><p>The clients at Cori&#8217;s Place show up every day, see their friends and have fun while learning.</p><p>These are post-high school aged adults, most having graduated from high school at age 21. They gather and do things together like grocery shopping, swimming, going to the movies and volunteering at local not-for-profit organizations.</p><p>Tara said the clients do basic things many of us take for granted.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s all worth it when I see them smiling,&#8221; she said.</p><p>A typical day starts around 8:30 a.m. when Cori&#8217;s Place opens. Once all are in and settled, they split into small groups of five or six and discuss the news of the day. They look at newspapers and watch local TV stations. They discuss hot topic issues, offering their take on what&#8217;s going on in their community.</p><p>Time is spent on daily horoscopes and the weather forecast.</p><p>Exercise time is next. Although the clients love the music Richard Simmons uses on his videos, the important thing is that they participate. They exercise before they go to lunch.</p><p>There&#8217;s a lot going on in the lunch room. Some clients cook and serve meals. They prepare a meal made with food items they shopped for earlier in the week. Of course, it&#8217;s all supervised, but the sense of accomplishment felt by each participant is evident.</p><p>They take immense pride in knowing they helped shop for the food, prepared it for cooking, helped cook the meal and assisted in serving it to their friends. They also clean up and do the dishes.</p><p>Tara said the entire staff collaborates on the daily routine. They ask clients what they would like to do and all that information is considered in staff brainstorming sessions.</p><p>After lunch, down time is enjoyed before the clients return to small groups. They learn and re-learn daily living skills most people take for granted, like how to tell time, how to do laundry, nutrition and safety skills. They learn how to dial 911 in case of an emergency.</p><p>The clients also learn money management &#8212; how to spend it and spend it wisely, how to make change and how to purchase healthy items.</p><p>They volunteer in the community at places like the Jewish Community Center, The Lands at Hillside Farms and Meals on Wheels. Their volunteering takes them from serving meals to JCC clients, to cleaning up the animal barns at Hillside, to delivering Meals on Wheels to senior citizens.</p><p>&#8220;This is truly is a labor of love for all our staff,&#8221; Tara said. &#8220;We care about our clients. We have fun and we enjoy seeing them succeed.&#8221;</p><p>Erica Graboksi, a direct care worker at Cori&#8217;s Place, told me the clients recently talked about the Powerball lottery, which is now at around $1.5 billion. I looked around the room and saw how much each client enjoys his and her time at Cori&#8217;s Place. Then I thought about how much more could be done with $1.5 billion.</p><p>For now, though, Cori&#8217;s Place keeps going strong and the clients keep smiling.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Bill O&#8217;Boyle </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_Oboyle_Bill-2-1-10.jpg</photo0><caption0>Bill O&#8217;Boyle </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL011216CorisPlace2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Andrea Stier,of Mountain Top, works as the cashier during lunch time at Cori&#8217;s Place. Looking on and helping Andrea is Rita Groboski, program supervisor. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL011216CorisPlace2-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Andrea Stier,of Mountain Top, works as the cashier during lunch time at Cori&#8217;s Place. Looking on and helping Andrea is Rita Groboski, program supervisor. </caption1><photoCredit1>Clark Van Orden | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL011216CorisPlace-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Eric Dodson, of Wilkes-Barre, a client at Cori&#8217;s Place in Hanover Township, carries a tray of pizza to the lunch line. Eric helps the staff serve lunch. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL011216CorisPlace-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Eric Dodson, of Wilkes-Barre, a client at Cori&#8217;s Place in Hanover Township, carries a tray of pizza to the lunch line. Eric helps the staff serve lunch. </caption2><photoCredit2>Clark Van Orden | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>How to help</strong></p><p>&#8226; To donate to Cori&#8217;s Place, send checks to:</p><p>Cori&#8217;s Place</p><p>495 Wyoming St.</p><p>Hanover Twp., PA 18706</p><p>&#8226; For more information, call 570-704-1455</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

In Focus: Cori’s Place is a valuable community asset