A CALL TO - Saint Joseph's College

RECONCILIATION SJC NEWS
12
Divine
Michael Carmody ’04 knew he needed to do
something for his brother. Developmentally disabled with
Down syndrome, John Carmody faced a predicament
– when he turned 22, he no longer qualified for the
educational and occupational programs that are funded
and offered by the public school system. This presented
a lot of challenges – most of all in that John would lose
the companionship of his classmates who represented
the majority of his social interaction. It didn’t take long for
Michael to tackle the problem and go to bat for his brother.
In response to the dilemma, Michael formed
Opportunity Knocks, a nonprofit organization, to “bridge
the gap of care and resources for the developmentally
disabled.” Michael’s efforts have yielded commendable
results, and the organization has done exactly what he
planned for it to do: give the developmentally disabled and
their parents a support system once the critical age of 22 is
reached.
“Although it took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get
started, I had some great people around me who made
getting the organization started much easier than it should
have been. We formed a board of directors, and my
brother Phil stepped up as President of the organization.”
With a service area covering the Chicago suburbs
of Oak Park, River Forest, and Forest Park, Opportunity
The faces of Opportunity Knocks.
Knocks has given parents and their developmentally
disabled sons and daughters a much-needed outlet for
furthering their education and social interaction. Learning
job and social skills can’t end after 21, which Carmody
quickly realized in spending time with his brother and his
brother’s friends at group sessions while growing up. He
quickly learned that these were the only opportunities
for John to interact with people like him in the same age
group, and it was this realization that prompted him to do
something for his brother and those in a similar situation.
“Opportunity Knocks supplements shelter workshops
such as Aspire and Sequin very well. Those places
handle more of the job training while we try to add the
recreational aspects. Our goal is to make these people’s
time at Opportunity Knocks fun while utilizing an everchanging
curriculum.”
The founding and growth of Opportunity Knocks is
largely the result of SJC alumni and the impact SJC had on
Michael, who refers to the organization as a “Puma thing.”
Michael’s father, John Carmody ’68, is an SJC alumnus,
and John’s college roommate, Quinn Mucker ’68, is the
accountant for Opportunity Knocks. John is a member of
the Opportunity Knocks board of directors and finance
committee, and Tim Clark ’02 serves on the board
of directors. Charles Carmody ’98 is on the finance
committee, and Jamie Holden ’04, Colin Carmody ’06,