History of Canterbury Enterprises, Inc.

Canterbury Enterprises was founded in 1983 by the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Greater St. Louis, Inc. (UCP).  At the time, UCP wanted to create an employment program for people with orthopedic disabilities designed as a first step toward a more self-reliant lifestyle.  The mission was to assist those who could not meet the work or entrance requirements of other sheltered workshops.  That year we leased a 5,000 square foot facility in Hanley Industrial Court, where we employed thirty-eight people.  All employees worked only two or three days per week, because of stamina issues and time spent in other programs to further their independence.

In 1990, we relocated to Watson Industrial Park where we leased 9,000 square feet and employed 44 people, of which half were full-time employees.

The following year we started the school-to-work program with Special School District of St. Louis County.  This program allows students to spend a small portion of their school week in our workshop performing real jobs and getting paid for the work they perform.  This program is used to teach and hone transferable work skills that can be used after graduation in competitive, supported or sheltered employment.

Because of limited space for growth and the physical limitations for some of our employees, we purchased and renovated our present location on Weil Avenue in Shrewsbury.  We now employ 70 people with disabilities, 15 of whom are in the school-to-work program.  Of the other employees, 15 are part-time.  We have recently begun to evolve into a more traditional sheltered workshop while still retaining our focus on employing people with severe and/or multiple disabilities.

Canterbury was one of the first workshops in Missouri to receive accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF).