Watch the Film & Join the Conversation!
Welcome, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign community! We're excited to share an award-winning story of disability inclusion, employment possibilities, and community well-being with you.
This FREE programming — a virtual screening of the film Hearts of Glass AND an interactive panel discussion — is brought to you by the
- Special Education Graduate Student Association (SEGSA)
- Division of Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES)
It is funded by a Broadening Inclusion Grant from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.
Hearts of Glass follows the tumultuous first 15 months of operation of Vertical Harvest (VH) of Jackson, Wyoming. This state-of-the-art hydroponic greenhouse provides meaningful inclusive employment for people with disabilities.
The film weaves the story of VH’s launch with the personal journeys of employees with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Plants and people grow together in this intimate portrait of inclusion, innovation, and impact.
You can stream the film on this website at your convenience from March 22nd through the 31st. The film is presented with descriptive audio and closed captioning (English and Spanish).
Join us for a Panel Discussion on March 28th, Tuesday, at 5:30 pm CST. You can register HERE or under the Q&A tab. If you have questions about the panel discussion, please contact Ricky Price, the president of SEGSA, at raprice3@illinois.edu.
Image Descriptions:
First Row: Filmmaker Welcome Video with audio description and open captions.
Second Row, First Image: Film artwork - text “Hearts of Glass” inside the outline of a green heart accented with leaves appears at the top of the image. Below is the Grand Teton mountain next to the Vertical Harvest greenhouse, a metal, and glass multi-story structure. Three people - two women and a man stand with lettuces and tomatoes in their hands. Two of the people wear t-shirts with the Vertical Harvest logo.
Second Row, Second Image: A young woman in a Vertical Harvest hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses stands smiling. She is in front of the Vertical Harvest greenhouse and there are rows of lettuce in a growing carousel visible through the window behind her.
Third Row, First Image: Two employees, Emily and Johnny, pose together smiling and holding a plastic container of greens in front of them. A note on the container reads “Thank you for being a great teammate, Emily!” It is signed “Johnny.”
Third Row, Second Image: Multi-story vertical carousel with lettuces; illuminated by pink LED lights.
Fourth Row, First Image: View of Vertical Harvest greenhouse from the street; modern, three-story glass and steel façade.
Fourth Row, Second Image: Ty and Joelle side-by-side pruning tomato plants. Joelle’s hand is around Ty’s wrist as she guides his hand along a vine.
Fifth Row, First Image: Graphic divided into four squares - Top Left: "Hearts of Glass" logo, then text "Watch the film & join the conversation!" and "Panel Discussion Mar 28, Tues, 5:30 pm ET"; Top Right: a woman with shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes smiles, she’s wearing a dark green turtleneck and there are tomato plants behind her; text below "Emily, Vertical Harvest Employee"; Bottom Left: a woman with short blonde hair in a black shirt smiles; text below "Jennifer, 'Hearts of Glass' Director"; Bottom Right: a man with a mustache and dark beard stubble smiles, he’s wearing a white baseball hat with a Vertical Harvest logo and an insulated black vest over a t-shirt; text below "Sean, Vertical Harvest Employee."
Fifth Row, Second Image: Graphic with the “Hearts of Glass” logo and text “Film screening and panel discussion presented by." Underneath the film logo and text is the logo for the University: a dark blue rectangle with a large orange upper case “I” with University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in white block letters to the right of the “I.” Text below the logo “College of Education,” “Special Education Graduate Student Association,” and “Division of Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES).”
