Renewed New Castle
by Troy Edrington
Edmund Burke, an Irish statesman and philosopher in the 18th century once said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." The word evil in this timeless quote can represent many things including apathy. So, when good people see a need and do nothing, hunger, poverty, illiteracy prevails.
Six years ago, Hillcroft Services was presented with an opportunity to provide services in Henry County.
Spurred on by this need, Hillcroft opened a sheltered workshop in rural Henry County in May of 2002. Initially, only 32 individuals attended the new workshop. This "experimental" venture into a new county would last for five years, the length of the lease on the building.
In 2006, with the workshop in Henry County now serving over 60 workers on a daily basis, Hillcroft was faced with a decision. The current location was bursting at the seams and the lure of a presence within the New Castle community was an exciting prospect, so the search for a new location was on. The 'old Val's building' on New York Avenue was in disrepair. However, when Paul Whittington, Hillcroft's Vice President of Cannon Industries, saw it, he saw nothing but potential.
Now, the Hillcroft workshop location at 501 New York Avenue is an attractive addition to the blossoming north side of New Castle. Eighty-two workers and nine staff work in a fully restored and revitalized location offering more than double the available programming space with plenty of room to grow. This facility gives Hillcroft a prominent new presence in a growing community with ample room to accommodate further growth. This new facility makes a bold statement to the citizens of Henry County, stating loud and clear that we are committed to serving your community, and we are here to stay.
A New Beginning for New Castle
by Clint Bolser, CEO
Five years ago, Hillcroft Services, Inc. made the decision to expand Cannon Industries into the New Castle area due to the demand and the future opportunity to provide outstanding work opportunities for People with disabilities. The decision in 2002 has turned out to be very successful and Hillcroft is extremely proud of what we have accomplished in those five short years. The organization has seen an increase in the people served by 80%, New Castle has expanded work opportunities, and 100% of the individuals attending the New Castle facility have earned a pay check every two weeks for the past 12 months.
Hillcroft has continued the expansion in New Castle by recently purchasing and renovating a 24,000 square foot facility, located at 501 New York Avenue. This new building will allow Hillcroft to continue to address the needs and provide support to the 82 individuals with disabilities that come to work on a daily basis. It is our goal to continue to increase the number of people served and to provide outstanding work opportunities by increasing the number of contracts with outside businesses. The key to this expansion is for Hillcroft to uphold our mission of making extraordinary differences in People's lives. I am confident this will happen in the next several years. As always, thank you for your continued support. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Hillcroft Culture
by Troy Edrington
"These little town blues, they're leavin today." I've got to be a part of it. Old Blue Eyes crooned his way into our hearts singing about New York, New York. I know how he felt, kinda, sorta. I grew up in a small town in which the late night convenience stores closed at 10:00 pm. So in 1988, I came to Muncie to live in the "big city." We would go shopping at 2:00 am just because we could. Life was grand. I began working at Hillcroft and could go and eat lunch or run an errand and have any number of choices. Then in November of 2005 I was transferred to the New Castle facility. The New Castle workshop at that time was located four miles north of town near Mt. Summit. If you want lunch -- go to town! Need gas? -- hit the highway. My office offered a wonderful view of a field and a state highway department building. Now as I type this, I sit in our new facility on New York Avenue (sing it Frank), and I see the beautiful YMCA, a dance studio, and a busy city street. Life is good. Lunch no longer means a trek to town, but just a quick shot down the road. Old Blue Eyes can have the Big Apple. I am pleased as punch on New York Avenue in New Castle.
Russell Clapp is a Happy Guy!
by Janet Milazzo
"Love this workshop" was Russell's opening comment about Hillcroft's new workshop in New Castle. Russell has a twinkle in his eye and his excitement is obvious as he discusses working in Cannon Industries at the new facility.
Russell starts each morning by taking down all of the chairs for everyone who will be working that day. This is his routine and it is a task that he chose to do completely on his own. "I like to help people and I like this new place," Russell states. He also says he really likes his workshop supervisor Toni Neal.
Russell talks openly about the towel job which he seems to enjoy and he is also very interested in the possibility of using the car bay. Part of this new work center has a car bay for washing cars and Russell thinks this would be a good venture for all of the workers.
The new workshop is closer to Russell's home which makes his commute shorter. However, more important than the commute is the fact that his girlfriend moved to the new workshop with him. Yes, Russell Clapp is a happy guy!
Fun Times at the 2007 Spring Carnival
by Rita Mohler
What do you get when you mix games, fabulous food, cotton candy, balloons, Elvis and a dunk tank? A whole lot of fun - that's what! Fun was the name of the game on June 8 at Hillcroft's annual Spring Carnival where 500+ people attended, according to Brenda Williamson, Development and Marketing Representative.
"The Spring Carnival or 'Summer Picnic' as it used to be called, has been a tradition at Hillcroft for more than 25 years and is a way for the staff to show their appreciation to our clients," said Janet Milazzo, Executive Vice President of Programming. Staff invite family members who want to volunteer to come out and meet our clients and see what we do. "This gives us a chance to show our family how very much we love our clients and why we do what we do" stated this year's organizer, Christy Jones, Vice President of Development and Marketing.
This year was different because games were added along with body art which consisted of face painting and temporary tattoos. Sandy Penrod, Administrative Manager, who headed up the "Body Art" stated "while being an artist may be helpful, we discovered the only requirement was a willingness to have fun – and it was a blast!" Wearing bright tee shirts, clients were encouraged to try a variety of games and win prizes -- ring toss, putt-putt, and a gift walk. Clients waited in line for a chance at this year's favorite game, the dunk tank. Clients voted on the volunteers they wanted to dunk including Hillcroft's CEO Clint Bolser. "Dunking Clint was my favoriting thing about the carnival," stated client Sandy Thomas with a huge smile on her face.
If you weren't interested in the games, there were wonderful hot dogs and hamburgers grilled to perfection by our staff of "pro-grillers." Marsh and Munsee Meats donated all the meat, while Blondie's, who donates to most of Hillcroft's events, provided some of their famous cookies. If that didn't fill you up, there was cotton candy and popcorn to round off your meal. Elvis serenaded the crowds during lunch, which everyone enjoyed along with music provided by our very own Todd Copeland and AMS Entertainment. Many of the clients and staff alike (including our newest Isanogel staff) got out on the dance floor to shake their "groove thing".
If you count success by the number of smiles that could be seen on people's faces, this year's carnival was a huge success! "What was really awesome is we had an 80% chance of rain that day; however, it held off until everyone was gone," said Brenda Williamson. "It's a privilege to work at Hillcroft because the clients show us how to live life at its fullest and enjoy every minute of it!"
Hillcroft Happenings
posAbility Breakfast Event
Our 2007 annual posAbility Fundraising Breakfast was a huge success. On April 14, 2007, Hillcroft Services, Inc. raised nearly $125,000 to help fund its programs.
We would like to thank all of those who generously donated and helped to make this year's posAbility Breakfast such a wonderful success. We look forward to next year's! |
WIBU at Isanogel
The ladies of Women in Business Unlimited gathered at Camp Isanogel for their montly meeting on Wednesday, July 18. The theme of the meeting was "Fiesta!" The generous women from this organization donated $300 toward a Camp Isanogel Scholarship, which will help pay the way for a lucky camper to get to go to camp.
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Anderson Speedway Fundraiser
Laura Bicknell rides around the Anderson Speedway track in the pace car. A group from Hillcroft sold 50/50 tickets on Friday, July 13 at Anderson Speedway. The group raised $360 at the event to help fund Hillcroft's programs. We would like to thank Anderson Speedway for allowing us to sell tickets. |
Monroe Central Elementary and the Kool Kats
The Monroe Central Elementary Student Council sponsored a Hat Day fundraiser to benefit Delaware County's Self-Advocacy Group, the Kool Kats. The Council raised money by collecting $1 from all students who wanted to wear a heat on a designated day. On April 16 student council officers presented a check for $405 to Kool Kats members. The money was used by the group to purchase four adaptive talking microwaves which provide verbal directions for cooking. The Kool Kats are a local chapter of the Self-Advocates of Indiana. They meet the third Thursday of the month at Hillcroft Services. |
