Wow! We want to give a huge thank you to Tri Kappa-Bloomington Alpha Chapter for awarding LIFEDesigns with the Tri Kappa Grant this morning! We will be planting a garden at our Housing Options 1 & 2. We can’t wait to share this good news with our clients and get started on this special project. Thank you Tri Kappa for making this possible!
Stay tuned for pictures of the process!
Although we are starting to see the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, we are not quite there yet. Personal Protective Equipement is still a necessity and we want to thank the City of Bloomington and The Jack Hopkins Grant for helping us purchase PPE so we can continue to keep our clients, employees & community safe. We are beyond grateful to recieve this support and opportunity. Thank you!
Thank you to LBMC for the $300 grant that will help us purchase PPE and keep our clients and employees healthy!
Cindy Fleetwood our Director of Facilities graduated from LBMC in 2017. LBMC is a community leadership program that meets October through May that teaches skills needed as leaders to face 21st Century challenges, provides opportunity for networking, and includes participants from all sectors including non-profits, for-profits, government and education. One of the goals of the program is for participants to form groups and construct a real-world project, sort of an applied thesis, and present it to the class at the end of the course.
We all can relate to how quickly technology changes. As a result, LIFEDesigns needs to make some upgrades and improvements to our fire and security systems in all five of our group homes this year. Our current security systems use a traditional land line to connect with emergency services in the event of an emergency. The state now requires upgrades to security systems that add the ability for cellular monitoring to the current fire and security systems. In addition, one of our group homes requires the replacement of a fire panel as well. The total project will cost $5,607.50.
SCI REMC’s Operation RoundUp awarded a grant of $2,000 toward this project. To learn more about SCI REMC or Operation RoundUp, visit sciremc.com or sciremc.com/roundup. We’re so incredibly grateful to have their support. These improvements will help to keep people like Anthony (pictured above) safe in their homes.
If you would like to make a gift to help cover the remaining funds needed for this project ($3607.50), you can mail a donation to: 200 E. Winslow Rd., Bloomington, IN 47401 with a note including “Group Home Security Upgrade” or make a gift online through our website and add the comment “Group Home Security Upgrade”.
A HUGE “Thanks” to everyone who supported the Month of Chocolate this year! We are still waiting on a few numbers to come in from some of the events, and we’re still selling the Art of Chocolate Recipe Books, so our total may increase a bit more yet. We are so pleased to report that through the support of all of the businesses who sponsored or hosted events, guests who attended the events, donors, volunteers, our employees who worked hard to plan and coordinate the activities, and our board members and ambassadors who also helped to share the events with others, a net profit of $37,244 was raised to support people with disabilities!
Here are a few highlights from this year:
As we reflect on the events this year, we are so honored to have the support of the community behind us in so many ways. We hope to grow the events each year and do more to raise increased funds for our clients to provide them with opportunities for growth and independence that Medicaid services simply don’t fund. Just a few examples of the types of things that aren’t funded by Medicaid are: travel (more than one round trip per day, and limited to local trips), the extra support needed to learn to drive, any over the counter medications, any housing repairs or maintenance. While these examples are some of the things we see most often and which have the greatest impact on our clients’ lives, there are many other examples of things that our clients need assistance with to be more independent which are not covered.
See more pics of the all of the events on our Facebook page!
With it being so near the Thanksgiving holiday, there is no better time to express what we’re thankful for. We asked the employees of LIFEDesigns what they’re thankful for this year. Read below to see why we’re grateful for our teams, clients and more!
“I’m thankful I get to have a meaningful impact in our clients lives and I get to meet so many different people I might not have met if I didn’t work for LIFEDesigns. Also, that this is a company where hard work is recognized and rewarded.” – Braden Kinser
“I am thankful for so many things about LIFEDesigns. I am so happy to be part of an organization that provides consistent housing to many who have experienced chronic homelessness. We, the worker-bees of LIFEDesigns, genuinely make a positive difference in the lives of our clients and greater community.” – Timothy Baer
“I am thankful for all the employees who dedicate themselves to our clients and making their lives better. I am thankful for the great team I have and that we are always willing to jump in and help each other in any way possible.” – Heather Bagshaw
“I am so very thankful for the opportunity to work with really caring, sincere and giving people who help LIFEDesigns clients become independent, stay healthy & happy and build relationships both at home and in the community!” – Sandra Reynolds
“I’m thankful to work for an agency that allows me to use my education and experience to help others in a rewarding way. I’m grateful that I work for an agency that I’m proud to be associated with.” – Desiree Branaman