2007

In 2007 the ANCOR Foundation recognized Community Builders Options Day Service in the Provider category and Region 10 Quality Assurance Commission in the Community Member category for their exceptional programs that have succeeded in building more inclusive communities.

The Options Day Service Program, part of Bethesda Lutheran Homes and Services, Inc., receives the award in the provider category for implementing a creative day service program that fosters community inclusion. The program effectively connects 30 participants with meaningful volunteer, cultural and advocacy opportunities throughout Lenexa and in other parts of the state. The hallmark of the program is its emphasis on the individual and enabling participants to choose when and where they would like to spend their time. This has not only helped consumers develop self-confidence, but has diversified and expanded the social circle of all members of the community. Contact: Patty Powers, ppowers@blhs.org, 913-498-0536.

The Region Ten Quality Assurance Commission receives the award in the community category. With little funding and a grassroots approach to effecting change, the Commission has engaged a broad range of community members (government, advocates, service providers, family members, service users) as participants and partners in improving services and supports for community members with disabilities.

Based on the successes of and interest in the Region Ten model, the Minnesota Legislature requested a study and recommendations on the feasibility and potential expansion of regional quality assurance models throughout Minnesota. The Commission has further received recognition and promotion as an innovative model of community support by CMS, the Minnesota Department of Human Services and other state and national organizations.

Contact: Dan Zimmer, danz@mn-voice.org, (507) 287-2032.

 

2006

In 2006 the ANCOR Foundation recognized Community Builders Dakota Communities in the Provider category and The Town of Littleton, NH in the Community Member category for their exceptional programs that have succeeded in building more inclusive communities.

Dakota Communities is a non-profit agency providing long-term residential care and in-home services to people with disabilities throughout the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area. The organization’s Therapeutic Recreation Program develops inclusion training tools and community supports for individuals with disabilities, family members, and organizations in the surrounding community. Through the program, people with disabilities explore their potential by participating in adventure weekends, belonging to scouting groups, horseback riding, gardening and volunteering throughout the community.

Contact: Kathy Anderson, kathya@dakcom.org, (651) 554-4956

The Town of Littleton is a vibrant community located in the New Hampshire White Mountains. Named on the list of Top Ten Small Towns in America, The Town of Littleton has helped create a model community where persons who are aging and others with disabilities are encouraged to fully participate in community life. By sponsoring forums for local businesses on hiring persons with disabilities, developing fact sheets on disability issues, and making The Town of Littleton’s buildings and programs more accessible, The Town of Littleton has provided a model of change that can be replicated in any community with the desire and initiative to create this type of change.

Contact: Jason Hoch, jhoch@townoflittleton.org, (603) 444-3996 x13

 

2005

In 2005 the ANCOR Foundation recognized Community Builders Zuni

Entrepreneurial Enterprises, Inc. in the Provider category and Wilderness

Inquiry in the Community Member category for their exceptional programs that have succeeded in building more inclusive communities.

Zuni Entrepreneurial Enterprises, Inc. is a non-profit agency providing

significant skills training and employment opportunities for disabled persons

living on and near the Pueblo of Zuni in northwestern New Mexico. Among the enterprises it operates are an award-winning recycling program, currently employing 15 people with developmental disabilities; two concession stands and a grocery store which serve community residents; a janitorial service; and a Pueblo public transportation system that provides over 17,000 trips for over 100,000 passengers each year.

Contact: Mr. Larry Alflen, zeelea@nm.net, (505) 782-5798

Wilderness Inquiry provides outdoor adventure experiences to inspire personal growth, community integration and enhanced awareness of the natural environment. Wilderness Inquiry encourages people to open their minds and hearts to new possibilities by demonstrating that collectively and individually they are capable of doing more than they thought possible. For many, these experiences create positive changes in behavior, enhance social interaction skills, and encourage the establishment of lasting friendships. Contact: Michelle Lobsinger, michellelobsinger@wildernessinquiry.org,

(612) 676-9406

 

2004

The first ever ANCOR Foundation Community Builder Award was awarded to The Norcom Community Center.

The Norcom Community Center, a part of SPIN Inc., in Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania, was the recipient of the first ANCOR Foundation Community

Builder Award. Norcom Community Center began as a sheltered workshop

that came to a crossroads: take everybody out or bring the community in. They brought the community in by transforming a sheltered workshop into a

comprehensive community center with a gym, weight room, cardiovascular

exercise room, theatre, greenhouse, meeting rooms and snack bar. The

former sheltered workshop now provides integrated activities for people with

disabilities as well as jobs and key contacts with community members who

utilize the facility. The community center has become a remarkable resource to its community.

Contact: Judy Dotzman, jdotzman@spininc.org, (215) 613-1013 x1711