Previous Recipients of the Community Builder Award

2009

The ANCOR Foundation is pleased to announce The Pieters Family Life Center (Heritage Christian Services - NY) and City of Eugene Adaptive Recreation Program (OR) as recipients of the 2009 Community Builder Awards.

About the recipients:

The Pieters Family Life Center

The Pieters Family Life Center is designed to serve the health and wellness needs of those with and without disabilities, and promote community inclusion in a bright, open active environment for people of all ages. The center is a 21,000-square-foot facility focused on wellness for the whole person -- spirit, mind, and body and is operated by Heritage Christian Services, a thriving, quality-driven human services agency known for innovative programs and supporting more than 1,400 children and adults with developmental disabilities.

Contact: Andrew Little, Director, The Pieters Family Life Center

 

City of Eugene Adaptive Recreation Program

The City of Eugene Adaptive Recreation Program is a comprehensive effort designed to promote inclusion across the lifespan, actively promote a range of recreation and leisure activities, and provide high quality supports so that individuals with and without disabilities can participate in meaningful activities together.

Contact: Molly Elliott, CTRS, Adaptive Recreation Program

 

2008

ANCOR Foundation Announces Recipients of the 2008 Community Builder Awards

With a record number of applicants, the selection committees faced the difficult decision of choosing recipients that best exemplify the spirit of the ANCOR Foundation’s Community Builder Award--to seamlessly integrate people with disabilities into the fabric of every-day life.

The Foundation is pleased to announce KFI, Inc., of Maine and State Senator Cynthia Nava (D-NM) as the ANCOR Foundation 2008 Community Builder Awards recipients.

This year’s recipients illustrate that the strongest communities are those that embrace the gifts and talents of all people. Both KFI and Senator Nava have worked tirelessly to ensure that individuals with disabilities can live, work and contribute to community life, regardless of the challenges they may face.

Developed in the 1960s as a specialized school for individuals who were not being served in the public school system, KFI has continued to evolve into a robust, community-based organization supporting 100 adults with disabilities through residential and day supports. KFI does not own any housing, each person served by KFI has his or her own residence, whether as a renter or homeowner. KFI creatively works with representatives from the housing, employment, civic, volunteer and recreation sectors to create meaningful opportunities for the people they support.

One of the key components on which nominees are judged is replicability of their model/program; and that clearly holds true for this year’s recipient. KFI currently serves as a national mentor organization through the Training and Technical Assistance for Providers (T-TAP) grant, has consulted nationally on their conversion efforts, and has a record of working with state agencies, providers, families and others to teach some of the strategies and “lessons learned” as they moved from segregated to community-based settings. KFI’s services have been cited by the University of Southern Maine, Boston’s Institute for Community Inclusion and Syracuse University as exemplary models.

The recipient of this year’s Community Builder Award in the community/community member category, Senator Nava, has dedicated her life to improving the lives of people with disabilities.

Throughout her life, Senator Nava has been involved in the field of education, an emphasis that continues to drive her work today. She currently serves on a variety of committees in the New Mexico State Legislature that focus on education, including the Education and Legislative Education Study Committees. On the Committees, Senator Nava draws upon her previous experience as an educational diagnostician, special education instructor, school psychologist and home instructor for a family infant toddler program serving children with or at risk for developmental delays.

During her 16 year tenure in the New Mexico State Legislature, she has championed legislation protecting the educational and other rights of people with disabilities, successfully advocated for increased funding for community-based agencies that provide supports to children with disabilities, and increased scholarship opportunities for people with disabilities attending technical-vocational schools and universities.

Senator Nava’s field experience and advocacy efforts do not end there. Since her first day in the New Mexico State Legislature, she has employed two individuals with disabilities to serve as attendants for her office and committee. By greeting visitors, answering telephones, preparing committee rooms and assuming other public responsibilities, these two individuals have not only grown in confidence and skills but, more important, other senators and visitors have seen first-hand the positive contributions and talents individuals with disabilities possess when given the opportunity to work.

Senator Nava remains firmly rooted in the community and passionate about education, continuing to serve as superintendent of the Gadsen School District, a rural and impoverished area in Southern New Mexico. Her wealth of experience, dedication to the field and commitment to systems change that facilitates and supports full participation is the basis for the Community Builder Award Selection Committee’s decision.

KFI and Senator Nava will be recognized during the ANCOR Management Practices Conference and Trade Show on Monday, April 14, 2008, in New Orleans, LA, following a special breakout session where they will share their award-winning practices.

Since 2004, the ANCOR Foundation Community Builder Award has been a cornerstone of the Foundation’s vision--a world where people with disabilities live well-supported, meaningful lives in the communities of their choice. Together, let us work together to help make this vision a reality. Let us continue to work diligently to support people with disabilities to the best of our ability, and let us listen and learn from those who are leading the way to realizing that vision.

Honorable mentions for the 2008 Community Builder Awards:
Community Access Unlimited (NJ)
St. Louis ARC (MO)
TecAccess (VA)

 

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