A Non-Profit Makes Good on Its Promise
By Annie Uyehara
This
reporter was on a roll, finding more stories to write about for the Inclusion
Campaign for Valley Life For All. Having learned so much about people with
challenges and disabilities, I wasn’t ready to give it up.
But
Debbie Wilde, Executive Director, and Sandy Schroeder, Vice President of the
Board of Directors, are happy see the conclusion of Valley Life For All, for it
is a success story, a book where the reader has come to the last page and is
satisfied.
And,
like finishing a good book, there’s a sense of the bittersweet, says Wilde. “It
was a wonderful ride with amazing people. I’m delighted to be a part of a
nonprofit that met its mission. That’s the ultimate goal of a nonprofit.”
VLFA
began in 2010 the dining room of Margaret “Gary” Bender, whose daughter has
Down syndrome. She was joined by another parent, Katie Grange, who also had a
child with disabilities. They began looking at opportunities for their
kids to be able to participate in the community, just like their peers.
They won a grant from the state to fund their 501c3
status in 2011. Not long after, the nonprofit was christened Valley Life For
All (VLFA).
Sandy
Schroeder attended one of their meetings as a parent of a son with
disabilities, and before Bender moved out of state, she asked if Schroeder
would take over VLFA. Schroeder said only if she could work with Debbie Wilde,
whom she met at a VLFA evaluation focus group..
The
dynamic duo was born. Wilde became the Executive Director and Schroeder the
President of the Board of Directors. At one point they had $11 in the bank
account and relied entirely on volunteers. Eventually they gained funding from
various grants and sponsors and were able to pay for some positions.
The
women, along with a dedicated board and volunteers,created four pillars for
VLFA: The Inclusion Campaign; a Provider Collaborative; Leadership Training;
and Spanish Culture and Language Support Group.
The
Provider Collaborative, in which communities collaborated to provide services
and support in the transition from school to community, dissolved as other
organizations picked up this mission. The Spanish Culture and Language Support
Group for Latino parents with children with special needs, morphed into La
Esperanza de Emily, spearheaded by VLFA Board Member Cecelia Garcia about 10
years ago.
The
Leadership Training collaborated with the Roaring Fork Center for Community
Leadership to enroll adults with disabilities who are a match for the
leadership class. VLFA supported their participation with scholarships and
provided mentors for support and curriculum modification. The goal was to focus
on personal strengths and goals, desires and interest to facilitate futures of
choice for people with disabilities in the Roaring Fork Valley.
The
Inclusion Campaign, a favorite for both women, includes Amy Schuster and Erin
Galimore. The goal, says Schroeder, “was to eliminate the fear about how people
interact with people who have different features. We focused on the value added
to our community.” VLFA achieved this in a personal way, through stories in the
newspapers and on the radio about individuals with disabilities and
challenges.
Wilde
recalls a VLFA story about a man named Corey who has degenerative muscular
disease and uses a wheelchair. She ran into him some time after his story was
published in the newspaper. “I recall Corey as saying, ‘I’m a social media
star. People come up to me and say, I saw you in the newspaper and heard you on
the radio and I just want to say hello to you. There must’ve been 200 people
who have come up to me.’ And it was perfect because his message in the story
was, ‘If you see me, don’t be afraid to come up and talk to me.’ So I believe
we had an effective way to get an important message across while honoring the
people in celebrating their stories.”
Of
course, there will always be more stories to tell, but, as Schroeder says, “The
goals of our four pillars have been met. The community now has the capacity to
meet the needs we have identified.”
As
this reporter came together with Wilde and Schroeder at a restaurant table to
congratulate them, Schroeder deflected, saying, “We think all of this was well
spent because we have a changed community, so it’s not necessarily a
congratulations to VLFA, but a congratulations to a new community.”
Adds
Wilde, “And that people of all abilities can make significant contributions and
have full inclusion for all of our citizens in our community.”
As
the bill comes and payment is delivered to the waiter, Schroeder says: “We want
to say thank you to everyone who participated and who volunteered their time
and opened their minds to look at things differently.” Piped in Wilde, “And to
everyone who sponsored and helped with the funding.”
The
restaurant has closed for the day. As Wilde and Schroeder get up to leave, they
are confident that the mountain communities that VLFA featured will carry on
well the mission of inclusion for all.
Since Valley Life For All will no longer be publishing stories, we invite all readers to get resources at the Arc of the Central Mountains: http://arccentralmountains.org/
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