2021 New Hope of Indiana Award Winners

26 Oct 2021 New Hope of Indiana Award Winners

One of the highlights of this year’s Silver Cup Celebration was honoring a few of our very own #EverydayChampions. We are so blessed with a great network of caring, dedicated and selfless individuals who support our mission in their own unique way. Please help us recognize this year’s New Hope of Indiana award winners.

2021 Partner in Service Award
The local Kiwanis Club has been a partner to New Hope of Indiana for well over 30 years. Most recently, the Kiwanis Club of Northwest Indianapolis has been a vital partner to New Hope’s mission. Kiwanis has sponsored the Fall Festival each year and offers New Hope clients leadership development and service opportunities through their Aktion Club program.

Even through the pandemic, Kiwanis volunteers made a significant effort to keep New Hope’s clients engaged despite the social isolation of the pandemic. These volunteers have been champions for the individuals we serve and for our mission for decades.

2021 Beverly Dyken Volunteer of the Year Award
For over 20 years, Jeff has been serving others at New Hope in one way or another. Jeff has been a fierce advocate for individuals with disabilities, serving as mentor and friend to dozens of individuals served by New Hope and other disability providers. Jeff volunteers with New Hope in a number of capacities including as legal guardian or advocate for several individuals.

During the pandemic, Jeff took the initiative to create a virtual Bible Study class for the individuals who typically attend this class at College Park Church. This online meeting took place weekly for over a year to enrich the spiritual lives of New Hope clients, encourage strong interpersonal connections and promote their overall well-being. Jeff, his wife Joanne, and their peers at College Park’s special needs ministry have been invaluable volunteers to New Hope of Indiana for many years.

Lynn Feldman & Kathe Rae Direct Support Professional (DSP) of the Year Award
Folasade Adejayan has served as a DSP for New Hope of Indiana since 2008. In that time, Sade has built many life-long friendships with her colleagues and, most importantly, with the individuals she serves. Sade is a joyful and compassionate advocate for individuals with disabilities who seeks out the positive in every client she serves. Her kind spirit exemplifies New Hope’s Core Values of Service and Integrity.

Colleagues say that when it comes to Sade, they never have to worry about her quality of work. She always does the right thing, asks the necessary questions, learns the best practices, and supports others. Sade is always willing to speak up for what is right and to point out processes that are not working. She serves on NHI’s Kudos Committee, a group that creates meaningful recognition opportunities for NHI associates. She also serves as a trainer in her home site, ensuring that new associates or associates who are not familiar with the individuals she serves can provide high quality service and support to her clients. While she is incredibly flexible and often willing to pick up shifts for other homes as needed, she always remains committed to her home site and to their needs.

For the individuals she serves, Sade offers safety, comfort, friendship, encouragement, and support. Her clients love her and look forward to seeing her. She demonstrates genuine interest in her clients’ hobbies and loves to see them participate in meaningful community involvement. During the pandemic when the clients could not see their loved ones, Sade would make sure that they were able to stay in touch with their families. In addition, Sade helped ease the transition of a client who moved from one home to another by continuing to volunteer alongside him in the community to make sure he continued to succeed despite all the other changes in his life.

In another situation, despite working in a new location for the first time, Sade was able to respond quickly to an emergency situation by providing CPR to an individual in need. Because of her quick action and compassionate care, Sade likely saved a life that day. This is typical of Sade and just one of the countless reasons she is highly regarded by her coworkers and the individuals she supports.
Sade is a shining example of what it means to be a DSP. Her hard work, dedication, flexibility, and compassion set her apart from others and make her the 2021 Lynn Feldman & Kathe Rae DSP of the Year.

2021 Champion of Hope Award
Ken Rose is a fierce advocate for the I/DD community who exemplifies all of NHI’s Core Values: Service, Wisdom, Creativity, Integrity, Reverence, Inclusivity, and especially Dedication.

Ken has spent the last 16 years serving others through several direct care, service coordination and leadership roles. He currently serves as NHI’s Manager of Capital Operations, creating innovative, person-centered approaches to administer services and manage resources. Despite his professional role at NHI, Ken keeps his roots in direct care close to his heart. Ken will go above and beyond to support individuals who need it and never hesitates to work hard in any capacity. You may still find Ken intervening when an individual is having a challenging day. His calm demeanor and ability to deescalate a situation helps not only the individual but also their support staff learn new techniques in care.

Ken demonstrates leadership and integrity daily by quietly showing others what it means to be a servant leader. Ken is a problem-solver who values efficiency, accuracy, and innovation. He has led New Hope’s EVV and telehealth efforts, ensuring that our associates have access to the necessary training and tools that they need to be successful. Ken has also been a leader in assessing outdated practices to identify or create more efficient processes to ultimately improve the quality of care that NHI offers.

During the pandemic, Ken has shown tremendous dedication and leadership. During the initial shutdown, Ken went into the office every day to ensure that individuals and associates had the supplies needed to stay healthy and safe. Ken was also in charge of distributing the special PPE needed when a site had a positive case of COVID-19. No matter the time of day, Ken would take the additional supplies needed when a site would become positive. Ken never hesitated to jump in and do what was needed. As the head of IT, Ken also was responsible for purchasing and delivering additional laptops and tablets to NHI sites so that individuals served could access telehealth services and visit with their families and friends virtually.

Despite already going above and beyond, Ken also completed INARF’s Leadership Academy in 2020 in order to continue his education and to grow as a leader in our industry. Ken is always looking for data-driven solutions that will ultimately create the best outcomes for individuals served. Ken is a dependable colleague and is the ultimate team player. He is an ally to the entire organization and is someone highly regarded for both his technical expertise and his compassionate support for the individuals served. His knowledge, dedication, commitment, and love for the individuals served make Ken Rose the first-ever recipient of the Champion of Hope Award.