Dear Santa, I have been good this year and I am hoping for a squeaky toy, a milk bone and maybe a nice soft rabbit toy. I do have some gigantic requests this year and I know you will do your best. You always do. So here goes… please bring enough vaccines for everyone, please put a toy under every tree, some food on every table and some hope in every heart. Thank you, Santa and do not forget to wear your mask!! Love, Zeller...
This month, New Hope is excited to welcome our new Director of Fund Development, Jenny Pfeil! Jenny comes to New Hope with nearly 25 years of leadership experience in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors including WFYI, YellowBook and United Way of Central Indiana. Most recently, Jenny served as the Regional Chief Development Officer for the Indiana Region of the American Red Cross where she led a team of fundraisers with responsibility for raising money around the state. She also currently serves as a mentor for Pass the Torch for Women and on the Marketing Committee for the Economic Club of Indiana. Jenny...
As we do each year, New Hope is preparing to celebrate the start of the giving season next week on Tuesday, December 1st with #GivingTuesday. We are excited to announce that this year, our Board of Directors has pledged to match the first $5,000 in donations made to support our giving season fundraising efforts! Join us by offering a new hope this Giving Tuesday and throughout the rest of the year. Your gift will help brighten the holiday season for the individuals and families we serve as well as the dedicated caregivers who serve them. While your generous gifts will...
With Thanksgiving just days away, many people have gratitude on their minds. At New Hope, we've been practicing gratitude all year! This year especially, we are incredibly grateful for our many dedicated caregivers and all those who support our clients as part of #TeamNewHope. We asked several members of our New Hope community to share what they're thankful for this year. The most common answers were family, coworkers, staff, a safe home, a stable job and their New Hope community. Richie, former Cheese and Thank You crew member and current AIMster, shared his blessings during our Thanksgiving turkey craft. "The...
Every year for over 20 years, our friends at Ascension St. Vincent bring hope and offer holiday cheer to the individuals at New Hope who may not otherwise have much to celebrate. Hope for the Holidays is a program in which St. Vincent staff or departments sponsor patients, former patients or other individuals served through St. Vincent’s ministries who might be in need of some extra hope during the holidays. In a year with so many other changes, we were happy to learn that Hope for the Holidays would still be happening. This year, over 50 individuals with disabilities, and...
Happy Thanksgiving, Heartbeat Readers! As I reflect on the whirlwind year we’ve all experienced, I am quickly realizing that my perspective on gratitude has changed significantly this year. Amid so much change and uncertainty, I have grown more and more thankful for the little things in life and for the people who make it so meaningful. #TeamNewHope has shown tremendous courage, sacrifice, dedication and love this year, and I have never been more proud to be a part of this community. Thank you to all our dedicated associates, loving families and generous friends who continue to make New Hope such a...
Allen Saunders once wrote “Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.” In 1992, other plans for DeShawn Hale included graduating from Indiana University where she was studying on an academic scholarship and soon to be venturing out on a new career. But when she became pregnant in her senior year and her child was born three months prematurely, her dreams, aspirations and career were put on indefinite hold. Her son Christian was born with what would later be diagnosed as Cerebral Palsy and Failure to Thrive. He spent his first three months...
Greetings friends, It is hard to believe Thanksgiving is already here. It has been a challenging year for all of us and those challenges continue as we navigate the world with Covid -19 still so prevalent. It can be scary and frustrating. Still, there is still so much for which to be thankful. Here are just a few of the things for which I am grateful – my family, my friends at New Hope, a new bone, a treat, the way the sun feels on my back, fresh cut grass, crispy leaves, smiles, pats on my head, new collars, my toys, dropped...
Ever wonder how New Hope finds its dedicated caregivers and all the other behind-the-scenes talent that keep New Hope running? Well, meet our very own Talent Acquisition Coordinator, Allison Spence. Allison has been a part of the New Hope Human Resources team for nearly three years where she dedicates her time to finding the right people for the job. Before she came to New Hope, Allison earned a Bachelors degree in Health Services from the University of Southern Indiana (USI) was a Business Office Manager at an assisted-living facility, maintaining the day-to-day operations including all human resources responsibilities. While she...
After nearly forty years of dedicated service to New Hope of Indiana, Kathe Rae celebrated her retirement in December 2019. Kathe left a beautiful legacy at New Hope that was honored this month with the dedication of New Hope's gardens. Kathe's many friends and long-time colleagues hoped to dedicate the gardens this spring, but COVID-19 demanded plans be changed. After many months of planning and waiting, Kathe Rae was surprised with a new plaque at the front of the Payne Road raised bed garden which reads, "In honor of Kathe Rae's 39 years of dedicated service to helping individuals with...
As election day approaches, advocates across the country have been reminding our neighbors that the disability community has a lot to say. Despite the risks that COVID-19 bring to the upcoming election day, individuals with disabilities at New Hope and across the country are finding ways to vote safely. At New Hope, individuals were encouraged to vote early by mail. For some people though, voting in-person at the polls is more important. According to the US Election Assistance Commission, voters with disabilities make up about one sixth of the nation's electorate. Just as any voter should, our friends with disabilities...
[caption id="attachment_33264" align="alignleft" width="300"] Allison and NHI Volunteer Drew Kogan at the 2019 Fall Festival[/caption]Happy October! October at New Hope is always a busy time at New Hope! We have many fun fall activities, catch up on training for our associates before the end of the year, prepare for the holiday season and hold our quarterly Board meeting. These regular events have brought a small sense of normalcy back to a year in which nearly every moment has felt uncertain. And while I know that our lives are far from “back to normal”, there are a few things that I hope...
Greetings Friends, Are you enjoying this fall weather? I know I am. I love the crunchy leaves under my paws. Things have been busy around New Hope with a lot of fun fall activities. First there was a virtual raffle and lots of great prizes. Then Action Club hosted a virtual pumpkin decorating event. There were some really fun decorations, pumpkins turned into spiders, pumpkins wearing masks, scary faces and smiles! AIM will be hosting a virtual Halloween dance party and a committee has been hard at work to host a virtual Fall Festival! The Fall Festival has been an annual event...
[caption id="attachment_26150" align="alignleft" width="300"] 2019 Aktion Club Food Drive[/caption]Kiwanis Aktion Clubs are important opportunities for adults with disabilities to gain leadership skills and practice community-based philanthropy. In a typical year, New Hope's Kiwanis Aktion Club raises a few hundred dollars and collects some in-kind gifts for local nonprofits, but what members cherish more than anything is the sense of camaraderie and the opportunity to be a leader in our community. 2020 has been anything but typical though. This year, our dedicated Aktion Club Board of Directors has been working hard to keep everyone at New Hope in good spirits and...
Adebanke Faleke has a unique perspective of New Hope of Indiana and our mission. She has served as both a Direct Support Professional (DSP) in Day Service and AIM and, as of September, as a Behavior Consultant. We wanted to learn more about how Adebanke made such a drastic transition and why she chose to stick with New Hope in this new phase of her career. Adebanke is originally from Nigeria, West Africa where she earned her Bachelors in Theatre from the University of Lagos. She later moved to the US where she is now a citizen. She earned a...
Many of the individuals served by New Hope have strong spiritual and religious beliefs, but in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, they were no longer able to go to church or spend time with their friends from their congregations. This disconnect between them and their church took a toll on their mental health. Thankfully, New Hope has many friends including some dedicated volunteers from College Park Church. With their partnership, New Hope has been able to offer online Bible study each week during which the individuals we serve can find connection and share their faith with friends. Thanks...
Happy Autumn! As we welcome the first days of the fall season, I can't believe how quickly the summer has gone by. The changing of a season always reminds me that change is often something to be celebrated. This year we have changed the ways we communicate, offer services, hire and train associates, and stay connected to our community. Believe it or not, New Hope has embraced new technology and is even hosting an online event this week! (Camp Raffle is Thursday, October 1st at 6pm!) These changes have sometimes been difficult to adjust to and have placed additional burdens on...
While 2020 has been a strange year for all of us, a couple of things have remained constant at New Hope of Indiana. First, we have always put the safety and well-being of our clients and associates first; and second, we have continued to offer important training to our associates to support their efforts. To offer the highest quality care to the individuals we serve, our associates need to be equipped with the right tools and knowledge to do so. This year alone, New Hope has provided vital training to our teams including individual specific training on individual risk plans...
Volunteers have always been an integral part of New Hope's mission. From leading classes and activities in the original residential facility to helping coordinate fundraising events, to serving our clients in the Day Services program, volunteers have always helped move our mission forward and helped to provide a really enriching social experience for the individuals we serve. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of our usual volunteer opportunities have changed in significant ways. Thankfully, everyone at New Hope is well-versed in flexibility. We quickly learned that virtual and online opportunities were going to be the new way to do things, including engaging...
Every September, New Hope and other disability providers across the country recognize Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) and the amazing care they provide to our most vulnerable friends and neighbors. We had a great time celebrating DSP Week, and thanks to our New Hope community, we were able to share so many messages of gratitude and support to our caregivers. They are truly more than essential. They're EXCEPTIONAL! Thanks to our friends for sharing these messages. For all our New Hope DSPs - Thank you from the bottom of my heart! Thank you for your patient time and caring. Thank you for your...