WACOSA was recently honored with an Innovation Award (“I” Award) for its innovative services for persons with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and ASD-related concerns. The award will be presented by the Center for Nonprofit Excellence & Social Innovation (CNESI) on October 13th, 2010 at the Innovation Summit at the Best Western Kelly Inn in St. Cloud, MN. This is the second such award that WACOSA has been honored with from the CNESI in the past 2-year period. Thanks to all who have had a part in developing these services and to all WACOSA staff whose contributions in every way help our organization be the best it can be.

Many people can find jobs they like, but it’s a rare opportunity when they get to work in a field they really love. When Jan’s Professional Care in Sartell was looking for daycare help, they reached out to one of their daycare dad’s, Greg Wilson, who also happens to be a WACOSA training specialist. Greg brought the request back to WACOSA’s Roxanne Ryan who already had an idea as to who might be the perfect candidate for the job.

Roxanne met with Jan of Jan’s Professional Care regarding her personnel needs and on May 24, 2010, Robin Hall, a WACOSA consumer, began employment with the Sartell childcare center. Robin remembers that day clearly as the day in which she started her dream job. Robin’s job at the day care is to get lunch ready, help serve children, clean up, and occasionally do some baking. She loves the constant interaction with young people and is getting to know each and every one of them. Being around children keeps Robin feeling young and provides her with ideas and activities to bring back to her own family’s foster care children.

Robin really enjoys working with Jan as her new boss. “Jan can’t be beat. She is very kind toward the children and is always upbeat,” boasts Robin. “You can’t help but have a good day at work every day when you are working for Jan”. Robin also notes that Jan does an excellent job letting her know that she appreciates the work Robin is doing.

Jan feels it’s a good fit too. “Robin is doing a fine job. She does a really good job; I appreciate the extra time it gives me to spend with the children. Robin was recently gone for a few days and it made me realize how much I have come to rely upon her to help us have lunch ready and run smoothly.”

Robin is thankful to both Greg and Jan for making her job a reality, one that she hopes will continue for a long, long time.

WACOSA, in partnership with the Recycling Association of Minnesota and other fine organizations is now accepting holiday lights and electrical cords for recycling, free of charge. Teaming up with businesses and organizations throughout central Minnesota (see current list below) there are multiple drop sites for this exciting opportunity to "go green."
What we accept:

• Electrical cords
• Holiday lights - even the lights are recycled!
• Appliance cords
• Electrical wiring
• Telephone cords

We DO NOT accept:

• Cords with battery packs
• Cords with adapters
• Cords attached to appliances or the original item (cords only please)
• Cords attached to large holiday decorations (cords only please)

CURRENT DROP OFF SITES:

• WACOSA DocuShred in Waite Park
• St. Cloud State University - Maintanance Building Only
• Wenner's Hardware in Cold Spring
• Foley Hardware & Appliance in Foley
• St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce
• Girl Scouts, Minnesota and Wisconsin Lakes and Pines in Waite Park
• Waite Park City Hall
• Tri-County Solid Waste in St. Cloud
• Denny & Kathy's Ace Hardware, both St. Cloud locations

Check back for more drop locations as this great program grows!

If you're interested in becoming a drop site or would like more information please contact Beth Sueker at 320-257-5182, bsueker@wacosa.org, OR Ann Roesler at 320-257-5191, aroesler@wacosa.org.

Submitted by Deb Hofmann at Great River Federal Credit Union

In honor of Earth Day 2010, Great River Federal Credit Union hosted a document shredding event. Secure, locked recycling containers were placed in each of the four lobbies for members to deposit their no longer needed documents containing personal and sensitive information. Employees of the credit union requested donations for the food shelf in exchange for the service.

The premise of the event includes helping protect the environment by recycling, aiding in the fight against identity theft by the proper disposal of personal information, and supporting the community by collecting donations for the Catholic Charities Emergency Food Shelf. This year GRFCU chose to partner with DocuShred, a division of WACOSA, which supports the community by recycling and by providing people challenged by disabilities the opportunity to work and live in their communities.

Members of Great River FCU brought in 4,434 pounds of paper to be shredded and recycled, and generously donated 516 pounds of nonperishable food items and $125 in cash to Catholic Charities Emergency Services food shelf.

In March, 2010, WACOSA clients and staff took part in United Way of Central Minnesota’s Feed Our Families food drive. This years Feed Our Families event received matching dollars provided by Central Minnesota Community Foundation, U.S. Bank, and the United Way of Central Minnesota. WACOSA has a tradition of reaching out to its community and giving back. The food drive has been, and remains an important piece of WACOSA’s commitment to community. WACOSA staff and clients dropped off $63.76 in cash donations, and 269 pounds of food at Catholic Charities to support this important food drive event. The donations were divided by need between The Salvation Army and Catholic Charities Emergency Services.

DISABILITY ADVOCACY GROUP ENCOURAGES STATE’S ELECTED OFFICIALS TO PROTECT VULNERABLE MINNESOTANS STRONG STATE LEADERSHIP NEEDED TO PUSH FOR INNOVATIVE SERIVCES, NOT CUTS WAITE PARK, MN – April 21, 2010 –

At a news conference in Waite Park today, The Arc of Minnesota encouraged state elected officials to provide the leadership to protect persons with disabilities from harmful cuts to human services. The organization advocates for persons with intellectual and other developmental disabilities.

“Our legislators and the Governor must help must promote innovations in human services, not just propose more service cuts,” Pat Mellenthin, The Arc of Minnesota Executive Director said. “The Governor’s proposed cuts are a tax on our most vulnerable citizens. The cuts create greater stress on families with children with disabilities, and make people with disabilities less independent and more isolated from their communities.”

“We are already seeing the effect of cuts on people with developmental disabilities here in the St. Cloud area,” said Cindy Owen, Executive Director for Arc Midstate. “They have less to spend on personal items like clothes and personal hygiene products, and further cuts may mean fewer work hours and even less income. Families raising their children with significant disabilities at home would face funding cuts this year on top of last year’s reductions.”

Stories from local individuals affected by the cuts illustrated Mellenthin’s and Owen’s points. Paul Thomas gets assistance from Stearns County so he can work three days a week through WACOSA, an agency that helps people with developmental disabilities gain employment. His funding also helps pay for the $20 he needs every month for bus fare to get around town and to help pay for necessities. However, this funding was cut by 10%, and funding for his employment program is targeted for cuts, too. “This assistance helps me live as independently as I can. If my employment program was cut, I may not be able to come to work as much.”

Services that are still available for people with disabilities make a big difference in their lives, and those that give individuals and families more control over their services can cost less than traditional services. Teri and Rick Bierman, a St. Cloud couple, has benefited from a program funded by Medical Assistance that helps raise Maryn, their daughter with significant disabilities, in their home. It provides them funds for the medications, nursing care, and specialized diet for Maryn requires. The individualized services they pay for cost 70% of what traditional services would cost. “Innovative services like those that the Biermans receive are ones that our elected officials should strongly promote,” said Mellenthin. “These services can help create a more sustainable system that also makes life possible for families who have children with disabilities. However, even these services would be cut under the Governor’s budget, after having received cuts last year.”

The Governor’s budget would mean an additional $347 million less for human services – a larger reduction than any other area of the state budget. Cuts would reduce rates to service providers, including employment services and the in-home services for families like the Biermans; eliminate physical, occupational, and speech therapy for adults on Medical Assistance; cap the number of new services for the 4,000 Minnesotans who are waiting to live in the community; and eliminate specially-prescribed diets for low-income Minnesotans with serious medical conditions, among others.

The Minnesota House and Senate have not yet released their overall budgets for human service spending for this session. At this point, they are waiting to hear how much money will be available for human services in Minnesota through the federal stimulus bill and health care reform. Some specific bills already introduced in the Minnesota House, however, would make harsh cuts to human services. For example, a bill was heard in Minnesota House committees last month that would accelerate last year’s cuts to personal care attendant (PCA) services. (PCA services are a cost-effective way to help individuals with disabilities remain as independent as possible.)

The Arc of Minnesota provides advocacy and support for persons with intellectual and other developmental disabilities and their families so they can choose how they live, learn, work, and play in their communities. Founded in 1951, it has 5,400 members and 12 affiliated chapters statewide. Arc Midstate is the local affiliated chapter and is based on Waite Park. Founded in 1969, Arc Midstate serves Benton, Stearns, Todd and Morrison counties. In 2009 it provided advocacy, resources, and connections to more than 2,800 individuals in its service area.

When you walk in the doors at Lincoln Elementary you can see immediately that they support recycling efforts in our community. Bins are neatly placed for all to see to promote recycling of different products students and staff use every day. When the student council at Lincoln Elementary heard about WACOSA’s new recycling program for electrical cords and holiday lights, they were eager to promote a month long drive to collect these items from their peers and the community.

Susan Wielinski leads the Lincoln Elementary Student Council and really let the Council take control of this new recycling endeavor. When Ann Roesler, the marketing and development manager at WACOSA, a non-profit who works to provide jobs to adults with disabilities, met with the Student Council she was amazed by the enthusiasm. “I’ve been in marketing for 20 years, and these kids amazed me with their knowledge of getting the word out on their new cord recycling month. Immediately they thought of skits in the classrooms, fliers to parents, and posters throughout the school,’ stated Roesler.

Over all the students collected over 30 pounds worth of cords and holiday lights, and were happy with the result of their first year with this one month promotion. The Council voted and decided they’d like to do a one month promotion again next year with a goal to collect even more. Roesler finished with, “The greatest part of this for me is that the kids not only gave back to their community by recycling, they are also providing valuable jobs to adults with disabilities. We hope that other schools will partner with us to spread this important message throughout our communities.”

MN Works!, an organization with a state wide initiative to assist people with disabilities in obtaining meaningful employment together with Minnesota Senator Kathy Sheran are sponsoring an honorary internship with the State Capitol for persons with disabilities. The purpose of this program is to engage the Minnesota Senate in providing persons with disabilities an opportunity to demonstrate their capacity to participate in work performed in the Minnesota Legislature and the State Capitol. In addition, the program seeks to mentor participants on careers of the future and provide honor and recognition to those in the disability community that have demonstrated commitment to work and exemplary performance on the job.

Carrie Worm, a client manager at WACOSA, nominated Andy Archer for the Capitol Fellowship. Andy has been with WACOSA since 1998 and has been employed by Bernicks Pepsi since 2002. “Andy has shown exceptional growth in maturity, self-awareness, and self-advocacy throughout the years,” stated Carrie Worm. “Andy is an active member of his church, has participated in many self-advocating activities including trips to the Capitol and has learned to budget and save his money to go on trips around the world (i.e. Hawaii, Florida, Costa Rica, cruises, etc.). Andy represents what someone can do when they want to improve their life with hard work and dedication. Andy would be a great candidate to participate in an internship at the Capitol through MN Works.”

Andy will go to the Capitol once weekly for the 2010 legislative session. He will be mentored by co-workers at the state senate and the hosting senator. Andy’s work will help people with disabilities be recognized for their contributions to the state’s workforce as well as to communicate to business and industry the quality work people with disabilities can provide to their organizations.

Along with Andy’s opportunity, Pam Wilson, a job coach at WACOSA, was selected as one of two job coaches that will provide supervisory assistance for the entire fellowship program. Additionally, WACOSA has offered transportation services to Independent Lifestyles, ARC Midstate and Independence Center, should they wish to go to the Capitol and attend meetings during the legislative session.

Congratulations to Andy and Pam! We are thrilled to have them represent WACOSA and to teach our communities about the great work people with disabilities do every day.

There is a press conference at the State Capitol on Feb. 4th, 2010 at 8:30am. The public is welcome to attend.

WACOSA consumers and staff wanted to give to their community around the holidays and boy did they ever! The 2009 WACOSA food drive brought in a whopping 212 pounds of food for area food shelves. In addition, they dug deep to donate $102.25 in cash donations which was generously matched by Stearns Bank of St. Cloud. The result was a fantastic $204.50 cash donation! To put these dollars in perspective, EVERY dollar donated provides FIVE to EIGHT meals. At a minimum, the WACOSA and Stearns Bank partnership provided over 1000 meals to need individuals and families. Donations were collected from WACOSA consumers and staff and given to the St. Cloud Catholic Charities food bank. Together, we can make a difference. Thank you WACOSA consumers and staff for supporting our community.

WACOSA and St. Cloud Metro Bus had a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the new warming house placed outside of WACOSA’s Waite Park location. St. Cloud Metro Bus not only built a new warming house, they worked with the city of Waite Park to make loading and unloading of the St. Cloud Metro Bus safer for WACOSA staff and clients, as well as others in our community who use this bus stop, by adding pavement from the warming house to the road. Jolette Zapf had the honors of cutting the ribbon and David Tripp, Terry Markfort, Steve Williams, and Tom Cruikshank from Metro Bus joined WACOSA staff and clients for the ceremony. WACOSA extends a big thank you to St. Cloud Metro Bus as well as the City of Waite Park for providing this new warming house for our community.

WACOSA is pleased to announce they have been chosen by the CentraCare Health Foundation to receive a $5,000.00 grant. The grant money will help to kick off WACOSA’s new Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) program, scheduled to open January 2010. The grant dollars that CentraCare Health Foundation contributed will go towards education and staff training. WACOSA’s ASD program will be a much needed addition to the vocational rehabilitation services WACOSA offers to adults with disabilities in central Minnesota. “WACOSA thanks the CentraCare Health Foundation for helping with the expense of training our staff,” Steve Howard, WACOSA’s executive director stated. “This will help WACOSA become a strong member in the ASD community and serve this rapidly increasing population of adults by assisting them in finding work opportunities as well as building self-esteem.”

Annually the Minnesota Rehabilitation Association recognizes businesses who demonstrated their confidence in the ability of individuals with disabilities to be valuable employees by their actions/involvement in hiring and working with people with disabilities.

The winner receives a Job Placement Development Award. (JPD Award) This year Roxanne Ryan, a sales representative from WACOSA, nominated Sears in St. Cloud, MN. Sears hired Ric Hennek, a WACOSA client, in 2008. “Sears has been a great employer for Ric,” states Ms. Ryan, “He very much feels part of the Sears family. Ric values his work and talks about how important it is for him. After having his accident he felt like a ‘nobody’, Sears helps Ric feel valuable, and like a ‘somebody’ again.”

October is disability awareness month and a great time to recognize all in our community who support people with disabilities.

In photo, left to right, Susan Riley, WACOSA Curriculum Coordinator and Elena White, WACOSA arts volunteer and nominator of the VSA arts of MN award.


WACOSA is the proud recipient of an Art Access Award given by VSA arts of Minnesota. VSA arts of Minnesota is an affiliate of VSA arts and the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, headquartered in Washington, DC. This Washington-based nonprofit has a mission to create a community where people with disabilities can learn through, participate in, and access the arts. VSA’s name stands for “Vision” of an inclusive community, “Strength” in shared resources, and “Access” to the arts.

This was the 12th annual VSA arts of Minnesota Arts Access Award ceremony. WACOSA won the award for being an “Outstanding organization actively supporting access to the arts for people with disabilities.” WACOSA’s vision is for people of all abilities to be empowered to reach their full potential. In meeting with this vision, WACOSA continues to grow and embrace an art culture within their organization. WACOSA has introduced water color painting, charcoal drawing, sewing, music using unique instruments from around the world, adaptive Tae Kwon Do, photography, beading, creative movement and their own talent contest entitled, “WACOSA’s Got Talent”. The organization plans to continue growing in this area.

Individuals receiving services report loving this exciting program direction. Staff and volunteers enjoy watching WACOSA consumers gain increased confidence and self-esteem and are gratified to watch individuals learn and display great artistic talent.

WACOSA DocuShred received certification through the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID) in mid-July. This certification is the shredding industry's most widely recognized credential for document destruction and assures businesses and individuals doing business with DocuShred that their sensitive documents will be destroyed in a safe and secure manner.

“DocuShred has always maintained the highest of security measures,” stated Beth Sueker, WACOSA’s Director of Operations. “We have 24 hour a day, 7 day a week monitoring, with a strictly controlled access to our shredding operation. Formal NAID certification serves to confirm that an outside agency agrees that we meet or exceed the specifications required to be certified in document destruction.” Many banking establishments, medical facilities, accounting firms and other businesses require the document destruction company with which they do business to be certified. “With our newly acquired NAID certification, we expect even greater growth in our DocuShred operation. This is exciting for us here at WACOSA. This certification will help us continue to fulfill our mission by providing more work opportunities for adults with disabilities, while also helping us promote the philosophy of “going green”.

WACOSA is the proud recipient of the inaugural Innovation Award (“I” Award) presented by the Center for Non-Profit Excellence & Social Innovation (CNESI). WACOSA received the award for its business recycling program. The recycling program at WACOSA provides many benefits to our community. Not only does it help employ adults with disabilities, but it also promotes “going green”, which helps our business partners capture the great value in recycling to reduce waste.

Ann Roesler, WACOSA’s Marketing and Development Manager states “Many of our recycling business partners are thrilled to promote their organization’s message to ‘go green’. At the same time, they are also reducing waste in their dumpster space, resulting in significant money savings. Since this program is free to businesses in our area, it truly is a win/win situation.”

In the award letter to WACOSA, Tara Tollefson, the Chairperson for the “I” Awards Committee wrote “Thank you for the work you do in the community and thank you for being an Innovation Role Model for the other non-profits in our community. The selection committee and the CNESI Board of Directors were very impressed with the recycling program developed to provide paid work to persons with physical, mental, and behavioral challenges, while making our community a better to place to live.”

WACOSA used the award money given by CNESI to purchase a new sign, now prominently placed in front of WACOSA’s DocuShred storefront. Steve Howard, Executive Director of WACOSA noted, “This sign further promotes WACOSA’s dedication to the message of ‘going green’, as well as raising awareness about our document destruction business and letting our community know that DocuShred is open to the public. It promises to bring in more document destruction business, while providing the people we serve more job opportunities. We can’t thank CNESI enough for this award. We are extremely honored. WACOSA will continue to look for ways to partner with our community to make it a better place for everyone!”