Springfield IL- Mary Jo Nance is paying it forward.
She’s repaying the assistance she’s received from workers at Sparc, which has served people in the Springfield area with disabilities for 60 years, by helping with cats and dogs at the Animal Protective League.
Nance, 31, is spearheading a charitable organization, called Sparc for Change, that distributes drop-off boxes to businesses so people can donate food for dogs and cats housed at the APL.
“The animals need the food,” she said.
Life lessons, such as paying it forward, are just a small part of the skills taught to people with disabilities at Sparc facilities.
The organization began because a group of parents didn’t want to send their children with developmental or intellectual disabilities to a state institution.
Now, the not-for-profit agency has about a $9 million budget that helps fund 16 group homes where roughly 90 people live, numerous developmental programs, an Epilepsy Resource Center and salaries of about 190 full-time workers.
Each year, more than 1,500 people are assisted through one of Sparc’s various services, according to Connie DiCenso, director of development and communications.
According to the organization's website, Sparc supports children, adults and seniors who happen to have developmental or intellectual disabilities. This includes people with autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and other related conditions.
Sparc's main programs are 24-hour residential group homes, developmental training, supported living, supported employment, respite, family support and an Epilepsy Resource Center.
A-plus service
Cynthia Weidig, the owner of Gingerbread House Day Care, where Nance also helps out, said Nance does everything she asks of her and more. She is reliable, professional and does a great job making sure the toys are sanitary for kids to play with, Weidig said.
“She’s a better citizen than a lot of people I know,” she said.
If Robbie Stephens had to give Sparc a grade, he said it would undoubtedly be an A-plus.
Stephens, 41, of Springfield, said Sparc workers used to drive him to the grocery store, restaurants and even movies. Before he got Sparc’s help, Stephens said, he had to rely on friends or family members or take the bus.
Now, thanks to Sparc, he lives on his own and has worked at the Illinois secretary of state’s office for more than 20 years.
Tim Price, 45, of Springfield also has benefited from the agency’s help since getting involved with Sparc in the 1980s. Sparc provided job training, he said, and makes sure he is organized.
Price, who does janitorial work at Sparc’s office at 242 N. Bruns Lane, said he still works with a Sparc instructor who ensures he makes it to doctor and dentist appointments.
“They’ve been pretty good to me,” he said.
Jim Davis of Springfield, president of the 22-member Sparc board of directors, said his 26-year-old daughter, Sara, used to receive help from Sparc. The organization provided Sara a job coach who taught her how to handle an employer’s expectations.
Putting people to work
Work programs are one of the key services Sparc offers, DiCenso said.
One example of that is Sparc’s Beg-O-Bone business. Sparc participants bake dog treats that can be found at businesses around town, including the drive-up windows at several local banks, she said.
Sparc also has a janitorial service that has been in operation for more than 30 years, DiCenso said. The Springfield Park District, Illinois Department of Employment Security, Department of Central Management Services, Illinois Department of Transportation and Division of Rehabilitation Services are among clients that employ Sparc to keep their building clean.
Helping Bunn-O-Matic recycle batteries is another work program for Sparc participants.
Individuals supported by Sparc at the Developmental Training Center place tape on the metal areas of batteries and then bundle them according to size.
DiCenso said those business ventures help Sparc raise its own money. The organization also holds three annual fundraisers, she said.
Sixty years of growth
In 1951, six families, all of whom had children with developmental disabilities, began meeting, calling themselves Parents of Mentally Retarded, according to a Sparc history timeline.
As a parent of a child with Down syndrome, Davis said he understands what must have been going through the founding parents’ minds.
The choices in 1951 for parents were to have their children live at home, requiring constant attention, or send the children to a state institution, he said.
“You’re terrified what could happen to them when you’re gone,” he said.
DiCenso said public schools did not offer the special education programs they do now.
Davis said the national view about people with developmental disabilities slowly started to change a decade later.
People began to realize that institutionalizing disabled people wasn’t the best option. Organizations like Sparc began to gain traction, he said.
In 1963, Sparc received its first funding from the state. That allowed Sparc to eventually open a 24-hour residential housing complex for people with developmental or intellectual disabilities and hire professional staff, Davis said.
After that, DiCenso said, Sparc gradually expanded its services. A senior center and training center were built in the 1990s, as was Sparc’s current building at 232 N. Bruns Lane.
Expansion plans on hold because of slow state payments
After 60 years of helping in the Springfield area people with developmental or intellectual disabilities, Sparc officials say any plans to expand the agency are at a standstill because its biggest purchaser of services — the state of Illinois — can’t pay its bills on time.
That means Sparc, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, will focus on maintaining the quality of services it already offers, said Connie DiCenso, director of development and communications.
“Some days there is great uncertainty, but our mission remains to enrich the lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities by enabling them to successfully live, learn, work and socialize in the community,” DiCenso said.
At one point early this year, the state of Illinois was $2.8 million behind in payments to Sparc, which serves more than 500 people with disabilities.
The organization was put on an expedited payment list, which has helped, but officials with Sparc expect the state to fall behind again.
“We are caught up, but we are anticipating this month they are going to be behind again,” Sparc executive director Carlissa Puckett told The State Journal-Register last month.
Almost 90 percent of Sparc’s overall budget is funded by the state, DiCenso said. Other revenue comes from the federal government, three annual fundraisers, grants and other business ventures.
State Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield, said he sympathizes with all vendors that can’t rely on the state to pay its bills on time.
He said he regularly receives calls from social services agencies and businesses in his district wondering when checks from the state will arrive. In some cases, Bomke said the Illinois treasurer’s office will listen to his requests to move agencies to the top of the list.
“It’s a real struggle, because there are so many organizations, and the treasurer can only cut loose so much money,” Bomke said.
A new budget commission recently created by Gov. Pat Quinn could provide some relief to Sparc, Bomke said.
The Budgeting for Results Commission, which includes legislators, executive staff and outside experts, could make suggestions to wean out organizations that don’t get results, he said.
Reducing the number of social service agencies that receive state funding could expedite payments to the ones that remain, such as Sparc, Bomke said.
Sparc’s history
1951 – Six families begin meeting as Parents of Mentally Retarded
1953 – Parents of Mentally Retarded chartered as Illinois not-for-profit and renamed Aid to Retarded Children (ARC)
1954 – Affiliates with ARC of Illinois and ARC of United States
1957 – Programs begin in The Little Red Schoolhouse
1962 – Named Adele Karlson first executive director; vocational evaluation and training center established; budget $25,000
1963 – Received first funding from state of Illinois
1970 – Opened first downstate Illinois residential facility the Argyle House
1975 – Began early intervention program for infants and toddlers birth-to-3
1976 – First Illinois community agency accredited by Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
1978 – Opened work activity center, began Family Support Services, including respite
1979 – Opened the 72-bed Karlson Center
1986 – Opened first supported employment program in Illinois
1991 – Completed construction of the 15,000-square-foot SPARCenter; opened senior center
1999 – Opened Developmental Training II and success center programs in Springfield and a developmental training program in Jacksonville
2000-2010 – Bought and sold a number of group homes; expanded success center; relocated Jacksonville developmental training program to Springfield
Sparc
* Formed in 1951
* Headquartered at 232 N. Bruns Lane
* Staff: About 190 people
* 16 group homes, a developmental training center, Epilepsy Resource Center, senior center and success center
* To volunteer: Visit www.spfldsparc.org or call 793-2100 for information
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Ronald McDonald House celebrates 25 years
For the past quarter century, the Ronald McDonald House of Central Illinois has opened its doors to families needing a temporary place to live while their child receives medical attention.
Today (Friday), the home will hold its 25th Anniversary Gala at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield.
The featured family this year is EJ and Sheril Maddox.
The Maddoxes stayed at the home 25 years ago while their newborn son, Scott, now 24, was in intensive care at St. John’s Hospital.
Scott was born healthy, but within days developed a high fever, EJ Maddox said. His disease was later diagnosed as streptococcal meningitis.
Maddox said he and his wife were living at the hospital, occasionally taking brief naps, until someone notified them about the Ronald McDonald House.
At first, leaving their son’s side in a critical moment was nerve wracking, but the house, at 610 N. Seventh St., was nearby and doctors could call in case of an emergency, he said.
Staying at the house was the right decision, he said.
“It was amazing to be surrounded by people going through the same thing,” Maddox said. “They were strangers who didn’t know us from Adam that took us in with no judgments.”
#Source: The State Journal-Register | Springfield, IL
By JASON NEVEL (jason.nevel@sj-r.com)
http://www.sj-r.com/top-stories/x1234469287/Sparc-marks-60-years-of-aiding-people-with-developmental-disabilities
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