By Brandon Eddy, RN My day starts early in the morning when I hear that peaceful, calming sound of the alarm clock going off at 6:45AM. As soon as I roll over, grab my alarm, and quickly turn it off, I check my phone (not for Facebook or ESPN updates). In fact, I check my text messages and emails...
By Shane Raymond, Hammer Volunteer A few years back I found myself wanting to give back to my community in a personally meaninful way. My intent was to mesh that hope with my desire to spend more time with Indy, our Border Collie mix. Indy was going through a midlife crisis, of sorts, and needed...
by Lisbeth Vest Armstrong, Chief Program Officer Have you ever caught yourself using the words “client,” “resident,” or “consumer” to refer to a person we serve? I know I have. But, I’ve also come to realize that using such language can inadvertently set us apart from those for whom we so...
By Carli Gonderinger, Hammer Volunteer To me, music is everything. There is something about the way a song can bring you back to a memory you once cherished but has lost its clarity in your mind. Personally, my musical heroes are Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, and Johnny Cash. The distinction between...
By Devin Harrington, Communications Specialist There are 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, and 525,600 minutes in a year. These are realities of life…facts that we cannot change. We have no control over how fast or slow time moves. We do, however, have control over what we do with our precious...
By Julane Rose, Associate Director of Development As a Direct Support Professional and Program Manager in Training, Ricky Russell knows it takes kindness, patience and abiding respect, every day, to build trust. The men he supports know he has their best interests at heart; they trust him. Since...
By Dan Bottiger, Director of Information Systems Leading the IT Department for a nonprofit often presents its share of challenges when trying to control costs while at the same time meeting the ever-changing technology needs of a growing organization. When making decisions as an organization we...
By Justin Edin, Assistant Program Manager, Zealand Apartments I have always enjoyed theater and the arts as far back as I can remember. Basically, I have been doing informal improvisation my whole life, which some of you may know as “playing pretend.” As a boy, I would pretend anything and...
By Kate Bottiger, Director of Volunteer Resources Grateful is a word on which I often reflect. As the Director of Volunteer Resources at Hammer, I am able to show appreciation to our volunteers who share their time and talents with the individuals we support. And, to my fellow employees, I am...
By Christine R. Olsen, RN When the first words I hear in the morning are: “I haven’t pooped in a week,” I know it’s going to be an interesting day. About a month into my time working at Hammer, I woke up to one of those calls from an individual we support. Now, I’m a nurse, so to be honest, this...
By Mary Gaasch, Program Manager I took a deep breath. This was risky, I knew. Just mentioning a difficult situation to Leslie could potentially ignite a crisis. A few years ago, it would have sent her into a sobbing, raging state that would have lasted a week. “Leslie, I heard you did a good job...
Each November, we celebrate National ‘Good Nutrition’ Month. At Hammer, we see this as an opportunity to bolster our community’s efforts to eat healthier, to try different recipes with a focus on nutrition, and to share inspiring (and creative!) videos of our homes encouraging each other to eat...
By Danny Ngo, Program Manager, Holdridge Respecting Abilities. Reaching for Opportunities. Realizing Dreams. Hammer’s motto provides the ideology that inspires every department, program, and staff member to offer the best service possible to our diverse population. At the heart of this philosophy...
by Jan Hopper, Program Manager Written on the wall outside the training room at our main building there is a quote from one of the founders of Hammer Residences. “We saw the need and we went ahead and did it.” This simple sentence is so powerful. It must have taken a great deal of bravery and...
by Owen Davison-Edwards As you all know, we as a community are going to be celebrating National Disability Awareness Month throughout October and in light of this, I want to share with you a story about my dear friend Jon Leverentz. Jon is an outgoing and talented individual who lives at...
by Tony Baisley Culture. Now there’s a loaded word. Culture exists all around us, defining us as a country; a state; even when we say “I live in South Minneapolis.” It permeates our social circles and most definitely informs our work environments – for better or worse. Defined as “a way of...
by Suzanne Wanous I know it is WAY too early for this classical holiday song, but the phrase comes to mind while I am shopping. I find myself people-watching while I am out. I love to see the variety of individuals that make up my community. I watch families with young children navigate the toy...
by Tim Janssen “Leadership is not an affair of the head. Leadership is an affair of the heart.” (Kouzes and Posner, 2002, The Leadership Challenge) The idea of leadership is fascinating. In its archaic state, leadership was associated with cumbersome titles and images of omniscient power....
by Jamie Christianson, Communications Associate In this day and age where “liking” something is as easy as clicking a button, carving out a name for yourself on social media is key in staying above the fray. With a growing network of friends and organizations I follow on Facebook and...
by John Estrem We talk everyday about what we call the “Hammer Quality.” Every time I visit a home or an apartment I ask myself the question, “What makes this a quality place?” Quality is one of those elusive terms, like love, in that you know if you have it, but it can be hard to articulate it. I...
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