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A Nurse, His Cellphone and the Work He Loves

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...

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Who’s the Volunteer Here?

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...

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Our Words Matter: A Challenge to Us All

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...

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Saturday Jam Sessions

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...

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A Community of Support: Leslie’s Story

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...

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The Intriguing Intangibles of Volunteering

by Terriann Matejcek Tell me something I don’t already know… Everybody knows that volunteering is needed by agencies, communities, churches and cities – just to name a few – because funding is always tight and often falls short. There are always jobs or tasks that no one really wants...

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Hammer Travel: A Social Enterprise

by Josh Senso Hammer Travel (providing customized travel services for people with developmental disabilities), a subsidiary of Hammer Residences (a residential service provider for people with developmental disabilities), is a member of the Social Enterprise Alliance (SEA). I recently attended a...

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Living in the Moment

by Elspeth Allsopp I don’t know about you, but I have grown tired of a certain conversation that many of us participate in daily. It goes something like this: “Hi, how are you?” “Fine, thanks. And you?” “Fine.” I doubt that most of us are honestly fine when we tell our peers that we are. We all...

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