by Levi Martinka, Hammer Volunteer My sister Joy has Down syndrome. Some may consider having a sibling with a disability to be a burden. In my mind, it is, and always has been, a blessing. Despite being my younger sister, she has greatly shaped my life (whether she knows it or not). Because she is...
By Ann Martinka, Business Development Associate for Hammer Travel As a parent of a child with a disability, the future is an unknown, intimidating and down-right scary place. During the early years, the focus of life is on the here and now. Taking life day by day is not an exaggeration, and the...
by Tony Baisley, Director of Communication I was enjoying a birthday dinner at The Modern Cafe in Nordeast recently when something caught my eye. A young woman with what I perceived to be a cognitive disability was out for the evening with her family, also celebrating a birthday. Everyone appeared...
by Karen Trygstad, Training Administrative Assistant The road to reconnecting with Mitch was nothing short of a divine intervention. Explaining to anyone how I know Mitch requires a flow chart, which makes the reunion all that more special. I am “related” to Rod Carew, the former Minnesota Twins...
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 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...
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...
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...
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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