The Home Depot Gives Back

We were thrilled to host volunteers from The Home Depot to build a ramp for a veteran in need named Diana this month!  Diana is a veteran and former registered nurse. She lives in a mobile home park in Lakeville. Diana has lower back and knee issues due to age. She is unable to afford a ramp currently, and she finds it difficult to climb stairs. The Home Depot provided the funding and volunteers needed to build Diana a ramp, so she can come and go safely and independently from her home.  We are grateful for the support of The Home Depot!

Check Us Out on the Filled to Capacity Podcast!

Our very own Kathy Greiner was recently interviewed for Pat Benincasa’s Filled to Capacity podcast!

Check out her interview HERE.

Thanks to Pat for helping us get the word about the needs in our community and how we are working to address those needs!

Opus Group Ramp Team Helps a Special Kid

We recently partnered with our Opus Group Ramp Team to help a very special kid named Cali.

Cali is 12 years old and has intractable epilepsy with an average of six seizures a day. We built a wheelchair ramp for Cali two years ago. Her parents reached back out to us with another request – if they were able to raise the funds for the materials, would our volunteers build a large deck and ramp extension so Cali can spend more time outside?

Our incredible volunteers enthusiastically took on this second project. Cali made a drawing that her mom then turned into a thank you card for our volunteers (see the picture!).

Cali’s parents said, “We’ve been rebuilding our lives the best we can given her medical condition. The wheelchair access ramp has been a life-saving project that Cali has been able to use each day to go outside via her unstable walking abilities with assistance or sitting in the wheelchair.”

We are grateful to our amazing Opus Group Ramp Team for helping Cali and her family!

Welcome to Occupational Therapy Doctoral Student Zack Wells!

We are thrilled to be hosting Zack Wells, an occupational therapy doctoral student at Saint Catherine University, who is currently completing his capstone project. For his project, Zack will complete a program evaluation for our Safe at Home program, which will help ensure our program runs smoothly.

Zack grew up in the Twin Cities and according to him, “therefore greatly enjoys aimlessly wandering the aisles at Target.” He likes to travel around the world, but one of his favorite spots has been the North Shore in Minnesota. Lastly, he loves trying new restaurants for his next favorite dish, which is currently a peanut pad thai.

As you may know, we are extremely proud of our partnership with St. Kate’s Occupational Therapy program! Through this partnership, we collaborate on service-learning projects that involve occupational therapy (OT) students screening potential clients, evaluating the homes of low-income older adults and individuals living with a disability for safety, and making recommendations for modifications designed to reduce the risk of falls and other injuries. Our volunteers and/or contractors then make the modifications that are within the scope of our programs. Zack participated in this service-learning work.

Zack said, “During my coursework, I did a home evaluation for Rebuilding Together and loved the experience. When we were choosing our projects and saw that Rebuilding Together was an option, I jumped at the opportunity to continue to work with them. I am very excited to help out and see where my project takes me!”

Our collaboration with St. Kate’s OT program has enabled us to provide accessibility modifications for low-income seniors and individuals living with a disability that are tailored specifically to their individual needs and home environment. As a result, we are able to better-serve our clients, allowing them to remain in their homes and neighborhoods for longer. We are grateful for this partnership and look forward to hosting Zack for his capstone project!