The Chippewa Valley Post provides news of area nonprofit organizations in order to increase public awareness of their missions and activities, and to provide information that otherwise might not be made available.
Our “6 of Substance” series is part of this effort. It presents answers from area nonprofit organizations, in their own words, to six questions about who they are and what they do. The responses are edited only for length, grammar and style concerns.
This series will be updated regularly to introduce Chippewa Valley residents to the many nonprofit organizations and people working to serve the needs of our area. If you have a favorite nonprofit organization that you’d like to see featured here, please let us know at cvpost@gmail.com.
Aging & Disability Resource Center of Eau Claire County
Who do you serve?
The Aging & Disability Resource Center of Eau Claire County serves county residents aged 60+ as well as those 18 or older with a disability. We also work with family members and other professionals who serve the same population. Our mission is to “to help people age 60+ and adults with disabilities secure needed services and benefits, live with dignity and security and achieve maximum independence and quality of life.”
How long have you been established in the Chippewa Valley?
The ADRC opened on July 1, 2008.
What are the major issues you will be facing over the next 18 months?
Our agency serves the fastest growing demographic of people. Roughly 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 every single day in the United States. Keeping up with the demand for our services will continually be a challenge for our agency for many years to come. The ADRC is funded primarily by state and federal sources. We have been struggling for several years now to find a sustainable way to operate our Meals on Wheels program with increasing demand and decreasing revenue. Over the next six months, we will be embarking on a complete overhaul of the program that will allow us to achieve the sustainability we so desperately need!
Aside from financial support, how can the Chippewa Valley Community support you?
The community can support us by telling people about the ADRC. The number of people who contact us has grown over 13 times since we opened in 2008. That said, we still hear too often from people that they wish they would have known about us sooner. Our marketing and outreach budget is limited so we rely heavily on community members to tell people about us.
Who are some of the key people in your organization?
Every single person on our staff and those who volunteer for us are key to the ADRC. We couldn’t accomplish our mission without one another. To meet some of our staff, go to our website www.eauclaireadrc.org and click on the ‘meet the staff’ tab.
What is the most important thing about your organization that people should know, but don’t?
We work with everyone! You don’t need to have a certain income or asset level to use the ADRC. We also do a lot of our work out in the community. We love visiting people in their homes, instead of always asking people to come to our office.
— by Jennifer Speckien, Director
If you would like more information about Eau Claire County’s Aging & Disability Resource Center, visit www.eauclaireadrc.org.
To see earlier “6 of Substance” listings, click here for the Archives.
To download a copy of the “6 of Substance” questionnaire, click here.