H. B. Fuller, and Gable Pines
Senior Living, Merrick Inc., founded
in 1964, offers a variety of work
options for the people it serves.
Merrick’s staff provides the training
and support for clients to choose
to work onsite at the main building
in Vadnais Heights, or with a
crew of their peers at a business
partner’s location, or hired directly
in the general workforce. No single
solution is the best employment
fit and Merrick prides itself in
offering that variety so clients can
make choices as their interests and
abilities change.
Merrick also takes environmental
stewardship seriously, housing
most of its staff and programs in
an environmentally sound building
equipped with a geothermal
system, a 525 panel solar array, and
expansive natural lighting. One of
Merrick’s major social enterprise
programs is plastic recycling.
Clients employed onsite, and
those on work crews, are happy
to be part of the recycling team
that diverts more than one million
pounds of plastic from Minnesota’s
landfills and incinerators. The
team collects plastic from local
businesses, then sorts and bales
the materials that will be used to
produce permanent decking or
lawn furniture.
When employment is not a
preferred activity for clients
supported at Merrick, the life
enrichment team guides clients
in high quality activities such as
music and art therapy, horticultural
activities in the onsite greenhouse,
animal assistance activities,
assistive technology, or daytrips
to local coffee shops, libraries,
museums and the YMCA.
Merrick staff and clients enjoy
finding ways to develop
community connections. Each
holiday season, Merrick employees
“adopt” several families from
Vadnais Heights Elementary
school; and self-advocates work
with the Vadnais Heights Lions
Club in support of the toy and
food drive. Likewise, clients and
employees at the organization’s
North St. Paul Adult Day Services
program regularly participate in
the fall parade, visit the library
and fire station, collect donations
for the local food shelf, and
knit mittens and hats for their
community.
Clients enrolled in life enrichment
and employment support
programs take part in regular
self-advocacy activities and peer
mentoring. Additionally, client
self-advocates and staff members
were the incubators for the
Ambassadors for Respect program,
a bullying prevention program for
4th graders. The Ambassadors
(self-advocates) conduct interactive
workshops where students
are educated on the effects of
bullying. They are encouraged to
think of ways to prevent it, and
are provided tools for what to do
if they experience or encounter
bullying. Vadnais Heights
Elementary School was one of
the early adopters of the program
that has now gone statewide with
the help of partner non-profit
PeaceMaker Minnesota.
The banquet’s Keynote Speaker
was Kim Insley, Sr. Specialist at
Digital River and former Twin Cities
morning TV anchor. The focus of
her talk was on disruption, and
how to react when it happens.
Side Notes
All of the VHEDC award winners are either
located in Vadnais Heights or are VHEDC
investing businesses. Additionally, the award-
winners demonstrate strong commitment
to social responsibility and exemplify strong
community involvement.
More than 20 local businesses donated prizes
for the silent auction and raffle to help raise
money for the initiatives VHEDC supports:
Workforce Initiatives, Women in Leadership,
and Young Professionals. The Silent Auction
featured such high ticket items as a set of 4
club seat Wild tickets, a Milwaukee tool set,
a fitness basket and a 7-day vacation through
Resort Condominiums International (RCI).
“When you spend a lot of time
in your life trying to grow in one
industry or in one environment,
you need to spend a lot of time
figuring out how to get out of that
box. You’ve gotta get out of that
box to move forward and not cling
to the safety of the past,” she said.
After leaving KARE TV, Insley
spent some time working for Meet
Minneapolis, helping to promote
the city. She then transitioned to
her current position at Digital River.
After sharing her personal story of how she
overcame a career disruption and discovered a
new path, keynote speaker Kim Insley drew the
names of the raffle winners.
vhedc.com
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