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AJ’s new ramp, thanks to ‘Send the Love’ donors

Wright ramp family and volunteers

Early Saturday morning, volunteers from Boone County, Indiana, including Zionsville Christian Church and Project Manager Larry Whinnery, arrived at the site.

5 year-old “AJ”, his dad George, mom Julie, brother George, and twin brothers (4 months old) were thrilled to see the volunteers, and AJ, as his dad said, had asked every day this week, wanting to know when SAWs was coming.

First order of business was to remove AJ’s existing ramp.  The ramp in place was a simple steep platform that had been sending the adventurous and energetic AJ into the street with velocity.  It was time for an upgrade.

AJ and his family got involved with the build. AJ loved using the impact driver, and George generously provided lunch for the crew.

After a long day of hard work, the family was left with a new 31-foot, ADA-compliant, wooden ramp that would help AJ safely get to the school bus, play outside, and ensure his parents that he could grow in independence without fear of falling off his ramp.

Wright family on their new rampAJ’s ramp was a gift from over 150 donors throughout Indiana.  In May, WTHR’s Send the Love with Scott Swan featured Servants at Work, Inc, and asked their viewers to donate $5 to help build a ramp.  The response was simply amazing.  Viewers gave from $5 to $500, and totaled $4,340, which was able to cover the costs of materials for this special ramp for AJ.

Read the WTHR article here:  Thorntown 5-year-old gets new wheelchair ramp, thanks to $5 donations.

Photo credit : Carolyn Case at Media37

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Mike Thompson joins SAWs as new Executive Director

Mike Thompson

The Servants at Work (SAWs) board of directors has announced that D. Michael Thompson is the next Executive Director replacing the retiring Robert Richmond.

“I’m convinced that SAWs is the best kept nonprofit secret in Indiana, and I am here to change that,” states Thompson. Daily, I meet and speak with clients who have lost their mobility freedom. Many feel as if they are prisoners in their own homes. SAWs helps them regain their independence and quality of life by proving a wheelchair ramp no cost them. Having over 2,700 volunteers, 20 project managers, and a staff of 6, we are on track to build 400+ ramps in and around Indiana in 2022.

Mike is a graduate of Ball State University with a master’s degree in Public Affairs in Nonprofit Management from the Indiana University O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He formerly worked with the Western Boone Education Foundation, the Kelley School of Business at IUPUI, and Habitat for Humanity of Boone County.

Mike joined the SAWs team in the Spring of 2022, taking over for the retired Bob Richmond. With over ten years of experience, he has worked and served with several Boone County nonprofits, including Boone County Habitat for Humanity, Western Boone Education Foundation, and Indiana University – Kelley School of Business. Mike also worked for thirteen years in product/design engineering for several automotive manufacturers and suppliers in Indiana and Ohio. Mike has been married to his wife Julie for twenty-five years, with two adult sons, they are members of St. Joseph Catholic Church, and he enjoys volunteering, tinkering, innovation, and being outside.

 

 

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Welcome to SAWs!

We are very pleased to announce the addition of two new grant writers. Sarah will be joining SAWs through the Summer as an Intern. Jan has committed to volunteer her time to write grants. Both ladies will be working with the SAWs staff to fundraise and research and write grants. We are so excited to welcome them to the team!

Jan Hoffman
Jan graduated from Indiana University Bloomington in 2015 with a BA in English Literature. Jan enjoys offering her abilities in the arts, writing, and customer service to help others and to share the love of Jesus Christ. She spent the last three years volunteering for the Morgan County Farmers Market as a market manager and was board president for two years. Jan has been married to her husband, Zach, for 8 years and she homeschools their two young daughters in Martinsville.

Jan loves the SAWs mission because it models what Jesus came to do: to love, to serve, and to set people free. Jan looks forward to joining Servants at Work, inc. as a volunteer Grant Writer and seeing this mission lived out firsthand.

Sarah Billings
Sarah is excited to join SAW’s as a grant writer and fundraiser. After 18 years in management at Barnes and Noble, Sarah hopes to combine skills from retail customer service and business with nonprofit development. Currently pursuing her Masters in Philanthropic Studies at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy/IUPUI, Sarah shares homework with her 3 kids and enjoys reading, traveling and horseback riding.