SAWs began as a mission ministry of Second Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis in 2003. The first ramp was built the weekend before Thanksgiving when founder Rik Hagarty learned of a 15 year-old girl who would be taken from her family if they did not have a ramp for her to exit her home. The ramps was built and the girl stayed with her family.
Requests for ramps grew across the state as word of SAWs mission spread amongst the medical community. The launch of the SAWs website in 2008 also helped us get the word out to counties outside of Indianapolis. Each request generated a new construction group in the area the request originated until much of Indiana was being served. After building hundreds of ramps with hundreds of volunteers in more than half the counties in Indiana, SAWs pursued nonprofit status.
In December of 2011, Servants At Work, Inc. was granted its 501c)3) status by the federal government. Since then SAWs® has grown to serve clients in more than two thirds of Indiana counties and has begun serving clients in Arizona and Virginia. Thousands of ramps have been built to date.