The history of Easter Seals Crossroads in Indiana starts in 1936. Mrs. William Gavin started a club with 12 people with disabilities with a primary goal of socialization. Joined by Mrs. P.R. Mallory, they would expand into creating profitable handicrafts and in 1939 the group formally organized under the Indiana Society for Crippled Children.
I'll admit it. The word crippled makes me cringe.
A year later, the group affiliated with national Easter Seals and acquired an office at 30th and New Jersey. They've had various offices, however, they've been settled in at 4740 Kingsway Drive (think 47th & Keystone) since 1990.
Today, Easter Seals is CARF accredited (This is a big deal) and offers physical, occupational, and speech therapies for children and adolescents along with early intervention programs, augmentative communication, adult day services, employment and transition services, veteran services, home modification services, assistive technology services, and deaf services.
They offer a lot.
For the last three years, I've served as a jury member for Easterseals Southern California's Disability Film Challenge. This has, in turn, increased my awareness of the local organization and the marvelous work they do. Of course, getting to know Yelper Katy E. (Hi Katy!) has also helped.
As an organization, I love that Easter Seals participates in Project Search, an opportunity for young adults with disabilities to get some experience in a work setting. It's kind of like an internship and it's a wonderful program.
Here in Indy, Easter Seals has offices on Kingsway Drive, Thompson Road on the Southside, and Crossroads Industrial Services on the Eastside.
As another review has indicated, Easter Seals is also known for letting organizations use its big 5th floor meeting room. I work for the State of Indiana and even we've used it.
The offices here are well kept. The building is obviously accessible. The people who work here are passionate about what they do - trust me, you don't work at a non-profit planning to get rich. You get paid fairly (and Easter Seals is good about this), but this is something you do because you actually care.
For folks with disabilities, Easter Seals Crossroads is definitely one of Indy's hidden gems and best non-profits. They do remarkable work that leads to greater independence and empowerment and life opportunities. I'm all about that! read more