As we celebrate our freedoms during this Independence Day weekend, and the 250th anniversary of our nation, we should take some time to think about what freedom and independence mean for the people we serve at the ODC.

For more than 77 years the Occupational Development Center has been working hard to help those with developmental and intellectual disabilities experience true freedom and independence.

It wasn’t that long ago that their parents were told that they were “uneducable” or would never be able to work. For many, their fate was staying at home, or even being put into an institution. Thankfully, our founding mothers, Olivia Stoner and Marian Headrick, weren’t satisfied with those options and wanted somethng better for their family members.

Here at the ODC we facilitate and promote independence by working with our Program Participants as individuals and providing them with the skills they want, and need, to gain meaningful employment. This includes vocational skills they need for a variety of tasks, as well as the “soft skills” necessary for succeeding in the workplace alongside their fellow employees.

We believe that every one of our participants deserves to be employed in their least restrictive environment, allowing them to flourish and succeed while earning an income. This might be in some form of customized, community employment.

We believe that success, however you define it, is for everyone.

We believe that our Participants, and others with intellectual and developmental disabilities, should be given the opportunity to succeed on their own terms as well as the ability to flourish.

Our individuals are adults, just like you and me, who can make their own decisions. They are capable of working in the community.

So on this Independence Day, think about those who are still seeking freedom and independence in their daily lives. Consider coming alongside them and helping them.

First and foremost, you can do this by helping us identify those area businesses that would be willing to talk to us about hiring one or more of our participants. We know they are out there, but would love you to introduce us to them.

And, of course, you can always give to the ODC and help us as we continue to work with our participants to prepare them for employment.

Have a wonderful 4th of July!

Happy 250th Birthday, USA!

Friday, November 21, 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

The Extraordinary Give is back and we are celebrating in style, and we want you to meet our newest neighbors, who also happen to be our oldest neighbors!

Have You Ever Wanted to See Inside the Silk Mill??

The ODC is all about commmunity, and this year we are partnering with CAM Construction to help them show off their latest project in our area: The Lofts at Stehli Silk Mill. So this year’s Extraordinary Give Party for the ODC is being held in their resident-only Club Room, and you’re invited to get a sneak peak and a tour of some of their apartments. We’ll have food on hand, plus an ice cream bar provided by Lickity Split and beer from Pour Man’s Brewing/St. Boniface.

We’d love for you to stop by, enjoy some food and drink, while seeing what the new version of the silk mill looks like! We’ll have some fun activities, and a Christmas themed photo booth so you can get a head start on that photo Christmas card!

We have been at our current address since 1956, and have actually been on Martha Avenue since 1951. That’s 74 of our 76 years in the Rossmere Neighborhood. The Stehli Silk Mill, on the other hand, has been across Martha Avenue since 1897, and at one time was the 2nd largest silk mill in the world, employing over 2000 people, many of whom lived in our neighborhood. And much of the neighborhood was built specifically for the mill workers. In fact, the land the ODC sits on was once known as Stehli Park.

For much of the time the ODC has been here, the mill has sat silent and became increasingly run down. In recent years there were several attempts to redevelop the property, but nothing ever panned out until CAM Construction came on board a few years ago. It is so nice to finally have some new neighbors and as we seek to become better neighbors, the money we raise from the ExtraGive will go toward putting a roof on our building as we move toward larger renovations, both inside and out.

As part of the ExtraGive, we also have the return of the Mearig Match and the McNickle Match! An anonymous donor has given us $10,000 in memory of the Mearig family, to help us kick off the giving. For every dollar you give to us at the ExtraGive, it will be matched by the Mearig Match, up to $10,000! So help us out by giving to us on Friday, November 21. And, longtime supporter Bill McNickle is giving us a $5,000 match in memory of his brother Bobby, who was a Participant at the ODC for 38 years! Bill and Bobby’s parents were actively involved in the ODC (and it’s predecessor, the Child Development Center) as far back as the mid-1950’s, even BEFORE Bobby was working here!

The Mearigs were longtime members of the ODC family.

Herbert “Bud” Mearig, and his wife Doris, became involved with us back in the early 1950’s when we, as the Child Development Center, were just getting started. They only had one child, Herbert “Herbie” Mearig, Jr., who was born with intellectual and developmental disabilities. As a result, he was one of the many children who came to the CDC for schooling. In 1958, when we became more focused on providing occupational training, Herbie stayed on, and was here at the ODC for more than 50 years.

While Herbie was one of our participants, his parents were regularly involved in our day to day operations. From the 1950s, all the way into the 1980s, Bud served on our board, and for a time was board president. His wife, Doris Klopp Mearig, also served on the ODC board as secretary and was active in our Parents Group and the ODC Auxiliary for many years.

Both Bud and Doris were born and raised right here in Lancaster and attended Upper Leacock High School together. Bud served in the U.S. Navy in WWII, and owned an office equipment and business machines company, and was also a business consultant.

With Herbie working here at the ODC, Bud and Doris continued to be involved, and were very generous with both their time and money.

Herbie passed away at the age of 63 in 2009, shortly after his retirement from the ODC. Doris passed away in 2011 at the age of 93, while Bud passed in 2016 at the age of 99.

We are so grateful for the Mearigs and the McNickles and how they made the ODC a central part of their lives for more than half a century. And we are grateful for their friends who have decided to honor them in this way.