Merrick Inc.
About Us
Merrick, Inc., is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation, licensed by the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) as an Adult Day Services (ADS), Day Training & Habilitation (DT&H) and Supported Employment Services (SES) provider. We also offer Support Planning (SP) services and are enrolled in the Ticket-To-Work (TTW) employment network. Merrick, Inc., is dedicated to serving adults with developmental disabilities by providing supports that offer meaningful vocational options, enhance personal skills, empower choice making abilities, and expand participation in the community. Most of the clients in our program have a primary diagnosis of mental retardation and a number of the clients program are non-ambulatory, sight impaired/blind, hearing impaired/deaf, non-verbal, or have special dietary concerns . In addition, many clients have secondary diagnoses that include autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, mental illness, seizure disorders, and other related conditions. We service to over 350 clients, employ 145 professional staff, maintain a fleet of 65 vehicles, and develop work sites with over 75 businesses throughout the metropolitan area.
In 2009 we were a finalist for the Minnesota Business Ethics Award, met the accountability standards for the Charites Review Council "Smartgivers Seal", recevied a "Carbon Busters Award" from Senator Klobachar for installing the State’s largest solar array, recognized as the 2008 Non-Profit of the Year by the City of Vadnais Heights, maintain an “A†rating with the Minnesota Better Business Bureau, and nominated for the 2008 KARE 11 Agency of Distinction award presented at their annual Eleven Who KARE banquet. We are a member of 15 professional associations and our staff are members of 20 industry workgroups. And we are a dedicated "green" company.
Our Mission
Our Mission is to empower adults with disabilities through vocational and social opportunities, and to guide them toward realizing their goals and dreams.
We assert that everyone, including adults with developmental disabilities, should have an opportunity to have a balanced life, which includes meaningful employment. This increases independence and self-sufficiency; provides an improved sense of self-worth; allows individuals to have the economic means to sustain a good quality of life; and becomes a social and support network.
Why We Need a New Website
Our current web climate is so static that my hair sticks to it. Seriously - Built and launched in 2002, our current website is a static, non-dynamic site that is now outdated and functionally limited. The release of Explorer 7.0 created problems for many users and limited funds were used to make it functional within Exp 7. We employ a fulltime IT Manager who is responsible for maintaining our Microsoft client-server based network with two servers, a mail server and a sql database server. We have 60 desktop computers running windows XP Pro and the website is hosted by an external provider. We are confident that a CMS website will be sufficient to meet both our needs and the client's needs, and we have the ability to maintain the site once it is developed and launched.
THE PROJECT: In order for Merrick to educate the populace on its services, a current and interactive website is mandatory. A website that is interactive, informative, easily navigate able, with virtual tours of the facility and client’s services, is family centric – while promoting self-advocacy and citizenship…. one that will be e-commerce compatible for donations and future storefront (shopping cart), and most importantly: to educate businesses on the merits of hiring adults and young adults with disabilities.
How Our New Site Will Help Make the World Greener
In November of 2003, Merrick moved into a new facility in Vadnais Heights. This new facility is arguably the MOST energy efficient commercial building in the State of Minnesota. Merrick has transformed what was formally a very inefficient commercial building into a model for the state of MN and the Upper Midwest. Upon moving into the facility, it was retrofitted with a geothermal heating and cooling system that supplies 100% of our heating and air conditioning and has allowed Merrick to completely eliminate natural gas from our facility. This creation has led to grants which have resulted in the State's largest solar array (100KW system with 525 pannels) on a single use commercial building and a complete lighting redesign. This was not only good for the environment, but has reduced our energy costs by approx 70% - dedicating more funding to program services. The new building has also created a variety of new vocational and social opportunities for clients via added space which allowed for growth; and for the first time in our 43 year history - owning and controlling our space - it's a good thing - and it's time for our web site to catch up with our progressive thinking. On a new website we would like to be able to broadcast in real time the energy generate by our solar array and savings from out combined system for educational facilities around the nation to observe. This is a real world example of the benefits of geothermal, solar, and efficient lighting and would provide a wonderful case study for those studying energy efficiency. Additionall, Merrick has placed a focus on "Green Jobs" for clients with disabilities. Ove the past six years, Merrick has recycled over 6 million lbs of plastic bags, stretch film, and shrink wrap from area businesses. This plastic has been recycled into maintenance free lumber. We also engage in shredding and recycling of paper, charitable gambling pull tabs, and plastic water jug tops. Aprroximately 20% of clients work in these recycling areas.
Messages From Supporters
When the judges choose which non-profits will be selected to participate in this year's Challenge they will take into account testimonials from beneficiaries, donors, volunteers, board members and other
