About COC
Message from the Director
I am honored to serve as the Executive Director of the Christian Opportunity Center (COC). I started out as a Direct Support Professional at COC in the ‘90s and have worked in a variety of administrative positions since that time. During my more than 20 years at COC, I have observed firsthand the work of the many excellent staff who make COC the great organization it is today. It is truly a place where both staff and the people we support can come and find a sense of belonging.
The mission of COC is to “integrate Christian values in empowering individuals with disabilities to realize their full potential.” Each person that we support has gifts and abilities unique to them. Our staff are focused on helping them both identify and develop those gifts and abilities and then with helping them use those skills to be active members of their communities. Types of skill building our staff assist with could be obtaining and keeping a job with a business in the community, opening and maintaining a bank account, accessing a local medical clinic for necessary medical services, or attending and participating in the life of a local church.
As our name and mission indicate, COC is a faith-based organization. Christian values of Honoring God, Commitment to Service, Responsible Stewardship, and Leadership Excellence inform how we do what we do every day. Our services are designed to address the needs of the whole person.
COC provides services and support to people with disabilities in Pella, Oskaloosa, Knoxville, Indianola, and Des Moines communities. We offer services ranging from 24/7 residential, to weekday programs, to a few hours per month of vocational support.
Whether you or a family member are seeking to receive services from COC, you are looking for a meaningful job, you want an opportunity to volunteer, or you are looking for a non-profit service organization worthy of your financial support, COC can meet your needs. I hope you will take the time to explore what COC can offer you and what you can offer COC and the people with disabilities that COC supports.
Our Values
Honoring God
Christian Opportunity Center (COC) affirms that everyone is created in the image of God and that people with disabilities should be valued as such. COC is committed to serving the needs of the whole person, including spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and physical needs.
Commitment to Service
COC advocates for people with disabilities on every level and their inclusion into their communities. COC is proactive in meeting the needs of people, supported and responsive to all stakeholders. COC incorporates choice through informed decision-making as it leads to quality support and meaningful lives for people supported.
Responsible Stewardship
COC seeks to balance the needs of people supported with the capability of the funding source. COC will make decisions based on responsible stewardship of public and private funds. COC remains mindful of being a non-profit corporation that seeks to be profitable to further our mission.
Leadership Excellence
COC is committed to meet and exceed regulations on standards of quality. COC strives to hire and support staff members based on talent, compatibility, and commitment to Christian values. COC encourages all staff to develop leadership skills and model excellent performance, teamwork, and respect for people supported and staff.
Our Philosophies
Over the years, services to people with disabilities have evolved. Today, people with disabilities lead productive lives and have higher levels of independence than ever imagined. Christian Opportunity Center (COC) maintains a strong belief system on how people supported should be treated.
Every person is created in the image of God and, therefore, has significant value. COC believes that everybody, including people with disabilities, has God-given potential that should be optimized. This is best accomplished through services that address the needs of the whole person―physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual.
People must have meaningful relationships in their lives. Individuals who have the opportunity to develop significant and valued relationships are more likely to have meaningful lives.
Speaking appropriately is the first step toward valuing all people. “People-first language” refers to the person ahead of the disability. For example, it is appropriate to say “people with disabilities” rather than “disabled people.”
People with disabilities need to be active participants in their services. COC’s staff members are partners, not parents. COC strives to ensure people with disabilities have choices in all aspects of their lives while also taking responsibility for their lives.
Rights and responsibilities for people with disabilities go hand in hand. People with disabilities should be taught rights and responsibilities concurrently. Irresponsible behavior should result in realistic consequences for people with disabilities, just as it does for people without disabilities.
Individuals with disabilities are afforded exposure to normal risks commensurate with individual abilities. “Dignity of risk” means allowing reasonable risk-taking and letting people with disabilities learn from their mistakes. Where there is no risk, there is neither growth nor dignity.
Independence and interdependence should balance. COC’s overarching purpose is to provide people with disabilities the opportunity to reach their potential by helping them achieve greater levels of independent living. However, it should be recognized that no one is totally independent. All people, with or without disabilities, depend on others for support.
People with disabilities are treated in a manner consistent with their chronological age regardless of severity of disability. Personal belongings, personal appearances, interpersonal interactions, and activities that are age appropriate help people with disabilities integrate into their communities by reducing stigmas.
Role modeling can significantly influence the development of skills in people with disabilities. People’s behaviors are contagious and are often imitated by people with disabilities. This places a tremendous responsibility on everyone to model appropriate behaviors at all times and to promote Christian values in all interactions with others.
Our History
Our Beginning
Christian Opportunity Center (COC) opened its doors in 1969 to serve five children with disabilities. COC leased space before constructing its new school building in 1975 near the north corner of Pella, Iowa, and enrollment peaked in 1976 with 43 students.
Transition to Adult Services
Recognizing the need for adult vocational services, COC began serving adults in 1974 and built a workshop in 1979 north of its school building. In 1981, two 15-person residences opened east of the school and workshop. COC built a third residence in 1984, which provided minimal support to residents with good daily living skills.
Transition to Inclusionary Programs for Children
In keeping with the national trend to integrate children with disabilities, the special education program moved from COC to Pella Christian Grade School in 1987 and to Pella Christian High School in 1990. COC continues to support these students.
Changes in Residential Programs
In 1987, the Community Living Arrangement program began providing follow-along support to Marion County residents. Throughout the next decade, COC continued to expand residential services, developing five-person residences in Pella and Des Moines, Iowa, eight-person residences in Pella and Indianola for people with severe disabilities, and single-family homes in Pella.
Vocational Changes
When national trends started moving away from sheltered workshops in 1987, COC helped develop a community-based employment program in Pella. Two years later, COC expanded its services to Oskaloosa, providing both facility-based and community-based employment. Facility-based employment and community-based employment were also added in Indianola. COC maintained facility-based employment program for 44 years. In 2018 COC fully closed the program due to state and federal regulations that are encouraging persons with disabilities to be fully integrated into community employment.
Accreditation
COC is proud of its commitment to quality. COC has received 13 consecutive three-year accreditations from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) beginning in 1982.
Board of Directors
Randy Stravers - President
Pella
Ron Groenenboom - Vice President
Leighton
Lori Forsythe - Secretary
Pella
Vicki Cowman
Pella
Sheri Harper
Oskaloosa
Ray Pothoven
Pella
Betty Bollard
Pella
Mike Maakestad
Pella
Patt Brehse
Carlisle
Matt Ferrier
Pella
Shelly Nelson
Oskaloosa
Marvin Van Der Wiel
Otley
COC Foundation Fund
Securing Christian Opportunity Center’s Future
Purpose: COC Foundation Fund provides financial support to the COC mission of integrating Christian values in empowering individuals with disabilities to realize their full potential.
Mission: COC Foundation Fund solicits and receives gifts and manages its assets with integrity to provide regular support and long-term financial stability to COC.
Explanation of Operations
Each year, COC Foundation Fund contributes five percent (5%) of the three-year average of year-end assets. This money is distributed annually into four funds:
- Staff Enhancement Fund to reward and provide incentives to staff members to continue their service to COC.
- Special Education Fund which subsidizes the high costs of the special education programs that moved to the local Christian schools in 1988.
- Trip/Event/Camp Fund which provides special trips or events for the people we support, many of whom would otherwise never have a vacation.
- Spiritual Nurture Fund which provides support for retreats and for the Friendship Bible Hour program.
If you would like to make a contribution or learn about how to include COC in your estate or giving plans, contact Jake Keegan, finance director, at 641-628-8087, ext. 1109. Your gift will qualify for a tax deduction under the IRS and State of Iowa regulations for 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporations. Please contact COC for more information.