Category Archives: Recent News

This past week marks the end of a month of visits from local schools to Christian Opportunity Center (COC).  Approximately 180 children from Knoxville Northstar Elementary, Lynnville-Sully School District, and Pella Christian High School took time to visit COC and interact with individuals with disabilities.  Creating opportunities for children to interact with people with disabilities positively is beneficial to everyone.  Many times, people can unconsciously act differently around people with disabilities, simply since they have never had this opportunity.  Creating these opportunities for interactions for the children in our communities could help them to learn at an early age to look beyond a person’s disabilities. 

Lynnville Sully students try to do everyday tasks in a wheelchair.

Visits with Knoxville 5th graders and Lynnville-Sully 6th graders consisted of learning about COC services, disability stimulation stations, interacting with Life Skills Program, a short tour of a residential home, and a Q/A session with people with disabilities.  Disability simulations give the kids a small glimpse of what it is like to manage some of the challenges that people with disabilities deal with on a daily basis.  Some of the simulations included maneuvering a wheelchair, using adaptive equipment, and practicing communicating with a person with communication disabilities.  Some of the stimulations may seem silly and frustrating to the kids, and it was vital for them to understand that they could walk away from these challenges at any time, that is not an option for a person with disabilities.

Students from Knoxville and Lynnville-Sully also learned about person-first language, the practice of identifying the person before their disability, i.e., a person with an intellectual disability.  The children were also warned that certain words that used to be medical terminology to describe a person with intellectual disabilities, like the word retarded (referred to as the “R” word) are now considered to be an insult and not a true representation of a person with intellectual disabilities.  The children were encouraged to stop using the “R” word, and encourage friends and family members to join them.

PC Art Teacher, Joe Hokesbergen (left) and Mike Cossolotto enjoy an afternoon of art.

PC HighSchool students visit took a different spin on interacting with individuals with disabilities.  PCHS Art Teacher, Joe Hoksbergern and his Winterim students came to COC bearing pastels, paper, and a willingness to make new friends.  The PCHS students and the people COC supports spent an afternoon creating art together and getting to know each other. COC is consistently looking for ways to engage the people we support with new experiences and ways to express themselves, this interaction with PCHS Art Wintertirm Class was an excellent opportunity to do both.

COC welcomes any student group or school who has an interest in visiting COC to contact the Public Information Director for more information at 1-641-628-1162, ext. 105.

To say that Christian Opportunity Center (COC) has gone through many changes and transitions in 2018 is an understatement.  From leadership changes to new opportunities for the people we support, COC would like to take a minute to share some reflections 2018. 

COC has always taken great pride in our hardworking staff and praises each one of them for their part in another great year. According to the US Department of Labor, it was reported in 2015 that there were nearly 4.5 million Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) in the US.  Those numbers help put into perspective the significance of one of COC’s DSPs, Laura Groenboom, receiving a national honorable mention from ANCOR as the DSP of the Year. 

COC’s Leadership Team went through some significant transitions in 2018.  Our organization said “see you later” to long-tenured Executive Director Rod Braun, as he entered into retirement.  Our organization is eternally thankful for his leadership for the past 31.5 years and all he has done for COC.  As Rod’s tenure ended, John Eilers’ time as Executive Director began.   The succession plan that had been in place for the past 14 years has made John’s transition from Associate Director to Executive Director smooth.   Longtime employee, Jodi Tukker accepted the Associate Director position in May and stepped into the new role on July 1.  Shelli Robins also joined the Leadership Team in July; she is the ICF Regional Director. 

This past year also brought many changes to COC services.  In May, COC closed the Facility-Based Employment program.  Although it was hard to say goodbye to this long-standing program, our staff promptly focused on the growth of Community-Based Employment (CBE) for the individuals we support.  In 2018, COC CBE staff added 24 new jobs for the people we support in Pella, Knoxville, Oskaloosa, and Indianola. Another Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) home was opened in Oskaloosa this past year and is now home to four individuals we support.  In May, another Life Skills/Day Habilitation location was opened in Knoxville. This program serves approximately 14 individuals in the Knoxville area.  Due to the growth of the Pella Life Skills, the program was moved to the Pella main office location in October.  In November, COC was pleased to announce that it has received its 13th consecutive CARF accreditation for our Community-Based Employment and Life Skills programs in Indianola, Oskaloosa, Knoxville, and Pella.

For the 260 individuals that we support, 2018 has been a year filled with many new experiences and exciting opportunities.  Each one of the individuals we support brings to their communities so much joy with their talents and gifts.   Several excelled in the Special Olympics this past year in Indianola and Oskaloosa.  Many of our residential homes are working on living a more active lifestyle for the people we support.  We have also had some exciting moments for the people we support; one of the highlights was when two persons supported from Knoxville were able to meet a sprint car driver during the Knoxville Nationals. 

The communities where we offer services and supports were an integral part of the success of COC in the past year.  With the support of many local businesses, COC was able to find new employment opportunities and recreational activities for the people we support.  Many local churches participated in Disability Sunday this past year to promote inclusion for individuals with disabilities in their church communities.  COC appreciates and values the individuals, organizations, and businesses who have contributed to COC through the support of the 17^th Annual Golf Classic, by making one-time donations, or through volunteering time.

Looking forward to 2019, COC will celebrate the 50th anniversary of supporting people with disabilities in central Iowa. We will be honoring our past 50 years and looking forward to continuing the COC tradition of service many years into the future.

Christian Opportunity Center has been awarded a Three-Year Term of Accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) for its Community-Based Employment and Life Skills programs in Indianola, Oskaloosa, Knoxville, and Pella.  This latest accreditation is the 13th consecutive CARF accreditation that has been awarded to Christian Opportunity Center (COC).

CARF is an internationally recognized, nonprofit accreditor that sets standards of excellence for human service organizations. Those programs who meet CARF’s standards have demonstrated a commitment to being among the best available.

An organization receiving a Three-Year Accreditation through CARF has voluntarily put itself through an extensive internal review process and has then demonstrated to a team of expert practitioners during an on-site survey that it conforms to the rigorous CARF conditions and standards. The on-site survey for COC was conducted October 24-26, and COC was notified of the accreditation award on November 30th. 

Disability services in central Iowa is a highly competitive field, and often people with disabilities have several options for services.  Having an accreditation through CARF is a sign of quality that can be a useful tool for individuals with disabilities and their families when choosing a quality disability services provider. 

Laura Gronenboom (right) is pictured with Program Manager, Nancy Moton.

A Direct Support Professional (DSP) provides valuable daily support services for the many individuals with disabilities. DSPs are integral in supporting people with disabilities to participate in their communities and lead full and independent lives. Next year COC will celebrate the 50^th anniversary of offering services in Central Iowa; the success and longevity of COC have been made possible by our dedicated DSPs. This week is Direct Support Professional week, and COC plans to celebrate the approximately 220 DSPs in our agency with gifts and celebrations, but a few of our DSPs are getting state and national recognition for their valuable work.

COC is proud to announce that Laura Gronenboom has earned national recognition for her work.  Gronenboom received an Honorable Mention in the American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR) 2018 Direct Support Professional Award Program.  ANCOR is a national, nonprofit association representing private community providers of services to people with disabilities. Since 2007, ANCOR has honored exceptional Direct Support Professionals for exemplary work in furthering full participation for the many Americans living with intellectual, developmental and other disabilities.
Laura’s co-workers nominated her for this honor; their admiration and respect are evident in their sentiments on working with Laura.  One co-worker commented on Laura encouragement of the people that COC supports to be physically active, “she finds creative ways to get this done and gets involved herself.  One Individual we support has an exercise goal, and he wanted to do a couple of 5k races. Laura assisted him with signing up and completed the races with him.”

A humble Gronenboom credits the COC community for her achievements, “I couldn’t do a thing without the staff here at COC.  The COC community is the key, and they make it fun. None of us can do what we do without a team” Gronenboom continued.  “I work with the most fantastic people and working at COC has been an enjoyable experience.”

Gronenboom, who has worked as a DSP in Pella for the past three years, was also nominated at the state level through the Iowa Association of Community Providers (IACP) DSP Awards. She shares this honor along with two other DSPs from COC;  also nominated were Connie Ervin and Nichole Stranger.

Stranger has worked with Indianola COC as Works Skills Supervisor for the past eight years.  Regional Director, Shelli Robins, commented, “Nichole does a wonderful job of knowing the individuals, understanding their unique needs and positive attributes.”

Ervin has worked with Indianola COC for 12 years as a Life Skills Instructor. “Connie is an amazing person. She starts her day at COC by motivating person supported to try new things and to be adventurous. She inspires creativity among the life skills program by encouraging the people around her to be creativities and think outside the box,” stated Program Manager, Bailey George.

COC honors all DSPs and appreciates their hard work and dedication to the people we support.