Turning Point

The New Year marks a turning point for many. In sitting down to write for our agency’s first blog posting, the theme ‘turning point’ seemed like a good place to start. It is a term that is familiar to me because it is the name of one of Racker Center’s many programs, but it also sums up where we as an agency stand as we enter 2011.

Racker Centers is an agency that has had to evolve with the times. We were formed by a concerned group of parents in 1948 and our work began as the Cerebral Palsy Association of the Ithaca area. Needs in our community grew and with those needs our services grew. We became The Special Children’s Center in 1963. Then again in 1999 we reached another ‘turning point’ and took on the name of Franziska Racker Centers.

In 2011 we reach yet another turning point. Although our name and mission will stay the same, needs within our community are always changing, and with that we, as good stewards of our community must do the same.  Our mission is to help people with special needs and their families have good lives. In addition to the many services we provide, we also do this by helping to promote inclusion in our community. The vision of our founding families is the same today as it was in 1948, that individuals with disabilities will be valued members of a caring and supportive community.

One thing I feel is that people are better understood once you begin talking. That is what we hope to do more of as we move into the future.  We are launching a new website (www.rackercenters.org) and are in the beginning stages of developing new ways of communicating with our friends, our neighbors and those we don’t know yet.  We are diving into the realm of social media by launching a Franziska Racker Centers Facebook Fan page www.facebook.com/franziskarackercenters . As you know we are also starting a new blog as well, thank you for taking the time to read it.

What is important here is that we need to get to know people, to understand them and therefore to better understand the needs of our community and those that we serve, we need to communicate. I welcome feedback and comments on this post, as well as encourage you to join our fan page. Throughout the year we hope to share some of the success stories of those individuals and families that we serve. We hope to share updates on our growth so we can better meet the growing needs within our community. We hope to have our staff share their expertise and we hope to share the struggles and the achievements we are facing in these tough economic times. Most importantly, we want you to share your thoughts with us on these things as well. If you are close to us already, let us know how our services have touched you or your loved one’s lives. If you don’t know us, tell us what you’d like to learn. We are looking for support, we are looking to help those in need, but most importantly we are looking to get to know you better and for you to know us.

Dan Brown is the Associate Executive Director at Franziska Racker Centers.