Building Block

28Apr 2017 by United Way

Real Life Story: American Red Cross of Southern Indiana

In May 2016, Ashley began experiencing life-threatening complications during the birth of her second child. To save her life, doctors used 121 units of blood product, the most amount of blood doctors have ever given to a single patient at Deaconess and had them survive. Ashley underwent five surgeries and due to the lifesaving Red Cross blood supply, both she and baby are on the road to recovery. To give back to the organization that helped save Ashley and her newborn, her family held a Red Cross blood drive at Deaconess in her honor.

30Mar 2017 by United Way

Real Life Story: Arc of Evansville

Building Block, Education

This story was submitted to us from Arc of Evansville Child Life Center with permission to share. Ben is a four year old child, who began receiving services from The Arc of Evansville’s Child Life Center (CLC) in August, 2014. At that time, Ben used scripted speech and experienced difficulty responding to simple questions. He was easily distracted and unable to feed himself. Ben also exhibited a low frustration tolerance which resulted in aggressive behavior towards his peers. CLC teachers and Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation therapists worked together to employ occupational therapy, speech therapy, and sensory strategies for Ben. Over time, the strategies helped Ben improve in a variety of areas. He has experienced improvement in his attention to task, is able to follow the classroom routine, participates in circle time,…

30Mar 2017 by United Way

Real Life Story: Ark Crisis Child Care Center

Building Block, Income, Real Life Testimony

This story was submitted to us from Ark Crisis Child Care Center with permission to share. A one year old little girl first came to Ark as an emergency case through the Department of Children’s Services. She was removed from a home due to abuse allegations and was placed at Ark until a foster family could be identified. She came in, dirty and with a dirty bandage wrapped around her arm. The DCS case manager called a few hours later said a foster mom was found for the girl, but the woman refused to take the child unless she could get childcare assistance. She had a full-time job and could not take time off to care for the child. Ark assured the case manager that we could help until a traditional child…

29Mar 2017 by United Way

Real Life Story: Spencer County Hospice

Building Block, Health, Real Life Testimony

This story is written by the son of one of Spencer County Hospice’s founding members. He has granted us permission to share it. At the end, my mom wanted to die at home. My dad tried his best to care for her, but soon the pain medication she was prescribed did nothing and he could not stand to see her in pain. He took her to the hospital where she stayed until she died, unable to see her 7-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter because hospital rules prohibited children from visiting. In 1990, my dad helped found the Spencer County Hospice, the retirement project that he had been planning for years. Over the next 25 years he continually served on the board of directors, served various times as president and secretary,…