Community Partners: Sarah Medical
 The people at Sarah Medical aren't your ordinary repair guys. Not only do they specialize in high-end rebabilitation equipment, like electric wheelchairs. They are in it not for the money but for the heart.
Once each week we are visited by wheelchair technicians from Sarah Medical. Because they understand that our clients rely on these chairs for their daily living, and to wait a day for a new part to arrive would pose serious problems, they have a philosophy of "proactive maintenance." They keep a log with the history of each of our resident's wheelchairs, including when it was purchased and what repairs have been performed, and they conduct regular maintenance, replacing brakes, tires and other parts well in advance of a breakdown. They also supply loaner parts or chairs, in case of an emergency. In this way, they keep our residents mobile.
Sarah Medical is owned and run by Mike Salarkia, an electrical engineer, who started out repairing high-end medical equipment, such as scanners and surgery equipment, for hospitals. Over time the business began servicing home medical equipment as well. Now, 20 years later, they specialize in sales and repairs of sophisticated rehabilitation equipment. Mike told me the story of outfitting one client with a chair by which he can control everything in his house from his stereo to the thermostat by sipping and puffing on a straw. Their staff of about 30 employees includes physical therapists and engineers.
Mike understands and appreciates what he calls the "human side" of the work that he does. He had family members with disabilities and was moved to do this work to make a difference and because it is so rewarding. He says, "You can't get that in many other fields of work." Although he admits he has to pay attention to the financial survival of his company, that is not where he puts his focus. "Our main goal is to keep clients satisfied and happy, and we do whatever we can to make that happen. I have dedicated myself to this field for the emotional side not the financial side," Mike says. "Although we live in a material world, you can't get lost in it and forget the human side."
Sarah Medical partners with Wheelchairs for Humanity, a non-profit that supplies wheelchairs to relief organizations working in third world countries. At their own expense, Sarah Medical will donate 100 used chairs at a time and send an employee to travel along with the donation overseas to help deliver the chairs to people in need. Thank you to our friends at Sarah Medical for keeping us and others moving along!
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New Van for Hillside House Residents
 Thanks to a very generous grant from the Weingart Foundation, Hillside House has purchased a brand new wheelchair-accessible van. Hillside House uses a fleet of four vans to transport our residents to their medical appointments, to their day programs when needed, and to a broad range of activities in town, including shopping, entertainment, sports and cultural activities. We also use the vans to take residents on longer-range trips. We depend on these vans many times each day. The average age of our existing vans is 17 years, and they have been breaking down, so it has become urgent to begin to replace these vans with newer models.
The new van will not only provide safe, reliable transportation for our residents, but also will save money for Hillside House, as the older vehicles require more frequent and costly repairs and use more gas. We are seeking funding from other foundations to purchase a second new van early next year.
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Social Change Through Grassroots Efforts
 Grass likes to spread. Plant it alongside your flower beds, and it wants to creep in there and keep growing. That's what we want our Compassionate Community to do-keep growing! So, several devoted family members of our residents, headed by Phil Salzwedel and Lee Harvey, are forming the Grassroots Group. The idea behind the committee is to help Hillside House expand its base of support, an important goal for us in 2009, by participating in a few, simple actions, adaptable to each committee member's schedule and interests. Part of this is motivated by our recent plunge into the world of social networking and online fundraising, part of it is motivated by the success of such efforts for the past presidential campaign, part of it is just common sense. Families of residents, or those personally involved, are by far the most effective at getting others involved. When you care about something, your friends care too. It's that simple.
Our grassroots growers will be able to choose how they'd like to contribute from among such actions as forwarding an email about us to friends, calling donors to thank them, hosting an event or helping us make connections to community groups that you are a member of. We can't do this work without you-it takes someone with a personal connection to Hillside House to do it. In addition to Phil and Lee, Cecille Raleigh, Evelyn Whitacre and Pat Dickson have also agreed to spread the word. Would you like to join the Grassroots Group? Send us an email: clauber@hillsidehousesb.org and we'll put you in touch with Phil or Lee to get started. You can do as much or as little as you like, but anything you do will be a great help to us.
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Computers Used for Recreation, Expression and Connection
 Computers play an important role in the lives of many Hillside House residents. Our computer "laboratory" consists of three Dell desktop processsors and two color printers. Between 12 and 15 residents use the computers, for many of the same reasons that motivate us to logon every day, with the exception of work-related tasks.
Morgan loves emailing with his friends. He has friends from church, his day program, and even in the police and fire departments that he stays in touch with on weekends and evenings. Developing his email skills, in fact, is one of his goals for personal growth.
Moselle loves to watch the performances of pop music artists like Madonna, and Lorne enjoys reading about the adventures of the action heroes whose exploits he has followed for years. Nancy doesn't surf the internet, but enjoys playing quiz show games and video games. Ingelise is a YouTube "junkie" who loves to watch the reruns of old TV shows such as "Lassie." She does a lot of searching for the latest videos of her favorite performers and stays more current with the exploits of popular culture icons than most of our staff.
Computers bring the outside world inside our walls and help our residents broaden their experiences, learn new things, make connections and have fun. Even for those who don't use the computers, they can bring in a sense of the workings of so much of the world. Much of our resident computer equipment was purchased with charitable donations from local foundations such as Wood-Claeyssens, as well as others. We were also able to purchase the Nintendo Wii console and several skill-enhancing games with donated funds from Assistance League. Thank you to these generous friends!
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