Congratulations to Mary Gaasch (pictured on the right), our Director of Advocacy, who won re-election as the Mayor of Lauderdale. In her role as Director of Advocacy, Mary meets with legislators and their staff to talk about our services and our needs. 

Congratulations also to Brion Curran (pictured on the left), our Senior HR Generalist for Northeast Residence. Brion is newly elected to the MN House of Representatives, representing District 36B (Vadnais Heights/White Bear Lake). Brion will be a strong voice at the State Capitol for people with disabilities as well as the disability services community. 

Congratulations to Cathy Thoma, our Director of Volunteer Resources, who will serve as the President Elect for 2023 for the national Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement (AL!VE).

AL!VE is a national membership organization of leaders and professionals in volunteer engagement. AL!VE serves to enhance and sustain the spirit of volunteering in America by fostering collaboration and networking, promoting professional development, and providing advocacy for leaders in community engagement

Congratulations Cathy!

We are pleased to announce the November recipients of our Celebrate a Caregiver program: Elizabeth (Liz) Hoskyn, in the west metro and Qadira Bradshaw, in the east metro.

Click here to learn more about our

“Caregivers of the Month” for November!

Check out the winter edition of Discoveries magazine and read all the inspiring stories.

You will meet Frank, who has been supported by Northeast Residence (NER) since 1975. He is one of the original people cared for since opening our doors in 1975.

Don't miss Frank's inspiring story.

Click here to read the Winter edition.

We have a few west metro employees celebrating significant anniversaries this month.

Clockwise from top in the photo, William Mbu (PM 25 years), Carolyn Ball Williams (DSP, 3 years), Joe Cullen (Communication Specialist, 3 years), Nyamah Gonowolo (DSP, 3 years), and Samara Becerra (DSP, 3 years).

Congratulations and thank you for all you do!

Here are the east metro employees celebrating anniversaries this month.

Fred Curran (Dir. of Maintenance, pictured upper left, 27 years), Craig Meinke (Maintenance, pictured upper right, 22 years), Becky Bollinger (Program Compliance Manager, pictured lower right, 21 years), Elizabeth Dailey (DSP, 12 years), Nicole Head (Support Specialist, 11 years), Jailon Berry (Support Specialist, 4 years), Natalie Hausker (DSP, 4 years), Sandra Shabaiash (Program Manager, pictured lower left, 3 years), Trinh Nguyen (DSP, 3 years), Munira Mohamed (Lead DSP, 2 years), Diane Campbell (Administrative Assistant, 1 year), Ninette Outlaw (DSP, 1 year), and Rachael Behr (Float DSP, 1 year). 

Congratulations and thanks for all you do!

Each month in "Happenings" we'll be featuring some of our favorite photos of the people we support "out & about" having fun in their communities. Enjoy!



A great time was had on Thanksgiving by our staff, volunteers, and those we support at the west metro Central Office.

Check out the photo gallery on our website to see some of the smiles and of course some of the food, too!

It's quick and easy to sign up for Amazon Smile. Did you know that .5% of your Amazon purchases can go to Hammer? It adds up and the money is used by Hammer to support individuals we serve on both the east side (NER) and the west side of town.

With holidays around the corner, now is a great time to make the easy switch to Amazon Smile. Please pass this information to any family or friends that you know use Amazon so they may have the opportunity to contribute to Hammer’s mission as well.

1.    Sign into your regular Amazon Account, type Smile in the search box.

2.    Click on the Get Started button and select Hammer Residences as your charity of choice.

3.    When you go to purchase items on Amazon, use smile.amazon.com instead. All your account details stay the same, but every quarter Hammer receives a check from Amazon.

Give the gift of a travel experience this year! 

Are you struggling with what to get your loved one for Christmas this year? Do they have enough shoes, boots, clothes, and gadgets? How about giving a fully supported Hammer Travel trip as an alternative?

Hammer Travel trips offer unique experiences that offer the travelers a sense of adventure, a chance to gain some independence, the ability to create new friendships, and best of all some fun memories.

The best way to find out about Hammer Travel trips is to check out the Hammer Travel website, www.hammertravel.org.