The next in our lineup of annual summer events is our Family Day Picnic, a 70+-year tradition!

Last year, over 400 people came out to picnic with us. We hope you can join us at our West Office parking lot in Wayzata (1909 Wayzata Blvd) on September 23. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be lots of great food, games, face painting, and music!

All the people we support at Hammer & NER are invited to attend along with their families and our staff and their families. There is no RSVP needed or charge for this event. Look for parking signs to be directed to where you should park for the picnic. For more information, click here.

Once again, DSP Recognition Week provides a great opportunity for us to recognize, celebrate, and thank our dedicated and caring direct support staff.

We know you work incredibly hard each day to ensure the people we support can live life to the fullest. Watch for more coming soon, including a special DSP Recognition video, a Facebook campaign, and recognition gifts. 

It’s vital that all staff respond to the survey about diversity, equity, and inclusion at Hammer & NER.  

If you haven’t completed the survey yet, please do so ASAP.

•The survey will only take you 5-10 minutes to complete.

•The survey is confidential. No one at Hammer & NER will see your individual responses.

•Please complete the survey no later than Friday, September 1.

Link to the survey here.

Please contact kyle.fitzwater@hammer.org if you have any questions about the survey activity. 

Questions or confidential concerns about the survey may be directed to deepSEE Consulting or 651-436-8555.

If you have already completed the survey, thanks!

Dedication service and reception

While doing some research on Hammer's founder, Alvina Hammer, we wanted to find her final resting place. Alvina passed away in 1965. We discovered that her ashes were buried in her husband's (Herman Rutzen) family plot at Elmhurst Cemetery in St. Paul. However, there is no stone in place to identify where she was laid to rest.   

As we celebrate Hammer Residences' 100th anniversary, it's time to properly mark the resting place of a truly remarkable woman whose founding of Hammer School in 1923, now Hammer Residences, has impacted the lives of thousands of people with developmental and other disabilities. We have arranged for a permanent (stone) foot marker to be placed at her grave and are planning a dedication service for Monday, September 25 at 1:30 p.m. at Elmhurst Cemetery. We are inviting staff who may feel some sentimentality around this to join us for the graveside dedication service and reception immediately afterward at the West Office. Feel free to share this with former staff you know who may be interested as well. The graveside service will last approximately 30 minutes.   

Alvina Hammer Foot Marker Dedication Service

Monday, September 25 at 1:30 p.m.

Elmhurst Cemetery

1510 Dale St N, St Paul, MN 55117

Reception to immediately follow (3 p.m.) at the West Office 

Please RSVP by calling the front desk at 952-473-1261 by Tuesday, September 19.  

In the year ahead, our Program department is focused on the SHINE initiative.

S – Supporting individuals

H – Honor and dignity

I – Invest in your career

N – Navigating change

E – Experiencing life

In August, our program staff focused on the “N” in SHINE, which represents Navigating change. Our Chief Program Officer, Sue Walker, shares that, “We have experienced unprecedented change over the past few years, and no matter what, there is always change. We want to support each other in acknowledging this and responding to it. It can be scary and also exciting. Hammer & NER’s All-Staff Gatherings this month were about resiliency in times of change and were such a good way of bringing our employees together. It’s one more way we can see that we are in this work together.”

Did you know that Hammer & NER has sewing volunteers that are available to help the individuals we support?

From hemming pants to patching holes, our seamstresses are here to help! Our sewing volunteers also work on special projects, like bench cushions and catheter bag covers.

Just put in a help request ticket with the Volunteer department and we will contact you to give you next steps.

Contact Lisa Parrish-Greenberg at lpgreenberg@hammer.org for more information.

We have several employees celebrating significant anniversaries this month.

Fatou Jaiteh (top left, Lead DSP, 10 years), Talesha Brown (top center, DSP, 5 years), Liz Hoskyn (top right, Lead DSP, 10 years), Omobolanle Egege (center, DSP, 5 years), Christine Daniel (bottom left, Lead DSP, 10 years), Kilian Hoder (bottom center, Maintenance, 3 years), and Brittney Severson (bottom right, PM, 5 years).

Congratulations and thank you for all that you do!

Each month in "Happenings" we feature some of our favorite photos of the people we support "Out & About" having fun in their communities.