News

Thank You Crown Point Community Foundation

The Crown Point Community Foundation is providing grant funds to help TradeWinds with upgrades to our group home located in Crown Point. These funds will allow for the addition of a side driveway for more parking space for our van and staff vehicles, along with some landscaping, adding raised garden beds and picnic tables. The residents of this house will benefit from more time outdoors with a new learning experience by growing fresh vegetables in their backyard, more usable space for visiting with family and friends, and increased recreational activities. All of these benefits will combine to improve the health and welfare of our clients in an enjoyable environment. Thank you to the Crown Point Community Foundation for this opportunity to improve the lives of our clients.

Arts & Crafts Activities

TradeWinds Services received grant funding from the Indiana Arts Commission for arts & crafts enrichment activities for our children of all abilities in Child Care, Summer & Winter camps, and our adults with intellectual and physical disabilities. A variety of projects allow both children and adults to be creative with their own abilities or as a group, building interpersonal skills, and learning with hands-on multi-sensory media, and exploring colors and touch to increase perseverance, functional skills, and retention of skills. The grant funding for these activities was made possible in part by the South Shore Arts and the Indiana Arts Commission, which receives support from the State of Indiana and the National Endowment for the Arts. Thank you from all at TradeWinds.

TradeWinds 29th Annual Golf Scramble for Kids

It was a beautiful day for over 200 golfers, volunteers, and advocates at TradeWinds Golf Scramble for Kids held at Briar Ridge Country Club in Schererville. A huge THANK YOU to First Financial Bank as the Signature Sponsor and Strack & VanTil Food Market as Presenting Sponsor this year. With social distancing practices in place, this event was entirely outdoors for everyone to have an enjoyable time. We thank all of those who provided sponsorships, raffle and silent auction items, donations, all of our volunteers, and our fantastic golf committee. Your participation helps provide more services for children of all abilities in our Childcare and Summer/Winter camp programs.

Grant Funds Awarded

TradeWinds Services is pleased to announce the receipt of $5,000 from the COVID-19 Response Grants – Capacity Building – Emergency Preparedness grant from these funding partners: Legacy Foundation – Lake County’s Community Foundation; Covid-19 Response - Knight Foundation Fund a project fund of the John S. & James L. Knight Foundation Donor Advised Fund; Crown Point Community Foundation; and Foundations of East Chicago. These funds will enable our program to be better prepared in case of an emergency. We will purchase essential items for “Grab & Go” bags for each of the eleven Day Service classrooms located in our main center. TradeWinds provides Day Services for children of diverse abilities and adults with intellectual and physical disabilities in our Adult Day Activity Program & Training classrooms or working at jobs in our production departments. TradeWinds is very grateful to these funders to allow our organization to improve our Emergency Preparedness program.

30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act

The month of July commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act signed on July 26, 1990. TradeWinds Services has provided opportunities for employment for over 30 years at our facilities in our Sewing Manufacturing, Packaging & Assembly, and Sign Shop departments. TradeWinds Employment Services department also prepares clients with diverse abilities to obtain and maintain employment in the Northwest Indiana community. Your support of TradeWinds Services CAN make a life-changing difference. Click the "Read More" link for a recent article on how the ADA continues to improve the lives of people with diverse abilities, published by our partner, SourceAmerica on the Yahoo Finance page.

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Strack & Van Til CheckOut Challenge

Thank You for Supporting TradeWinds Services

Thank you Strack & Van Til Food Markets and residents of Lake County - from June 8 to 21, your compassion and generous support of the “Round-Up for TradeWinds” campaign raised over $27,000. These funds will help support so many programs at TradeWinds. Programs such as Childcare and Summer & Winter Camps for children of all abilities; and for our adults with developmental & physical disabilities programs that include Adult Day Activity & Training Program; Pre-Vocational Training including our Sign Shop; Employment Services for community employment; Respite services for families; and Deaf Services advocacy & Sign Language classes. Pictured with the "BIG" check are Jeff Strack, President & CEO of Strack & Van Til Food Markets and Lisa Tatina, Director of Development & Marketing of TradeWinds Services. And a “VERY BIG” THANK YOU to all the hardworking cashiers who helped make this possible, your support in this campaign will make a life-changing difference for TradeWinds children and adults with disabilities.

TradeWinds Childcare Receives Grant

Thanks to @earlylearningindiana and Lilly Endowment.

TradeWinds Services is proud to be coming back stronger from COVID-19, thanks to a generous grant from @earlylearningindiana and Lilly Endowment! Our grant will help us maintain a safe & social distancing environment with PPE, increased lunch & snack protocols, increased sanitizing protocols, provide personalized learning supplies, and more to safely serve our children, families, and staff and help Northwest Indiana come back stronger!

First Merchants Corporation Donation Match

Helping provide COVID relief to TradeWinds

Thank you to First Merchants Corporation for the generous donation match of $10,000 to TradeWinds Services to help with our COVID relief efforts. This philanthropic support will help TradeWinds provide a safe transition for our participants as they begin to return to our center in a social distancing environment while they get back to a daily routine of earning a paycheck, learning new functional skills, and seeing their friends. Receiving the donation while social distancing is Jon Gold, CEO, TradeWinds Services (left) along with First Merchants Bank representatives: kneeling in front, Troy Rose, Vice President-Wealth Advisor, center is Stephanie Madison, Community Market Director, and on the right is Dale Clapp, President for First Merchants Corp. lakeshore region.

TradeWinds Sewing Industries Helps Fight COVID-19

Read how TradeWinds Sewing Industries is helping to protect local healthcare workers and first responders. Click the "Read More" link to read the complete article published by our partner, SourceAmerica.

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Target Volunteers help with Arts & Crafts

5 volunteers from the Target Merrillville store visited TradeWinds for a few hours on Friday, February 21st to work with our adult participants on arts & crafts projects. Everyone had a great time making colorful paintings. Thank you Target volunteers for donating your time and talent.