SERVICE ENTERPRISES, INC. CELEBRATES 35^th ANNIVERSARY

REDWOOD FALLS, Minn. – Feb. 5, 2004 – 2004 marks Service Enterprises, Inc.’s 35^th anniversary. SEI’s programs have served the Redwood Falls and Marshall areas – and consumers from all over Southwest Minnesota – since 1969. Though the programs and the organization’s name have changed several times, SEI’s commitment to providing opportunities for people has remained.

SEI, with offices in Redwood Falls and Marshall, provides quality habilitative services, vocational training, and job opportunities in our area counties through effective partnerships. SEI works with approximately 200 people from area counties each year. The organization’s services and programs are available to people with developmental disabilities, mental illness, or other barriers to employment. With training and guidance from SEI staff, people are able to achieve their employment goals and while providing a reliable, dedicated work force for area businesses.

SEI’s beginnings

SEI’s history began in 1969, with the incorporation of the Redwood County Day Activity Center (DAC). Organized by Redwood County’s Association for Retarded Children, the DAC initially served children ages 3 to 9 and young adults from its facility in Clements. Within a year, the organization divided is program into children and adult sections, and expanded to include transportation and a noon meal for the people it served.

Around the same time, a group of Marshall residents incorporated a rehabilitation program named Willing Hands, Inc. Willing Hands provided vocational programs for people with disabilities.

The DAC and Willing Hands first collaborated in 1973. That year, Willing Hands built a new building in the Redwood Falls Industrial Park to better meet the needs of its Redwood Falls clients. Willing Hands invited the DAC to share in the planning and to rent some of the building space once it was complete. The DAC accepted and rented space from Willing Hands until 1976, when it purchased a building on West Bridge Street in Redwood Falls. The building purchase enabled the DAC to house its entire program at one site.

The mid- to late-1970s brought name changes for both organizations. Willing Hands changed its name to Service Industries, Inc. in 1976. In 1978, the DAC changed its name to the Redwood County Development Achievement Center, to correspond with a name change at the state level. Its acronym, “DAC,” remained the same.

Service Industries purchased the Merry Maids® franchise in 1982. Also in 1982, Service Industries received its first accreditation from CARF, an independent, not-for-profit accrediting body that provides accreditation in the human services field.

In 1984, Service Industries, which had been operating solely from its Redwood Falls site, established a satellite program in Marshall. The organization further expanded the next year by adding on to its Redwood Falls site to accommodate pallet reconditioning.

In 1986, Service Industries began providing laundry services through the Redwood Falls Hospital laundry department. The DAC began to refocus its programming on supported employment for the people it served. The DAC completed this transition in 1989 and changed its name to DAC Enterprises, Inc. Services for children were discontinued. DAC Enterprises opened a craft store, DAC Downtown, in Redwood Falls, which was closed 10 years later.

Realizing their common purpose, Service Industries and DAC Enterprises began discussing collaboration in 1990. The two organizations merged in 1992 to form Service Enterprises, Inc.

SEI expanded its programming to serve the growing needs of the area. The organization began serving more people with mental illness in the late 1990s through a grant-funded program.

In 2000, SEI began a program for older adults, which was later names LAFS, Leisure Activities for Seniors. Both audiences, as well as others with barriers to employment, are still being served today.

SEI today

Today, SEI operates from two offices, one in Redwood Falls and one in Marshall. The organization provides opportunities for people with barriers to employment through its employment, social activity, and personal care programs.

SEI continues to provide Merry Maids® housekeeping services in both the Redwood Falls and Marshall. The organization still provides laundry services at the Redwood Falls hospital and pallet reconditioning at one of its Redwood Falls sites. In addition, SEI has collaborated with the Redwood County Recycling Center to provide recycling services since 1991. SEI partners with many other businesses and organizations in the area to provide them with a reliable, dedicated workforce.

SEI is licensed by the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Its organizational and community employment services are accredited by CARF. SEI receives funding from the State of Minnesota; Redwood, Lyon, and other counties; and the United Ways of Redwood Falls and Lyon County.

For more information, visit www.service-enterprises.org.

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