Thursday, 22 March 2012 09:44

Holy Family Camp is a weeklong spiritual experience held each summer for persons with developmental disabilities. Campers enjoy a week of prayer, Mass, Reconciliation, lessons, music, swimming games, crafts, special events and friendship.

The staff are volunteers and come from all over the diocese. Members of several Knights of Columbus Councils donate, prepare and serve dinner each night.

The 24th Holy Family Camp will be held June 11-15, 2012 at Camp Hiawatha, 1601 W. 51st St. N., Wichita. Volunteers arrive on Sunday, June 10 for orientation and campers arrive on Monday. More information will be sent at later dates.

Volunteers will need to fill out an application form and a medical release and waiver and return it to our office no later than May 11.

Campers will need to fill out an application form and a medical release and waiver as well and return it to our office, with payment, no later than May 18. Space is limited. Applicants will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding Holy Family Camp, please contact Angela Graf at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 316-269-3900 ext. 157 or Tom Racunas at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Thursday, 08 March 2012 14:17

The Holy Family Special Needs Foundation Board and Bishop Michael O. Jackels recently approved plans to construct a new Holy Family Memorial.

In 1960, at the request of Bishop Mark K. Carroll, the Sisters of St. Joseph started a school for children with intellectual disabilities at St. Anthony School located at 300 North Ohio.  Sister Veronice Born, CSJ  was the director and only teacher.  There were 12 students enrolled.

From 1960 to 1965, the program grew in enrollment and staff.  In 1965, the school moved to 619 North Maize Road and was dedicated as The Holy Family Center serving 71 students. 

In 1969, with an enrollment of nearly 100, then Fr. Eugene Gerber (now Bishop Emeritus Gerber) served as Chaplain of the Holy Family Center and was on the governing board.  He assisted Sister Veronice in developing a memorial shrine to honor persons deceased or living to help support the Center.   Through on-going efforts which included fund raising events and donor solicitation, income to maintain the operation of the Center was realized. 

Holy Family Center continued to serve students until 1986 when, due to changes in federal education law, public schools were required to provide these services.  Funds that were reserved for operating expenses were designated within the diocese to support the inclusion of students into Diocesan Catholic schools.  At the same time, the Ministry with Persons with Disabilities was established as an office of the Diocesan Curia.

When the Holy Family Center was officially closed in December 2002, the memorial wall consisting of nearly 700 bronze plaques was removed and placed into storage.  The current Holy Family Special Needs Foundation Board, aware of the promise made at the time of the closing of the Center that the memorial would be relocated, made the decision to construct a new and permanent memorial.  The memorial will be located at Ascension Cemetery in Wichita.  Instead of continuing the use of the bronze plaques, names will be engraved in granite.

It is important that the names listed on the memorial are accurate.  Donors, family members of donors, or other benefactors to the memorial are encouraged to help insure accuracy.  The list of donors from 1969 to the present is available here.  If a change of spelling is needed, if a name does not appear on the list or if you have questions, please contact Sonya Brinkman at 269.3900 x 140. 

The Holy Family Special Needs Foundation was incorporated on April 9, 2003.  Today, the Foundation, overseen by a Board of seven members on behalf of the Bishop, continues to help fund the work of the Ministry with Persons with Disabilities and support the inclusion of students with disabilities in Catholic schools through Integration and Inclusion Grants.

Below is an artist's rendition of what the new memorial will look like.

Thursday, 02 February 2012 10:32

www.invisiblekansans.org

Friday, 06 January 2012 16:21

NAMI Wichita is pleased to announce a full array of NAMI Education Programs during the 1st quarter of 2012:  Peer to Peer, NAMI BASICS and Family to Family classes. THERE IS NO COST TO PARTICIPATE IN THESE PROGRAMS. For specific details, see the attached flyers. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION about content of these courses, go to  www.namiwichita.org and www.nami.org .

Friday, 16 December 2011 11:03

The National Association for the Deaf has been working hard to advance access to Video Relay Service (VRS).

To use VRS, a deaf or hard of hearing individual must have video conferencing equipment or a videophone, and a broadband (high speed) Internet connection. VRS enables a deaf or hard of hearing person to make a receive telephone calls through a communications assistant (CA) who is qualified American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter. For many deaf and hard of hearing individuals, VRS is closer to "functionally equivalent" telephone services than any other form of relay service. For ASL users, VRS conversations flow so much more smoothly, naturally, and faster than communicating by typing. For many people, including deaf senior citizens and children, no other form of relay service is comparable.

Video conferencing equipment and videophones have additional benefits. They can be used for direct communication between deaf and hard of hearing people with their hearing family and friends who know ASL. They can also be used by deaf and hard of hearing people who do not know ASL, but who benefit rom access to visual communication cues, including speech reading.

Source URL: http://www.nad.org/issues/telephone-and-relay-services/relay-services/video-relay-service-vrs

The Chancery Office and Ministry with Persons with Disabilities are familiar with VRS. To access VRS, dial 711.