Announcements
- August 25, 2023 — Bradford National Bank, FHLBC Collaborate To Provide Funding To Fayco Enterprises
Bradford National Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBC) have collaborated to provide funding to FAYCO Enterprises to build a new housing duplex in Greenville. FAYCO Enterprises was awarded the FHLBC Community Small Business Advance, which is designed to provide a lower-interest-rate with long-term financing to help recipients expand their capacity for affordable housing and economic development.
FAYCO Enterprises, a Community Integrated Living Arrangement (CILA) provider, is building a six-bedroom home along Prairie Street in Greenville.
“FAYCO serves an incredible purpose in society and is a huge asset to our region. This is going to be a place to call home for many individuals for years and years to come. We were honored to be able to assist FAYCO with this project, and grateful for the partnership with FHLBank Chicago,” said Chris Barth, Assistant Vice President, Bradford National Bank. “Having an option like the Community Small Business Advance available in our community means that residential support businesses like FAYCO have a low-cost source of funding available locally.”
He added, “This program is just another example of the different resources available to consumers and business owners through a local community bank.”
FAYCO Enterprises, headquartered in Vandalia, IL, is a 501(c)3 not for profit corporation which provides valuable person-centered services for citizens with disabilities residing in Fayette, Bond, Montgomery, and adjacent counties in Illinois. This will be FAYCO’s third home in Bond County. “Greenville is a very welcoming and accessible community. We enjoy being a part of the community and are excited about our new construction project,” said Kim Taylor, Executive Director of FAYCO. “We sincerely appreciate Bradford National Bank and the FHLBC partnering with us to make this project a reality.”
“Small businesses provide much needed jobs, services, and resources that drive growth in rural, urban, and small-town communities,” said Carolyn Jaw, Executive Vice President, Group Head, Sales, Strategy, and Solutions, FHLBank Chicago. “Local businesses in our members’ communities have worked hard to rebound from difficult years with strong economic headwinds. This combination of solutions offers unique and timely capital support, not just to sustain their businesses but to grow, especially in times of rising interest rates.”
- July 28, 2022 — Bikers deliver positive message during their “Journey of Hope”
When the guests arrived on Monday afternoon, there was a warm welcome waiting for them.
Nearly 60 individuals associated with Fayco Enterprises had made posters and signs for when the visitors arrived.
The Ability Experience included 17 riders and 6 crew members who are traveling across the country in hopes of bringing more awareness about disability awareness. The event Monday at Fayco was considered a Friendship Visit, where the team gets the opportunity to interact with individuals in a day devoted to fun.
“Everyone is so excited,” said Sue Leidner, adult service coordinator at Fayco Enterprises. “We have been tracking where they have been on this big map and pinpointed when they were coming.”
The Ability Experience, a philanthropic initiative of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, started their Journey of Hope trek on June 8 when they departed from Seattle. Their trip would end at Washington, D.C.
Fernando Cortes, public relations coordinator, for the Ability Experience, said the importance of the journey is about coming together and finding common ground no matter what.
“We all may be different but we are all one people no matter what. There is no reason why they should be treated,” Csaid. “Everyone has the same heart.”
Fayco Enterprises is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing experience, training and opportunities for adults with disabilities.
“What is so special about us is the people we serve,” Fayco Enterprises Director of Programs Brian Gaskin said. “We serve a great group of people, and for a lot of them we are their support system.”
The Ability Experience also donated $500 to Fayco Enterprises during the Friendship Visit.
“It’s amazing to be welcomed like this,” said Harrison Covert, project manager. “We are raising awareness for people with disabilities who are integrating into communities across the country. The one thing that struck me is the fact that disabilities are a kind of diversity that you don’t often think of. It brings unique perspectives that cannot be clearly understood otherwise unless you include the diversity community.”
Getting the opportunity to devote their summer is more than just a trip. Riders and fraternity members Andy Wiley and Charlie Marconi are embarking on their first cross-country Journey of Hope, and they said their favorite part about the journey is the chance to connect with individuals they may not have met otherwise.
“It’s cool getting to meet people from all over,” Wiley said. “What gets us motivated is when we are told about the impact on the places that we go. Some have said it has felt like Christmas when we arrive.”
Marconi agreed, adding: ”We come in with a lot of positive energy and get everyone excited. And that is what it’s all about.”
The Ability Experience donated $500 to Fayco Enterprises during its Friendship Visit on Monday. Pictured are Brian Gaskin, Fayco Enterprises director of programs; Ability Experience project manager Harrison Covert; and Sue Leidner, Fayco adult services coordinator.
- June 23, 2022 — FAYCO Hosts Open House At Bob’s Place
On Friday, FAYCO Enterprises showed off its Greenville building, known as Bob’s Place, with a public open house.
The building has been named for an important man who was part of the history of FAYCO for 26 years. The official name is the CR Lindberg Center, otherwise known as “Bob’s Place”. Bob was the former director of Fayco. He served from 1987 to 2013 and passed recently.
It is a facility to help developmentally disabled individuals in Bond County learn various life skills. The building is being used for FAYCO’s Connections Program, which allows their clients to volunteer in Bond County and be involved in the community. Individuals are at the facility every day. They volunteer with Meals on Wheels, the Simple Room, the hospital auxiliary thrift shop, and more. They’re always looking for new opportunities to volunteer. Those interested in having FAYCO volunteers can call the FAYCO main office at 618-283-0638.
A ribbon cutting was conducted by the Greenville Chamber of Commerce. In attendance was Lindberg’s daughter, Sara Lauer from Indiana, and her husband, Jeff.
Kim Taylor, current executive director, is grateful for the community support and indicated a future renovation of the current building and a proposed expansion are important to deliver services to those obtaining FAYCO services.
Taylor told WGEL their goal is to have more people use the facility to do more activities. The facility has a better entryway for clients and more accessible restrooms. While the goal of FAYCO is to have their clients who grew up in Greenville participating in activities, shopping, using the library, and volunteering in their home town, while they’re at Bob’s Place, they will be working on life skills and education.
Bob’s Place is located at the intersection of Harris Avenue and Sixth Street in Greenville. - June 05, 2019 — FAYCO Dropping Recycling Due to Decrease in Material Prices
Vandalia residents who get their water from the city are gaining $12 a year but losing one of the two local recycling programs.
In a letter sent to Mayor Rick Gottman late last week, Kim Taylor, executive director of FAYCO Enterpises, notified the city that the sheltered workshop is ceasing its recycling operation this summer. That means that FAYCO does not wish to extend the two-year contract with the city that expires at the end of July.
Through that contract, which was drafted by FAYCO and approved by the city council, the city added a $1 monthly surcharge to the bills of city water users. That surcharge would help to cover the cost of maintaining the program through which city water users could recycle items such as magazines, newspapers, cardboard, plastic, and steel and aluminum cans at the FAYCO facility at 2022 Wagner St.
At the same meeting at which it approved that contract with FAYCO, the city council agreed to add a monthly 25-cent surcharge to support the electronic recycling program operated by the Fayette County Soil & Water Conservation District. That surcharge will remain on water bills after the one for the FAYCO recycling is dropped at the end of June.
In her letter to Gottman, Taylor said the decision to drop the recycling came “after much deliberation and research into the downward trend of the recycling industry both locally and throughout the United States.”
In an attached introductory letter to Gottman and City Administrator LaTisha Paslay, Taylor said, “Our decision was based on the unpredictable and consistently low market prices for recycled materials. We work with two very reputable brokers and have reached out to other recycling centers, and the story is the same everywhere,” Taylor said in the letter.
As an example, Taylor said that in February 2018, the price for cardboard was $105, down from $150. It then dropped to $75 in April of last year, to $60 February of this year and to $35 in May. “Other products have dropped the same,” Taylor said in the letter. “We have three loads of product that we are unable to sell, because mills are not accepting.”
In closing, Taylor said, “The members of the community who use the recycling center have been great to work with, and we will miss seeing them.”
