VIP Services, Inc.
A Long Tradition of Service

Our Beginnings

Having spent long and productive hours of review, in 1972 the Walworth County Association for Retarded Citizens (W.C.A.R.C.) rented space in a 1,700 square foot factory shell and mobilized County volunteers to contribute the time, talents, paint, materials, supplies and equipment necessary to launch the Walworth County Achievement Center. The initial program emphasized working on arts and crafts projects to help the three person staff assess work skills and to begin to build a base of financial support though product sales at the Walworth County Fair.

Simultaneously, the organization's first director began seeking donated machines and sub-contract work from local businesses to allow the organization to expand. Delavan's Ajay Enterprises and East Troy Specialties were two of the earliest corporate partners, helping to provide on-the-job training to teach good work habits and develop appropriate work skills. Soon the number of corporate partners grew to include a dozen local businesses. In 1975 the organization's name was changed to Vocational Industries, Inc. and the first Board of Directors was formed with Gordon W. Lambert serving as the first President.

With the passage of the national Rehabilitation Act of 1973, outlawing discrimination against people with disabilities, greater awareness spread and state and local governments began initiating their own changes by developing proactive public policy guidelines. New concepts such as program accessibility, mainstreaming and independent living began to emerge, and public funds began to be available to help provide new services. VIP Services embarked on a long and mutually beneficial public-private partnership with the Walworth County Department of Human Services to expand services to many new clients.

Moving to the Centralia Street Center

By 1976, with clients flocking to the Center and an increasing number of businesses contracting work, the organization built a new 14,000 square foot facility on Centralia Street in Elkhorn. Clients experienced more possibilities than they or their families had ever imagined and still the growth continued. By the late 1980's, the agency was serving nearly 200 clients annually and bursting at the seams. In 1989 an 18,000 square foot addition was built to alleviate what had come to be a critical overcrowding problem.

During this period, VIP Services continued building strong relationships with local corporations to provide jobs and generate revenues. The organization also nurtured a growing spirit of entrepreneurship. The earliest entrepreneurial effort involved an in-house printing business started in 1973 and soon expanded to include a lawn maintenance program. New efforts blossomed in the 1980's with the addition of an in-house catering program. The organization also entered into a pilot program with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to maintain state rest areas in Walworth and Rock Counties. Most recently, the Moments Remembered program was launched in 2000 to create and market memorial wreaths from dried flowers.

Developing New Community Programs

In the 1980s critically needed programs were added to address the broad spectrum of independent living issues that were emerging as clients gained ground in exercising their self-sufficiency. Another exciting dimension was added in 1989 when a grant from the Southeastern Wisconsin Private Industry Job Council allowed the development of a supported community employment program. This important program was created to increase the odds of a VIP client obtaining and retaining employment in the outside workforce. Caseworkers were assigned to visit the worksites, consult with on-site managers about appropriate work duties for individual clients, and to provide the extra measure of reinforcement and positive support to ensure success.

Community integration opportunities have proven invaluable to the growth of our clients. By the mid-1990s, creative new community integration approaches were being implemented, including enclave programs where groups of workers were transported to work sites and jobs were creatively shared. The addition of our Support and Coordination Division in the past several years has contributed greatly to our efforts to marshal the resources needed to increase community inclusion for VIP Services clients.

Enhancing Day Service Programs

Improving and expanding day services for clients with multiple severe disabilities has been a target goal since the mid 1990's. Everything in the day service program is a learning experience because the greatest difficulties facing people with severe cognitive disabilities is how to deal with the things that most of us take for granted: performing the basics of daily personal care, developing the simple communication skills to express basic wants and needs, understanding the basic issues of personal safety and experiencing overall socialization. Together, these elements make up the fabric of what makes the program such an important part of our service continuum. Today, VIP Services is recognized as having one of the best day services programs in the state.

New Directions

With the advent of the new century, VIP Services, Inc. was once again facing a critical shortage of space with no potential for expansion at the Centralia Street location.  The Board of Directors launched a multi-year process which weighed many alternatives and resulted in the acquisition in 2005 of a new building on an eleven-acre site on East Geneva Street in Elkhorn.  The building, originally a “big box” retail store, offered significantly more space as well as room for future development and much greater program visibility.  Working with a local architectural firm, the building was redesigned to meet the needs of the agency’s diverse population.  The agency launched its first major capital campaign (Building a Bridge to the Future) to raise the $2.3 million needed for the renovation. 

A major transformation was experienced in the fall of 2007 when operations were moved to the new facility.  In addition to providing new training and work opportunities for clients and greatly enhancing the moral of everyone involved, there has been a rebirth of community participation and enthusiasm.  The broadened sense of community investment fostered by the capital campaign has opened many new doors.  Scores of exciting new volunteer-driven programs have been made available for clients, helping to ensure that the agency’s mission of empowering people with disabilities to explore and experience endless possibilities is met.