Serving adults with disabilities and other obstacles to live and work to the best of their abilities so they can achieve their best and we can all live in an integrated society.

Day Services needs you help!

We are looking for donations of all different sorts of items including: any buttons, beads, ribbon, fake flowers, beaded necklaces, yarn, and colored thread, odds & ends craft items, etc. Please donate the items to The Spectrum Network in Decorah or Spectrum Thrift Store in Cresco. Clients are recycling the items into new projects/items which they will have available for sale! Thank you for your continued support of our mission of helping others overcome barriers to work and life!

What's New With Our Wellness Garden?

Our garden became a reality one year ago and we are continuing to expand on this initiative to bring wellness into our clients’ daily lives. In an attempt to keep all informed of our project we are planning regularly updates and details. This year we are expanding our garden project and planting several types of fruit which will continue to provide nutrition alternatives for our clients as they renew each year. Below, our staff member Kristine Zweibahmer, Program Instructor, shares some news about our therapeutic wellness garden:

"It is very rewarding to assist the clients start up the wellness garden this year. We have started some flowers inside as it is too cold to dig out in the dirt yet. The clients have assisted in planting sunflowers, marigolds, and moss rose; they have been very attentive in watching the progress as the flowers grow. There have been discussions as what to plant out in the garden and once the vegetables are planted how to take care of these viable plants that will reward us with their produce. With this warm weather we all have the planting itch. Several of the clients have assisted with cleaning out the garden to get it ready to be tilled. We are all anxiously awaiting the day to go out and get our hands dirty."

If you would like to volunteer in our garden, please contact us!

Spring Cleaning? Think Spectrum Thrift Store!

Are you spring cleaning? Not only is your Spectrum Thrift Store a good place to shop, but it is a great place for your donations! And, a good place to learn about working in an integrated community, that is the story of your Spectrum Thrift Store. Your donations put people with disabilities to work! We are located in beautiful downtown Cresco. The Spectrum Thrift Store is open Monday thru Friday 9 am till 5 pm and Saturday mornings from 9 – 12. Join those who can say- I shopped, I donated, and I helped to put people to work. The Spectrum Network and Spectrum Thrift Store, a great place to work! Saturdays 9-12 in downtown Cresco. Questions? Contact Spectrum Thrift Store Manager Cathy Sabelka, co-supervisor Mallory Horsfall or Dr. Deb Schott, Executive Director of The Spectrum Network at 563-382-8401.

From My Perspective: Essays About Disability

Published by The Spectrum Network in 2009, From My Perspective: Essays About Disability (FMP) is the outcome of writing workshops held by The Spectrum Network and taught by Rachel Faldet, assistant professor of English at Luther College. This unique collection has been featured on Iowa Public Radio and used as a Social Work text at Luther College and Wartburg College. For more information about FMP or The Spectrum Network, download our brochure. The Teacher's Guide is a tool for instructors when using the book as a text. To purchase a copy of FMP please contact us.

News

• To Paint Like Rembrandt & Vermeer: An Exhibit of Student Work

  On display now through April 30, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM at The Spectrum Network is Dutch Baroque artwork created... Read more about To Paint Like Rembrandt & Vermeer: An Exhibit of Student Work .

• From My Perspective to be presented at CARF International Conference

  The Spectrum Network has been invited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) International Conference organizers to present... Read more about From My Perspective to be presented at CARF International Conference.

• Artist reception at the Spectrum Network is January 26

  Decorah, Iowa (January 18, 2012) - YRAUNAJ, an exhibit of relief prints by the printmaking collective Broadside Press, including artists... Read more about Artist reception at the Spectrum Network is January 26.

• Meet and Greet The Spectrum Network's new Executive Director January 24

  The Spectrum Network staff and Board of Directors will host a meet and greet reception for Executive Director Deb Schott,... Read more about Meet and Greet The Spectrum Network's new Executive Director January 24.