Opportunity Village will mark 40th anniversary with special events

    Forty years ago, on Sept. 15, the first cottage opened at Handicap Village in Clear Lake, as a home for adults with disabilities.  Today, known as Opportunity Village, the non-profit charitable organization serves more than 600 people throughout north central Iowa.
    To mark the 40th anniversary of services, Opportunity Village is celebrating with a public open house on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011.  A

fun fair will be held from 1 to 4 p.m., with free carnival food, entertainment and games, hayrack rides, displays about Village services, and historical photos.  Clear Lake Pharmacy will also be on hand in the Village’s nurses’ office to administer flu shots from 1-4 p.m. for those age 18 and older wanting the vaccination.  Flu vaccine shots will be $22 and payment will be requested at that time.  For those covered under private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid, Clear Lake Pharmacy will bill those directly.  Present insurance cards at that time.
    From 3:30 to 5 p.m., the Bill Dewey Band will play for a free dance out on the Village plaza.
     Boyer Pool, the Village’s indoor swimming pool, will offer free swimming from 1 to 5 p.m. that day.  The Village disk golf course is open every day.    
    Also, the Village General Store, located on Highway 18 West, will have a 40-cent sale to celebrate the 40th anniversary.  All clothing and VHS tapes will be 40-cents each item, and selected shoes, purses, housewares, jewelry, crafts, and books will be 40 cents each.  The sale will run during normal store hours on Saturday, Sept. 17, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
     “We are looking forward to rekindling relationships with our longtime friends and to establishing new relationships through the anniversary celebration,” said Michael Mahaffey, Chief Development Officer.  “Our goal is to help people gain a deeper connection to the Village and those we support.  I frequently hear, ‘I didn’t know that about the Village.’  We hope people will celebrate with us and see what the Village is all about.”
     The Village started as a grassroots effort by several families in Clear Lake who had personal concerns about the options available to people with mental retardation and other disabilities.  If an individual could no longer live with family, the only - Read More Via e-Edition