Jan Holley, an assistant at The Capper Foundation's Kidlink Preschool and Childcare Program, talked with Jasper. And although Capper no longer provides residential services, the foundation continues on the path it has set over the years. Utilizing assistive technology, pediatric therapies, early intervention, professional and family training and many other services, lives are changed every day. The Capper Foundation maintains a fleet of vans and staff members who travel throughout Kansas and the Midwest, to help and evaluate individuals with physical disabilities, said Ed Gibbons, executive director of financial resources and former president. He has worked at Capper for more than 30 years.
Gibbons sees that outreach role expanding as technology enables the staff to do more.
Video teleconferencing, although not a perfect medium right now, will help cut some of the travel time and make the process less expensive. Advancing technologies will continue to change the work. Gibbons remembers when Capper staffers were pleased to get five electric typewriters in 1970. Now, assistive technology allows children with disabilities ways to communicate they didn't formerly have. Bob and Marcelle Shrake will offer testimony to anyone willing to listen about how The Capper Foundation has changed their lives.