Bess Stone Activity Center provided activities for people with disabilities. This house was Cottonwood's first group home.
Consumers at the Bess Stone Activity Center
Petey Cerf donated the land for Cottonwood, Inc.
One the first residential group homes. 645 Connecticut
Gary Condra was the first Executive Director of Cottonwood, Inc.
1972...Cottonwood, Inc. moved into its new 8000 sq. ft. office.shop building at 2801 W 31st St.
1993.. A 10,000 sq.ft. addition is completed, enabling work for 84 consumers.
2000...19,000 sq.ft. addition is completed.
2005...Cottonwood, Inc. board approves construction of Building lll. This new 16,000 sq.ft. building replaces the production/warehouse space at 2420 W 31st St.
Executive Directors: 1982-Howard Hasler, 1988-Jon Hellebust, 1994-Present-Sharon Spratt
History of Cottonwood Inc.
The roots of Cottonwood Inc. can be traced to September 1962. On that date the Douglas County Association for Retarded Children (DCARC) developed a work activity program for adults with mental retardation in the Lawrence, Douglas County area. Housed at 745 Ohio, the program was called the Bess Stone Activity Center. Services for approximately twenty adults with mental retardation continued at this location for ten years.
Many people associated with DCARC dreamed of a larger facility and in 1969, Cottonwood Inc. became chartered as a non-profit corporation to “promote the education, training, care and treatment of mentally handicapped persons.” The land for the new facility was acquired through a donation from Mrs. Raymond “Petey” Cerf. A 40-acre tract of land on West 31st Street, where many Cottonwood trees stood, was donated, hence the name Cottonwood Inc. Arthur Wolf was elected as the first president of the corporation.
Early in 1971, an application for matching federal funds to build the initial 8,000 square foot office and shop building was filed with the U.S. Office of Health, Education and Welfare. In the spring of that year, this application for approximately $100,000 of federal funds was approved. A similar amount of money had been secured from local gifts. Dr. Gary Condra was hired as the first Executive Director.
The month of June 1972 was a transitional period with July 1, 1972 as the date when those consumers formerly of Bess Stone Center began receiving services at the newly completed facility located at 2801 W. 31st Street. Six full-time and three part-time staff were employed to provide services in one or several areas: Work activity, cleaning service, food service, or shop.
In October of the same year, the former Bess Stone Activity Center opened as Cottonwood’s first group home with two staff persons. Residential Services today provides support to 113 in over 50 different settings across the city of Lawrence.
Cottonwood Inc.’s growth has been steady and impressive. In the mid 80’s a second building was constructed to make room for additional workers and new services. Both buildings were remodeled in 1993. The variety and scope of services has grown tremendously over the years and now offers employment, community living and case management. Jobs are provided at Cottonwood’s Work Center and in the community through our JobLink division. Older adults, of retirement age, are engaged in meaningful activities by participating in Cottonwood’s Retirement Services.
In 1995, the Kansas Department of SRS designated Cottonwood as the Community Developmental Disability Organization (CDDO) for Douglas and Jefferson Counties. As CDDO, Cottonwood acts as the single-point of entry for persons with developmental disabilities seeking services. The CDDO staff work closely with individuals and families to offer resource coordination with all affiliating service provider organizations in Douglas and Jefferson counties.
In 1999, Cottonwood Inc. received its first defense contract from NISH (the National Institute for the Severely Handicapped) to produce and ship a cargo tie down strap used by all branches of our military. This contract prompted an expansion of 19,000 square feet that was completed in 2000. Cottonwood Inc. expanded once again in 2006, to replace a previously leased site for contract fulfillment, with a 16,000 square foot building. Cottonwood has received the Gold Medal Award for Excellence from the Defense Logistics Agency for consecutive years for achievement of 100% quality and on-time delivery. Cottonwood has produced more than 7 million cargo tie down straps for the Dept. of Defense.
After 40 years, Cottonwood Inc. has grown from serving approximately 30 persons to over 600 persons. The staff has grown from ten in 1972 to over 235 people. Cottonwood Inc. has had and continues to have a significant impact on the economic development of our community and makes a tremendous difference in the lives of the people we serve.
