New Independence Association Location Now Open
Over the past several months, we’ve been working on a very fulfilling project that is both close to our hearts – and our office. Independence Association’s new location at 3 Industrial Parkway in Brunswick is officially open! Stay tuned for additional project photos and details.
Below is a press release published last month, which talks about the benefits of having an on-site fitness center in their new location.
Originally published on June 13, 2019, at https://www.independenceassociation.org/ia-blog/2019/6/13/people-with-disabilities-to-enjoy-new-fitness-center-in-brunswick.
People with Disabilities to Enjoy New Fitness Center in Brunswick
Independence Association clients and employees will enjoy an onsite fitness center at the organization’s new Brunswick location, thanks to funds raised in this year’s Androscoggin Bank Run for Independence, together with a generous grant from Brunswick’s Alfred M. Senter Fund.
The fitness center will include treadmills, ellipticals, a stationary bicycle, and several machines for body strength exercises. It will be located in Independence Association’s 3 Industrial Parkway building in Brunswick, which opens July 1. The fitness center has been designed by Chris Brewer of Workout Fitness, South Portland, in coordination with Independence Association Health and Wellness Coordinator Jimmy Franklin.
Independence Association serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities – a population group whose average lifespan has increased by more than three decades over the last 50 years. That makes health and wellness newly important for this group as they are growing older. Independence Association serves many clients in their 60s, 70s, and 80s, some of whom have been clients since the agency was founded in 1966.
Having an on-site fitness center will make it easy for staff to partner with clients for routine daily exercise activity, even as they continue community-based wellness activities that require transportation. The 3 Industrial Parkway location also affords outdoor activity space, including a large grassy area and a blacktop area for basketball. The nearby L.L. Bean Manufacturing facility has already offered the use of its onsite walking trail to Independence Association staff and clients, and L.L. Bean has made an in-kind gift of eight pairs of adult snowshoes for outdoor winter activities.
“Health and wellness are more important than ever for the people we serve,” says Independence Association Executive Director Ray Nagel. “Our community’s generous support of the Run for Independence, together with the Senter Fund gift, make it possible for us to expand our commitment to quality of life among people with disabilities in the Mid Coast.”
Independence Association is a half-century old provider of quality services to adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities including autism.
Independence Association employs more than 200 people to serve 400-plus clients in 9 Maine counties: Androscoggin, Cumberland, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, Somerset, Waldo, and York. It offers residential options, support for employment and daily living, case management, and other services essential to allow clients the greatest possible independence in the Maine communities of their own choice. Well-known programs include the Spindleworks and SpinOff art studios in Brunswick and Gardiner.