Picture someone showing up early on a weekday morning to prepare meals for a Meals on Wheels program. They are consistent, capable, and valued. They have built real skills through this work, along with confidence and relationships they didn't have before. They also happen to be supported by Ray Graham Association.

That story is more common than most people realize. The people we support volunteer across DuPage County and the surrounding region: at meals programs, food pantries, community events, and organizations that depend on skilled, reliable contributors. When you add up the hours, the numbers are striking.

Using the current national value of a volunteer hour, established at $36.14 by Independent Sector and the Do Good Institute at the University of Maryland,

the people RGA supports contribute more than $175,000 in volunteer value to other nonprofits each year.

That figure represents people who have built the skills, the support networks, and the opportunity to give their time to causes they care about. "Reach, grow, and achieve" is our mission, and it is what we see when the people we support show up to serve their neighbors, week after week.

The relationship between RGA and the broader community does not run in one direction.

Our Therapeutic Horsemanship program, which uses horses to support the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of the people we serve, draws on a remarkable network of community volunteers to operate. Ninety-six regular volunteers show up each week to support lessons and animal care. Across a month, that adds up to approximately 400 volunteer hours that make the program possible.

Two communities, both giving.

• The people RGA supports contribute more than $175,000 in volunteer time to organizations across the region; and
• Community members contribute hundreds of hours each month back to RGA.

This exchange is real, it is measurable, and it describes what becomes possible when people with disabilities are included as full participants in community life.

If you are a volunteer, donor, family member, or community partner, thank you. If you are looking for a way to get involved, visit our Volunteer page.

We would love to work alongside you to empower people with disabilities.