Today, July 26th, is the Americans with Disabilities Act 31st Anniversary. MRI is proud to provide services that support the ADA and excited to celebrate 31 years of having the ADA in place! MRI works to reflect the ADA’s mission into our own. Meaningful Meadows,…
Impact Story: Meet Dorothy
Meet Dorothy, a true MRI veteran! Dorothy has been part of MRI’s programs for almost 25 years. During her time here she has grown into an amazing woman, and we are so excited to share her story. Watch to find out how we are building…
Macon Birdies Golf Camp
Today, June 21st, was the first day for the Macon Birdies Golf Camp. South Side Country Club has partnered with MRI to sponsor a golf camp for 60 persons served. South Side’s General Manager, Nick Taute, had the idea to offer a one & a…
MRI Celebrates the Start of Construction 30 Years Ago
This June we are celebrating 30 years since construction began at our current MRI facility. MRI has come a long way from being two small non-profit organizations to an organization with extensive programing and services. The merge of Progress Resource Center and Macon County Rehabilitation…
MRI Field Day
MRI Field Day, formerly known as Overcome Obstacles, took place Friday, April 30th in MRI Meaningful Meadows. Big thank you to CEFCU for being the presenting sponsor and WAND for joining us & providing media coverage. Before Field Day was officially kicked off at…
Impact Story: Meet Lawrence
Meet Lawrence! Lawrence has received services from MRI for the past 16 years. Everyone who has ever interacted with or heard Lawrence’s story will tell you he has overcome a life-time’s worth of obstacles and has so much to be proud of. MRI is…
Spread the Word: Inclusion 2021 Connection
Last week, March 3rd, was Spread the Word: Inclusion Day. Spread the Word to End the Word is a campaign with the belief that “the world would be better if ALL people were valued, respected, embraced, and included.” However, the group that lacks inclusion most…
March Employee of the Month
Happy March! Spring is just around the corner! With a new month beginning, MRI has chosen a new employee of the month. Congratulations to Heike Owens, MRI’s March Employee of the Month. Heike is a member of our Community Day Services department. Heike was nominated…
Spotlight: Prairie Melody & MRI
Thank you Prairie Melody Birdseed for providing work opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities at MRI! This past fall 2019, MRI had the opportunity to partner with Prairie Melody Birdseed and packaged 40,000 units for Prairie Melody’s new 99 Cents Only stores launch. Prairie Melody…
MRI Kids Connection Summer Open House
Are you interested in having your child attend a camp during the day this summer? Join MRI Kids Connection on Wednesday, March 4 from 4:30 – 6:30PM to get more information about our Summer Camps we will be offering. Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) –…
Introducing MRI’s New Programs!
February has been a very busy month for MRI! This month we have welcomed not one, not two, but 22 different classes in our Community Day Service program! We are so excited to be able to offer these weekly programs to help our individuals…
Meet MRI’s Fall Interns!
This fall semester MRI has had the privilege of having 4 great interns work with our persons served and gain real-world experience. Meet MRI’s Fall Human Resources Intern, Ethan Meyer! Ethan is a senior at Millikin University and is wrapping up his Fall HR Internship…
Meet Dorothy
Meet Dorothy, an MRI Community Day Services participant. “MRI makes me feel like I can do and accomplish anything I want. I love it here!” ~ Dorothy Dorothy has been attending MRI for over 22 years. Over that time, Dorothy has grown in her independence…
United Way Campaign Week
What a busy, but fun week at MRI! October 28th – November 1st was the United Way Campaign Week. The week was designed to raise money for the United Way internally. MRI had so many fun activities to help raise money for United Way,…
November Employee of the Month
Happy November! With a new month beginning that means MRI has chosen a new employee of the month. Congratulations to Doug Carlson, MRI’s November Employee of the Month. Doug is a member of our maintenance department at MRI. Doug was nominated by several people…
Production Week 2019
It was another busy week at MRI! Last week, MRI celebrated Production Week for all of their production staff. This covers a wide variety of employees that MRI has from janitorial and lawn care fields, packaging, maintenance and manufacturing license plates. The production division…
Mt. Zion High School & MRI Field Day
Last Friday was a blast! 30 high school students from Mt. Zion High School visited MRI last Friday, September 27th to spend the day with individuals served at MRI. Individuals served like Wanda had the best time spending the day with the student she was…
October Employee of the Month
It’s a new month, which means a new employee of the month! Congratulations to October’s Employee of the Month, Andy Gaither. Did we mention he is an individual served at MRI? Andy started at MRI back in 1994 and will be celebrating his 25th anniversary…
Meaningful Meadows Mural
It was a fun summer at MRI! While the finishing touches were happening on MRI’s Meaningful Meadows, the 1.5 acre innovative outdoor activity center, the individuals served, MRI staff, volunteers from the community and Eric Weatherford got started on the beautiful mural concept that…
Meaningful Meadows Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
Macon Resources, Inc. (MRI) held their ribbon cutting ceremony yesterday, September 24, for their innovative outdoor activity center for adults with developmental disabilities, Meaningful Meadows. Meaningful Meadows is one of the most unique inclusive recreational areas offered in the state of Illinois for adults…
Christmas Luncheon 2018
Food-Family-Friends Each year MRI hosts a Christmas luncheon for the people we serve and their family/guardians. The lunch is a wonderful event to welcome families into our building and have an opportunity to interact with friends and family and our staff . Prior to the…
Give to Meaningful Meadows on #GivingTuesday
This #GivingTuesday MRI is raising funds for Meaningful Meadows, our new innovative outdoor activity center for adults with developmental disabilities. Meaningful Meadows will provide our individuals an inclusive space to create new experiences, provide new opportunities to learn, promote their physical well-being, boost creativity,…
MRI Celebrates National Kindness Day
Wednesday, November 14 MRI Celebrated National Kindness Day! MRI’s Day Training groups spent National Kindness Day by spreading kindness throughout the building! Individuals had the opportunity to write positive messages on sticky notes and post them throughout the building, and we even had a booth…
MRI Announces Outdoor Activity Center, Meaningful Meadows
Decatur, IL – Macon Resources, Inc. (MRI) held a kickoff event on Thursday, October 4 to celebrate their newly renovated gym and announce a new addition to the MRI campus, Meaningful Meadows, an innovative outdoor activity center for adults with developmental disabilities. Meaningful Meadows will…
Macon Resources Achieves Person-Centered Excellence Accreditation
Decatur, IL – The CEO of Macon Resources (MRI), Amy Bliefnick, today announced that MRI has been awarded the four-year Person-Centered Excellence Accreditation from CQL | The Council on Quality and Leadership. This award confirms that the organization embraces person-centered solutions to improve the quality…
Talk Time with Rachel – Meet Ryan
Meet Ryan Ryan is a MRI Day Training Participant. He loves coming to Macon Resources and spending time with his best friend Robert. (Ryan wanted us to add, “Yes, we hug.”) Ryan also enjoys spending time with his group leader and case manager. He likes…
December Employee of the Month
Joy Pullium December Employee of the Month December’s employee of the month was Joy Pullium! Joy is a life skills coach for people in the community. She truly enjoys her job and her passion for helping others is apparent. Recently, Joy was seeking out the…
Talk Time with Rachel – Meet Karina
Meet Karina Karina, a Day Training participant, is fairly new at MRI; however, she has made friends quickly. To be specific, she has made two best friends. Matt, who she loves because he is so unique, and Colleen, who she lives with. Karina is a…
Talk Time with Rachel – Meet Janet Smith
Meet Janet Smith Janet Smith is an employee here at MRI. What Janet likes best about herself is her strength, independence, and happiness because it takes a strong person to be able to appreciate a lot things in life. Janet is a big fan of…
Talk Time with Rachel – Meet Dolores
Meet Dolores Dolores is a MRI Day Training participant. This means she spends her weekdays at MRI learning new skills and participating in classes like Sign Language, Literature and, her favorite, Music. Rachel interviewed Dolores a few weeks ago and we got to know a little more about…
MRI Speech Club
Every Wednesday at 1:00 pm our Speech Club gathers together. Each week our participants are given a new discussion topic to help our clients practice their speaking skills. Speech Club is full of all sorts of fun and surprises! Along with their sense of…
CAPS and the motorcycles!
MRI’s CAPS (Community Awareness Possibilities & Supports) program allows our day training individuals to learn more about the community they live in by volunteering and exploring local businesses. CAPS also allows members of the community to interact with individuals with developmental and physical disabilities. Today,…
MRI Creative Writing Class presents “Beneath the Mask” !
At MRI we offer a vast array of fun and interesting programs for our clients to utilize and explore. This week we would like to take a look at our Creative Writing Class! So what exactly is the Creative Writing Class? It is a special…
MRI Named Non-Profit of the Year
Each year, the Greater Decatur Chamber of Commerce holds an awards luncheon to celebrate local organizations making a positive impact in our community. This year, MRI was named Non-Profit of the Year. MRI’s Executive Director Amy Bliefnick and MRI Day Training participant Karina Hayes accepted…
August Employee of the Month
Mia Jarrett August Employee of the Month Another month, another employee of the month! In August, MRI’s Case Management Administrative Aid Mia Jarrett went above and beyond the normal call of duty. Mia was nominated because, “she was asked to devote three hours of her…
Tie Dye Tuesday
It’s Tuesday, which means it’s time for tie dye! Sonya’s Day Training group spent Monday and Tuesday tie dying t shirts to wear to the client conference in September. First, we had to twist and wrap all the T shirts. Next, Karina helped Sonya spray…
National Joke Day
it’s National Joke Day and we are definitely celebrating at MRI! Check out some of our favorite jokes and jokesters below. “Knock Knock” “Who’s there” “Who” “Who who?” “Who you!”- Tonya “Why did he throw the alarm clock out the window?” “To see time…
Talk Time with Rachel – Meet Rodney
Meet Rodney Rodney is a MRI Day Training participant. This means he spends his weekdays at MRI learning new skills and participating in classes like Sign Language, Music and, his favorite, Bible Study. Rachel interviewed Rodney a few weeks ago and we got to know…
Volunteer Awards Day
MRI’s ECNO (Empowering Community Networking Opportunities) program gives our clients a chance to give back to the community through volunteer opportunities like delivering Thrive and Decatur Magazine and Meals on Wheels, cleaning MRI classrooms and vans, working at the Good Samaritan Inn, playing games with our…
July Employee of the Month
Pamela Cunningham July Employee of the Month MRI’s first employee of the month is Pamela Cunningham from our Community Living Services department. Pam works at one of our group homes and was chosen as the winner from a pool of over 40 nominations. Pam’s fellow…
#WednesdayWisdom
We asked some MRI clients for a little #WednesdayWisdom. Here’s what we came up with: “Help people out by making them feel better and being there for them.” – Darwin Also, as we noted in his shirt, “Every little thing is gonna be alright.”…
Program Highlight: Residential Services
The month of July is meant for celebrating independence and freedom, so what better program to highlight this month than MRI’s residential services! MRI owns and operates nine CILAs (Community Integrated Living Arrangements), or group homes, in the Decatur community. Each home houses four to eight…
Talk Time with Rachel
MRI serves over 800 children and adults with disabilities each year. That’s a lot of people! But, what do you actually know about our clients here at MRI? Every person who walks through the doors of MRI is unique, from employees to clients to parents…