Throughout the Aldon Chemical web site you have seen only a presentation of project information and no attempt to "sell" you our products. We do not make claims of miracle product performance and do not expect anyone to believe that stuff anyway. That philosophy also applies here. I only want to share my experiences and research. Do not just send money to Intermountain. First, find out for yourself if you would be helping an organization that accomplishes real and provable good work.
Most of us have mixed feelings about a charity these days. The "final straw" for me was after the 9/11 attack and I learned my donation went to an organization with tremendously bloated salaries and perks. All I probably accomplished was to buy gasoline for some chapter president's chauffeured limousine. I was disgusted as the revelations came out about this well known charity. I lost all desire to contribute to any charity, with the one exception of the highly regarded Salvation Army. You and I probably share these questions and concerns:
- How much, if anything, of what I give actually helps somebody? Is it just being lost in "administrative" expenses?
- Is the charity simply a large bureaucracy and my gift goes to inflated salaries and perks?
- Are there actual results I can see with my own eyes instead of nothing more than the usual claims?
- For you business types, what is the "return on my investment (ROI)"? (In this case, consider the cost to house in a hospital or prison by taxpayer money vs. an eventually stable contributor of tax money.)
- How well run is this operation?
- Words vs. Deeds. Does their performance show the actual accomplishment of their mission statement, or do little more than provide them with cushy jobs?
What is Intermountain all about?
Intermountain has been located in Helena, Montana since 1909. They take in children from all states, but only those who they carefully determine can be benefited with this program. You can click the Intermountain logo above and go to their web site for a full description. Essentially, Intermountain takes in children ages 4 to 12 who have been neglected (emotionally detached), severely mentally and/or sexually abused, and typically have been in many foster homes without success. Intermountain uses a treatment program that is customized and focused on each child. The child is not in the typical institutional "one size fits all" program of punishing bad behavior and rewarding acceptable behavior that does not provide improvement of the causes of undesirable behavior. One of the key ingredients provided by Intermountain, and missing from other programs, is the children learn over time they can actually trust an adult.
Support comes from private donation, religious organizations, and government sources. The home has a wonderful chaplain available to the children and staff, however, I have not seen any pressure for the children to accept and adopt a particular religion.
The program is horrendously expensive per child because each child is with an adult counselor 24 hours a day - seven days a week. There are 3 adults per home cottage unit of 8 children. It is very, very expensive for all these highly specialized and trained people. But, absolutely necessary to the program.
The Executive Director of Intermountain, Jim FitzGerald, provides the following example to explain a concept basic to the program.
"A child throws a brick though our window. One child might be dealt with for acting out negative behavior, while another child will be enthusiastically encouraged and praised. Two 180 degree different responses for the identical action. Why? Because for one child it might be the first time they have ever come out of their defensive shell and opened up to the world. That is worth far more than a window."
The program lasts only 22 months and no longer for multiple reasons, such as not making the child dependant on the home. At the end of treatment the child is returned to the family, if the family was fixable. Or else, the child is placed with adoptive parents who have been well screened and prepared for the process. These families have continued contact and emotional support from Intermountain after the adoption.
Why is Aldon Chemical a supporter of Intermountain?
I have been aware of Intermountain since 2002. Back then it was friends casual discussion and the promise of a fun event that got us to go to the Intermountain "Festival of the Trees" event before Christmas. We have gone every year since. It has been a gradual learning and reinforcement over the years that these people are not in it for the money or the perks. They really do help these kids who otherwise would not make it in life.
I have been welcomed to the school many times. Visits have included tours of the cottages, talking to staff, and most importantly - time with the children. It is quite an experience to have lunch with 3 kids and 2 counselors at your table and look around at a room with 15 other tables similarly composed. The kids look to be acting like any other school kids at lunch. Then you start to pick up on the quiet ones, the ones who have difficulty making eye contact with an adult, the ones who cling to a counselor. In any other school, you would say they were shy. But knowing the terrible histories of everyone of them, you realize that these are the newer arrivals and the other "normal" kids are the result of a tremendous amount of work by this staff.
For Christmas 2005, my wife and I decided that instead of buying gifts for family and friends, we would send the money as a contribution to Intermountain in every persons name. Intermountain sent Christmas cards to each person with thanks for that gift. Family and friends pretty much agreed that Christmas gifting had become lacking in real meaning. Opening box after box did not provide the same satisfaction as the Intermountain gift. We continue to do this each year and limit other gifts to just a few, special things for family.
Recently, I was able to sit in on an Intermountain board of directors meeting for a couple of hours. A few of these folks had already become personal friends. I was amazed. Here were all people I could really respect. Sure, it was a short time and I know that like any board there are differences of opinion. But nonetheless, everybody was without ego driven agendas and only cared about one thing. Are we doing the right thing for the children? Now I have confidence enough to tell others and let them make up their own minds about a truly worthwhile charitable institution.
If you have questions about Intermountain and would rather ask me than ask them, I will try to accommodate you from this address  . Just allow me some time to respond as this is totally separate from regular Aldon Chemical business communications.
Link to: Intermountain
Sincerely,
President
Aldon Chemical Corporation
P.S. How often do you see someone who has worked with ill or disturbed children for over a decade and still gets teary eyed when talking about them? I have seen this happen with everyone from the head psychologist-clinical director (16+ years), the executive director (28+ years), the head of charitable giving (3+ years), board members, etc. That speaks volumes to me!
|
