IKE Center - March to Independence Campaign

The IKE Center has established itself as one of the leading vocational rehabilitation centers for adults with disabilities in the USA. Since 1971 we have opened our doors to hundreds of our community's most vulnerable, striving to teach, train, and inspire those who have been told of their limitations to reach beyond their limits. Our success has led our dedicated team to create our own venture, Ike’s Gourmet - Dog Treat Cookie Company, now the fastest-growing dog treat company in the Country.

Ike’s Gourmet dog treat cookies can be found on the shelves of America’s largest employee-owned grocery store chain, Hy-Vee, with more than 300 locations spanning eight states. QVC will soon begin filming our industrial baking facilities and chefs, adults with disabilities, to help launch the premiere of the first dog treat cookie company ever to air in front of their eager audience of 25 million. Five warehouses are being filled with product for tv and online sales as we will soon tell the story of the IKE Center and Ike’s Gourmet to the world.

The political ebb and flow of federal and state policy towards people with disabilities is exhausting. The push for a $15 minimum wage would wipe away the cherished 14-C provision protecting vocational rehabilitation centers such as ours. Financial independence would enable us to focus on our most treasured resource, our clients, who have found meaning in their lives and a supportive and caring family within our walls.

Now is the time to seize the moment as opportunity knocks on our door. Within our 65,000 sq. ft. facility, which we proudly own, we have the chance to create a handicap-accessible industrial kitchen enabling us to continue to grow as the avalanche of sales keeps us working around the clock to please our expanding list of customers. Even larger retailers wait in the wings for our daily production to reach levels needed to ship to warehouses nationwide.

Without a dollar allotted to advertising, we have made our mark on the retail marketplace and are well on our way to reaching our lofty sales goal of $1,000,000. But this can only be achieved with your assistance; your donations can keep this dream alive. Our production needs to double and then double again as orders continue to grow. Updated machinery and equipment are needed now to keep pace. Our dream is real and pressing. Your tax-deductible donation will be used immediately to keep the momentum flowing. Our March to Independence Campaign relies on you and your support to achieve what most thought impossible for us, to reach beyond our limits and thrive without the dictates of those who might not understand what is needed and what we provide. We thank you for your generosity.