Anixter Center: Frequently Asked questions

What is the mission of Anixter Center?
The mission of the Lester and Rosalie Anixter Center is to to enhance the ability of individuals living with or at risk of disabilities to live, learn, work, and play in the community. Anixter Center is a leading provider of high-quality vocational, residential and educational options, substance abuse prevention and treatment, and health care. Anixter Center is an advocate for the rights of people with disabilities to be full and equal members of the community.

How many different types of programs and services does Anixter Center provide?
Anixter Center and its divisions operate more than 70 services at 35 locations in Greater Chicago, with locations as far west as Schaumburg and as far north as Winthrop Harbor.

How many people does Anixter Center serve, and what are their disabilities?
The nonprofit agency serves more than 5,000 people and their families with a wide range of physical and developmental disabilities and mental illness, including autism, HIV/AIDS, traumatic brain injury, individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing; and more. The people we serve range in age from less than a year to older than 70.

How many employees does Anixter Center have?
Approximately 420

What is the history of Anixter Center?
In 1919, the Douglas Park Jewish Day Nursery was incorporated to provide services to children who lost one or both parents to the influenza epidemic of 1918. The organization’s mission evolved into special education in 1957. Anixter Center’s current structure began to take shape in the 1960s and 1970s as it added locations throughout Chicago while broadening its services to people with disabilities. Anixter Center has had several names over the course of its history, but its commitment to quality services has remained unchanged.

How has Anixter Center grown over the years?
The agency’s growth has been steady, and today, our annual budget is approximately $31 million. We were ranked the 13th-largest nonprofit in Chicago by Crain’s Chicago Business in February 2004.

How is Anixter Center funded?
Anixter Center receives 58 percent of its funding from the State of Illinois, 23 percent from other grants and income, 16 percent from contract revenue and 3 percent from contributions excluding gifts and pledges for capital improvement or endowment.

How many divisions does Anixter Center have?
There are three divisions, Chicago Hearing Society, CALOR and National Lekotek Center. In 1997, CALOR (www.calor.org) and Chicago Hearing Society (www.chicagohearingsociety.org) merged with Anixter Center. CALOR offers a wide range of bilingual services to people with disabilities in the Latino community, including those affected by HIV/AIDS. Chicago Hearing Society provides services, including an audiology clinic and interpreter referrals, for people who are deaf, hard of hearing or hearing. Children with special needs and their families benefit from inclusive play experiences at the National Lekotek Center based in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago. National Lekotek Center (www.lekotek.org) became a division of Anixter Center in 2002.

What types of businesses does Anixter Center operate?
Anixter Center operates three self-sustaining contract businesses – Imaging, Janitorial and Packaging – which employ people with disabilities. The businesses annually generate more than $2.6 million. They are a means of positive employment for our clients with disabilities, and they provide high-quality, competitive services for business and industry. The year 2003 was a particularly good one for the businesses, and 2004 looks equally positive. Each of the businesses is performing at higher rates than in the previous year, and they all received a generous amount of media attention that showcased the high quality and competitive nature of each of the operations. Additionally, Anixter Center operates several other enterprises through its program and divisions. The Chicago Hearing Society’s businesses include the Silberman Center and interpreter services. Also, the Center Court Grille, the employee cafeteria at the Illinois Department of Transportation in Schaumburg, serves as an on-the-job evaluation and supported employment service operated by people with disabilities who are served by Anixter Center.

What is the scope of services provided by Anixter Center?
The broad lists includes: audiology services; case management services; day services; education (schools); education and testing services to people with AIDS and others to promote optimal health; employment; literacy service; medical and psychological outpatient services; play sessions and resources to children and their families with disabilities to enhance family relationships; pre-and post-employment services; prevention services; rehabilitation services to adults with brain injuries; residential services; sign language interpreter services; social services and advocacy for people who are deaf or hard of hearing; substance abuse treatment; transition services to youth with disabilities; victim’s assistance for people who are deaf or hard of hearing; and vocational training.

How does Anixter Center respond to the need for new services?
As a leader in the rehabilitation field, the agency has a commitment to innovation and to providing customer-driven, state-of-the-art services. Here are a few examples: 

• A unique collaboration with ACCESS Community Health Network, ACCESS at Anixter Center is an outpatient, primary-care health center exclusively for people with disabilities.

• The Adult Community Transition (ACT) Service in Highland Park, Illinois, is the only one of its kind in Illinois. ACT provides life skills services for young adults with developmental disabilities who are making the transition into fully integrated community life.

• Addiction Recovery of the Deaf is the first and only treatment service in Illinois designed exclusively to meet the needs of adults who are deaf or hard of hearing with a substance abuse problem.

• The Roberta Bachmann Lewis Factory Service combines high school education, counseling, paid work and job placement services for students referred through the juvenile justice system and is the only one of its type in Chicago.

How is Anixter Center accredited?
Anixter Center is a nonprofit charitable organization with various services accredited and/or licensed by one or more of the following: CARF (The Commission on the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities), the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois Department of Human Services and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Anixter Center is a member of the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago and the Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities. Anixter Center is a designated Helen Keller National Center Affiliate.

What awards has Anixter Center received?
A partial list includes: Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce 2002 Community Contributor Award; United Way of America’s 1997 Excellence in Service Quality Award; Interagency Committee on Employees with Disabilities 1997 Non-Profit Agency of the Year; American Rehabilitation Association’s 1996 Innovative Program Award (ACCESS at Anixter Center); the 1994 NISH National Award for Performance Excellence; and the 1992 Naomi Williams Donnelley Award for Outstanding Service to the Developmentally Disabled. (A complete list of awards is available here.)