FARMINGTON – Days after an explosion destroyed their office on the Farmington Falls Road, LEAP Inc. is up and running, utilizing donated space on the Weld Road and receiving hundreds of offers of assistance from across the country.
Life Enrichment Advancing People employs roughly 200 people who meet the needs of adults with developmental, cognitive and intellectual disabilities. LEAP meets the needs of approximately 75 people, most of them lacking the ability to function independently, requiring 24-hour-a-day, 7-days-a-week services.
As LEAP moves forward after the explosion, LEAP Executive Director Darryl Wood said that it was essential that those services not be interrupted.
“My first priority is to make sure it doesn’t impact the people we serve,” Wood said.
The completion of the expansion project at 313 Farmington Falls Road earlier this year had provided LEAP with a two-story office building to house its administrative and training facilities; it did not provide housing for LEAP clients. LEAP’s payroll and communications infrastructure wasn’t lost in the explosion, as LEAP made the decision some time ago to save critical data to the cloud. With their files intact, Wood said, LEAP’s capabilities improve every time they get a laptop back on board.
In the wake of Monday’s explosion, Wood said that he received an “overwhelming” number of offers to help. One of those was from the owners of Western Maine Development Group LLC, which operates the business park at 128 Weld Road in Wilton. Gil Reed and Mark Berry offered the offices previously occupied by Barclaycard at no cost. LEAP will be picking up the cost of utilities and some other necessary expenses.
“They’re doing us a great service,” Wood said. LEAP employees would be at the building as early as Thursday, where counseling services would be available.
Both Rep. Scott Landry (D – Farmington) and Rep. Randall Hall (R – Wilton) commented on the office space offer in a joint statement issued Thursday morning.
“I am so grateful for the generous gift that has been given to LEAP Inc. Western Maine Development Group and the Wilton community has stepped up in an incredible way,” Landry said. “LEAP has but a few laptops and odds and ends to take into this facility, but they are strong, determined, and ready to get back to work. I am so proud of the resilience of my neighbors and the support our Franklin County community provides one another.”
“Times like this show how we care for our neighbors in a time of need with prayers and support,” Hall said. “Our local communities, the State of Maine, and the Western Maine Development Group are there for those affected by the tragedy in Farmington.”
With an operational workspace, its data preserved and its employees returning to work, LEAP will continue to meet the needs of its clients, Wood said. “Nobody is missing a beat.”
Wood said that he had received hundreds of phone calls, some media calls seeking comments but also more than 400 offers of help from members of the community and other service providers, both across the state and country.
“It just goes to show you that we’re not alone out here,” Wood said.
People seeking to help LEAP Inc. with monetary support should consider donating to the United Way of the Tri-Valley Area‘s LEAP Explosion Fund. That money will benefit a number of entities and individuals impacted by Monday’s explosion, including LEAP.
A class act on the part of Gil and Mark.
Gil Reed’s vanity plate reads GREED. He’s showing what a joke that really is. How generous of him and his partner to step in so quickly with available space! Families in our community have benefitted so very much from LEAP and the services they offer- it is wonderful to see the community turn around and support them in return. At the Fair yesterday we saw many LEAP clients, enjoying the world with a little help. Thank you LEAP and thank you to everyone who is helping them keep up the good work!
LEAP has an amazing leader at the helm. I have no doubt they will bounce back and become an even strong and beneficial organization for their clients.