Parents’ Cooperative Society was founded in 1961 as a non-profit family cooperative, one of a handful in the country at the time. Through the years we’ve grown and developed a deep acumen for the delivery of compassionate services from a caring, informed, and skilled perspective.
Our Mission
Our MISSION is to support communities by delivering compassionate, professional services to individuals and families.
Our Vision
Our VISION is to create a more inclusive world by fostering the the talent, systems, and technologies necessary to bring communities together.
We are kind and caring.
Because communities thrive when citizens treat each other with dignity and respect, we acknowledge the humanity in all of us, we embrace empathy and support each other with kindness and caring.
We provide skillful, evidence-based support with passion.
We are knowledgeable and informed professionals who take pride in a job well done and understand that performing caring, mindful work enriches the soul. We continually look to the forefront of research to keep our skills sharp, and look to each other to keep our souls nourished.
We support individuals, families, communities, and our team.
Working well together we accomplish far more for our community than we can alone. We need one another, as we always have. And we value the wide variety of human beings we have the privilege to encounter and serve.
OUR VALUES
History
In the 1950’s there was a group of Spokane families seeking positive solutions for their children with severe disabilities. The choices were very limited at the time. Public schools would not even serve children who could not negotiate the stairs or made too much noise.
One of the original parents Kaye Epton, while serving in the state House of Representatives, created legislation allowing families, for the first time, to divert resources away from institutional care to community support. The Epton Act passed in 1959 and remains one of the central legislative victories for persons with disabilities and their families in Washington State.
Parents’ Cooperative Society using this new legislation, established Merry Glen as a day program in 1961, and then went on to add a residential component in 1973. Some of the folks who first started calling Merry Glen home back then still live with us today.
In recent history, Parents’ Cooperative Society has begun new day programs and coordinating the necessary resources to help other individuals, families, and communities bring this unique service model to more families in need.
Timeline
Structure
Parents’ Cooperative Society founded in 1961 and granted IRS tax exempt status in 1963, is the parent organization and governing body for all of our efforts. Merry Glen supports our two residential programs and DayBridge supports our various day services.
MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY
One organization, one mission, many paths.
PCS is one organization with multiple subsidiaries, but one overarching mission. Our collective expertise positions us well to pursue a variety of approaches for serving communities. We look for opportunities wherever they may present themselves so that we can better serve communities by developing compassionate services that serve individuals and families in a thoughtful, caring, and respectful way.
The importance of cross team committees.
By using a system of cross team committees we develop robust systems and programs efficiently while avoiding administrative bloat. This helps us continue to innovate while we protect our overhead, allowing a larger percentage of our revenue to go directly to services.
WHAT WE BRING TO COMMUNITIES
Building Community Equity
Our model builds value right in the heart of the neighborhood it serves, connecting neighbors to one another to offer support. By providing a backbone of administrative support, citizens are able to safely connect and serve one another. We work to unleash the good will in every community.
Building Citizenship Equity
Our communities are all about inclusion, equality and equal participation and responsibility. Cooperative efforts are as American as a village barn raising.
Building Social Equity
We offer a non-commercial place for neighbors to get together.
Building Individual Equity
We offer unique career ladders for entry level workers to gain professional skills and credentials. Working with PCS opens career options in the most sought after job sector in the economy: health services. We welcome entry level and start-over workers and have a place for veterans of all kinds willing to share their wisdom in our mentoring program. (NOTE: All Team members have background checks.)
Building Organizational Equity
We offer a way for underused church and civic buildings to get a “new lease on life!”. We have systems to return activity, energy, and revenue to the neighborhood and the host building.