Joy's House celebrated the expansion of their adult day center with a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, July 14th, 2008. A complimentary drive-through breakfast was provided by Hoaglin Fine Catering. Joy's House groundbreaking partner for this project is Gauthier & Kimmerling, LLC.

"What is most important is our being able to assist more families. Our goal is to keep families together and bring more attention to adult day services," said Tina McIntosh, founder and CEO of Joy's House, which opened in 1999 at 2028 East 62nd Street on Broad Ripple Avenue.

"We have been working on expanding our home for three years by hosting focus groups and talking with neighbors and families in need of adult day services. We are thrilled about the design of our expanded home. From Broad Ripple Avenue, it will appear that we have three houses coming together to form a community. The reality is that we will triple our space, better accommodating the needs and desires of the families we serve as well as many more. Our garden is an important part of our house and we not only get to keep it, but will improve it allowing for additional peaceful sitting areas and strolling opportunities. Our garden allows us to continue enjoying and supporting nature, which we will also do through a new recycling program and by following LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) guidelines. We are also utilizing Broad Ripple Art and Design as our art consultants and plan to use all local artists," McIntosh emphasized.

"Since our inception, we have always invited the community to be a part of Joy's House. If individuals have ideas or comments, they are welcome to e-mail me at tina@joyshouse.org or they can call my work number at 254-0828," she mentioned. Joy's House is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and serves a diverse group of "Guests."

Ted Oliver, whose father Virgil is a Joy House's Guest, said, "My father loves being around people and telling stories to others about his life. He has made a new set of friends. Its creates a worry-free quality of life for my dad and it fits in with our quality of life. I want to thank Tina, the board members and staff members for making her vision come true. It is sincerely appreciated," he noted. Virgil attended the groundbreaking ceremony with a crowd of over 100 people witnessing a historic occasion on a mild mid-July morning. Attendees included WISH-TV anchor and reporter Eric Halverson and WIBC morning radio personality Terri Stacy. Halverson and Stacy are honorary co-chairs of the expansion project.

Eric Rowland, a principal of Rowland Design Group, whose firm is one of many sponsors of Joy's House expansion, said, "There are three categories of people; those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened. This expansion centers around people that care."

Joy's House is continuing to raise money for their Capital Campaign and expansion with a goal of $1.6 million, having currently raised over $1.4 million. If you are interested in donating toward their expansion, please call or visit their website at www.joyshouse.org to make a direct donation. An on-line registry sponsored by RJE Business Interiors should be available sometime during the month of August.

McIntosh narrates in a video found at on their website that describes these Guest experiences: "We learn from each other every day at Joy's House and the lessons are priceless. We learn to appreciate each other for our differences and laugh about the things we have in common. We learn that we all have challenges. Some of us just wear them on our faces more than others. We learn that the best memories are weddings, children, vacations and friendships and we should make as many of these memories as possible because they are the ones that really matter. Most importantly, we learn that the best moments we have are the ones we spend sharing relationships and it simply doesn't matter that we remember every one of them, but simply that they happen and they happen every single day at Joy's House."

Growing from one woman's vision into an enriched social environment, Joy's House provides an opportunity for aging adults and those living with physical and mental challenges to improve their quality of life in a serene setting in the Broad Ripple community.