The lucky winner of the VIPS Bourbon Raffle was Charlie Bensinger, whose name was drawn during a live broadcast on VIPS’s Facebook page .
Today, the NCAA PR team made a return visit to the Family Resource Center in Indianapolis. They made birthday cards for our VIPS children and welcome cards for our new families. They also spent time on the braille machine typing inserts for the birthday cards. Thank you for always supporting VIPS!
This is Jaxton, and he is using a walker to be mobile at the public library and to explore his environment. We are celebrating his milestone of using the walker to move independently. His parents do a wonderful job of encouraging him to explore and try new things. We are so proud of Jaxton!
Phoenix is our first #MilestoneMonday of 2026, and he has been working on his container play, his way! His parents had a problem to solve—his love for the microwave. The solution was to give him his own to play with, unplugged, of course. This evolved into a new form of container play, using the microwave to put things in and take them out, while working on open/shut concepts and other prepositional directions in relation to the microwave. He is now putting things in/out and imitating words! Way to go, Phoenix!!
Last week, we had another toy donation. This one came from Sabrina Young and her organization, Hoosier Christmas Hope. She donated 40 interactive toys that will go to our families who are in the most need this Christmas. Thank you, Sabrina. Your gift will put a lot of smiles on kids’ faces next week. Click here to read more about Hoosier Christmas Hope and the wonderful work they’re doing.
2025 was a big year for VIPS. With feedback from our teachers and providers, Christina and Emily have been building and designing a new Child Case Management (CCM) system, and we recently started training and migrating clients to the new system. It has been a heavy lift, but the rewards will be worth it.
When planning a year-end contribution to VIPS, remember that charitable donations are deductible in the year they’re made. If you choose to give to VIPS before the end of December, please use these helpful tips to make sure your gift counts in the 2025 tax year.
On December 6, VIPS welcomed a wonderful group of friends to the VIPS Family Resource Center in Indianapolis. After a quick tour and Q&A, they spent the afternoon creating thoughtful welcome cards for the bags we give to new families. Katherine (in the red sweater) assembled this group of friends after volunteering at FRC during United Way of Central Indiana’s Go All In Day back in June.
Today is #InternationalVolunteerDay, and we would like to take a moment to thank everyone who donates their time and energy to making VIPS great. Your dedication to our families and support of our mission is invaluable. Thank you, thank you, thank you! We love our volunteers!
