Birdie Thornton Center continues caring tradition

The Birdie Thornton Center celebrated “A Day of Caring” with a luncheon and tours of the facility Tuesday for families who benefit from the center and the community members who have faithfully supported the facility over the years.

Program Director Kristy Allen estimated that about 70 people attended the luncheon, which she described as just one of the ways the center shows appreciation to “an awesome, supportive community.”

The current facility at 2305 Hines Road was named for Birdie Thornton, who established the Alabama Association of Retarded Children. It is open to adults 21 years and older who have an IQ of below 70 and have been diagnosed with an intellectual disability. Currently, 10 staff members provide instruction and care to 49 attendees.

We teach independent living skills, self-direction, self-care and expressive/receptive language,” Allen said.

Each year, Allen meets with the client’s family and case manager to set goals for the individual client to work on.

It might be brushing their teeth, tying shoes, preparing a simple meal — even learning how to get on social media,” Allen said.

The facility features a computer lab, a full training kitchen, grooming area, a recreational room and a multisensory room. Attendees can become members of a number of clubs including the “Bear Club” for guys only or the “Hippie Chick Club,” a group exclusively for girls. The center also offers book, Facebook and Civitan clubs and boasts their own cheerleading squad and basketball team.

We have a lot of fun, but everything we do here revolves around teaching,” Allen said. “Our goal is to make our clients as independent as possible through the many programs that we offer.”

She adds that very little of what they do would be possible without support from the community.

The United Way, The Arc, the Athens City Special Education Trust Fund and private individuals provide us with a tremendous amount of support,” she said. 

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