Matt Kasik

Connect with Matt and Apace at:

• Website – goapace.com

 

Matt Kasik: 0:01

You’re one person in the world, but to that one person you may be the world.

Announcer: 0:08

Welcome to Agency for Change, a podcast from KidGlov that brings you the stories of changemakers who are actively working to improve our communities. In every episode, we’ll meet with people who are making a lasting impact in the places we call home.

Lyn Wineman: 0:23

Hey everyone, welcome back to the Agency for Change podcast. This is Lyn Wineman. I am the president and chief strategist of KidGlov, and today I have the honor of speaking with Matt Kasik. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Apace. Apace is an organization that empowers people with disabilities to live each day to the fullest. So Matt’s going to talk to us about Apace. He’s going to talk to us about his passion for this work and new things on the horizon, and he’s going to share the inside story of their rebrand process. Matt, welcome to the podcast.

Matt Kasik: 1:12

Well, thanks for having me, Lyn. I really appreciate being on.

Lyn Wineman: 1:15

I am excited to talk to you, Matt, because I know you have a lot going on, and I just want to start by having you tell us more about Apace.

Matt Kasik: 1:27

Yeah, so Apace is Nebraska’s largest supporter of individuals with disabilities, intellectual and developmental disabilities. We have been around for 52 years.

Lyn Wineman: 1:40

That’s quite a long time in this area, isn’t it?

Matt Kasik: 1:43

Yeah, yeah, it’s quite the test of time for our organization, but we support 725 individuals with disabilities here in Nebraska. We do that with, we’ve got about 760 employees and another 130 or so contractors that provide direct support to those individuals. So, yeah, we’re actually all throughout Southeast Nebraska. So we go as far west as York and Hebron, as far north as Columbus, Wahoo and Bellevue and then everything kind of in between there and the Missouri River and the Nebraska-Kansas border.

Lyn Wineman: 2:23

That’s quite an expansive area and, Matt, forgive me if I’ve got this off because I was doing some math in my head as you were saying those numbers. But I think you said you serve 725 people but you have 760 individuals and 130 contractors. That sounds like some pretty high-level ratio of support there, and I know a little bit about the organization. I know you take a very personalized approach. Can you talk about how that makes a difference in people’s lives?

Matt Kasik: 2:58

Yeah. So you know, what we really try to do is individualize our services. And you think about how do you like to live? How do I like to live? I can think of my siblings. I am about as opposite as you can be for my siblings and I would want different things than what they do, and so that’s no different than the services we provide to those that we support. One thing, that really kind of back in terms of our organization. So we were started back when there was really only one option for individuals with disabilities, so way back when the standard was the institution.

Lyn Wineman: 3:45

Oh yeah, that does not sound fantastic, does it? Even just the word institution sounds sad.

Matt Kasik: 3:53

Yeah and so parents started grassroots efforts in the 50s and 60s and really got it to the point in the 70s legislation passed to essentially form our organization, and in doing so we were able to support individuals in the community where they live so that they could experience life, look just like you and I do.

Lyn Wineman: 4:11

Yeah, that’s amazing. You know, you got to love a parent who has a kid who needs something special and watch the passion and the commitment that they pour into it. So I love the fact that your story and your founding goes back to a group of parents like that, because that really is a powerful, powerful group. So, Matt, you kind of touched on this a little bit, but when you think of the populations you serve individuals with disabilities, what are some of the challenges that they face and how are you serving them?

Matt Kasik: 4:53

Yeah. So really, you know, for somebody who has a disability, quite frankly anything can be a challenge, you know just think if somebody has to use a wheelchair. You know the snow and the cold we got last week. I mean, think about how would you get to the store, how would you navigate the buses.

We see that and we don’t have a magic wand that we’re, you know you can just get rid of that, but we celebrate that and we essentially live side by side with those that we support for the duration of their life. We’re living with them to kind of navigate those challenges. It really goes further than just you know tasks, day after day tasks. We are living with the folks we support and making a difference.

Lyn Wineman: 5:41

That’s fantastic. Can I ask you, Matt, to even go just a little bit deeper on that? Can you give me some examples, just for people who may not be as familiar with your world? What does that look like?

Matt Kasik: 5:55

Yeah, so generally no two services look the same. In a very general sense, the services for individuals with disabilities are broken down into kind of three main categories. One is residential services. So a residential service may be say somebody lives with their parents, we can send staff to go in and support them in their home. Say somebody lives on their own in their apartment, we can go and support them. And we also have continuous settings where folks are living in group homes, say that’s kind of the common term for them, where individuals will live in those homes and then staff will come in and out of those homes and kind of live with them as well.

Additionally, we have kind of the next breakdown is day services. So think about what happens from eight to four. So during that time we’re doing social training, we’re doing job skills training. Really recreation fun, I mean really the list goes on and on of what we do during those times. But it’s an opportunity for kind of the social component for folks that we support.

And then, finally, as employment services, we’re very, very adamant about employment for individuals with disabilities. So you know, we want to boost up job skills, help individuals find jobs. Once they have jobs, we will be there right alongside them, kind of learning the job and ensuring that they have all the tools they need to be successful. Now, each of those services that I just rattled off, it depends on the person, it depends on their need. I like to say we meet folks exactly where they are. So if somebody lives on their own and we say we want they only need an hour a month of services, we can do that. All the way to around the clock awake you know, it’s really the full gamut and everything in between.

Lyn Wineman: 7:59

I love it. I mean what I heard you say there was a full range from daily support to skills training, to social and fun to employment. I love the employment end right, because people, I think it’s a general, a basic human need to have a purpose in life and I think there’s a lot of research that speaks to the fact that many of us derive that sense of purpose from our employment and that’s got to play in all kinds with all kinds of people. So I think that’s really neat.

Matt Kasik: 8:35

You absolutely took the words out of my mouth, so you know. What I like to say, too, is, if I am meeting you for the first time, I’m going to say my name I’m Matt Kasik and then the next thing I say is what I do.

Lyn Wineman: 8:49

Right, that is right. That’s exactly what we say. And if you don’t say it, what’s the first question somebody asks? What do you do.

Matt Kasik: 8:56

Exactly. And so you know, just thinking about how we identify with our jobs, whenever I have a an opportunity like this to talk to the public, I always tell people especially, you know, those who have the ability to hire individuals with disabilities give them a chance, because what, what you’ll find is, once you kind of get past, you know this, that that initial concern, what you find is the exact opposite. You’ll have a dedicated, loyal employee who will likely be there for many, many years, who will also have a support staff and structure kind of around them. So it’s really a win-win for employers to hire individuals with disabilities.

Lyn Wineman: 9:41

I love that. So, Matt, I’m kind of as you’re telling me about the different services and the importance of it. I’m kind of imagining the impact, but I’d love to hear it from you. Can you speak to the impact you’ve seen firsthand from the work that you and your team at Apace are doing?

Matt Kasik: 10:00

How much time do we have on this podcast? I could talk for hours about the success stories that we have. You know, really, what I tend to see is just kind of, in a general sense, folks that we start working with may start off kind of in their shell. Generally there’s a belief, depending on what their living situation was before, of oh I don’t know if this person can do this or if they can do that, and what we really see and what we really experience is those individuals come out of their shell and just thrive. I like to think some of the best examples of somebody who maybe has their first job and then you know, you see it over the years as the years of service add up. Or maybe somebody who’s moved into their own, their own apartment.

Lyn Wineman: 10:56

Oh, that’s got to feel great, right Like you’ve moved out of mom and dad or a living space that you’ve shared with others, and you have your own apartment.

Matt Kasik: 11:07

Yeah, absolutely. That’s probably among the most notable things, but really for me, as I work, my role in the organization is pretty high-level. I’m not involved with day-to-day, day-to-day service delivery, but the impact that even I have on an individual is huge. I’ll give an example. Saturday morning, random Saturday morning, I get a call from somebody that we support and I’m like gosh, what on earth is happening?

And essentially what this individual wanted to tell me was how he had scored a touchdown in Special Olympics flag football that day, and so you think about just that level of impact is incredibly rewarding.

Lyn Wineman: 11:59

Yeah people can’t see us because we’re on a podcast and we only do the audio side, but just hearing that story, both of us are smiling ear to ear.

That had to have been a really touching and memorable call for you to take, but also, I think, about how much it meant to the individual, the young man on the other end, that you answered the phone and you took the time and you had the conversation and you acknowledged the accomplishment. I think that’s really great. Matt, you touched on your role a little bit, but I’d love to hear more about what your role looks like, but also how you got involved in this type of work. I always think it’s really interesting to find out how people get to where they are.

Matt Kasik: 12:53

Yeah, so I talk first about my role. So, obviously, the organization we’re a big organization, as I mentioned, and so I’m tasked with setting the strategic course for our organization, overseeing day-to-day operations, ensuring that we can keep our lights on and the business is good.

Beyond that, my role is advocacy. So we are in a heavily regulated industry, and not only that, our primary funding source is through Medicaid. So we have to advocate for not only the regulatory tools and mechanisms to ensure that we can do our jobs, but also that our funding is adequate. Those are real challenges, you know, especially when to figure out cuts and things like that.

Lyn Wineman: 14:03

Well I think another thing people don’t realize oftentimes is those government sources Medicaid and Medicare, they don’t pay 100% of the costs to deliver that service so then you and your team and your foundation and you know somebody has to figure out, you know, how do we make up the difference. I think another thing people don’t realize is sometimes those payments aren’t as consistent as you think. A change in staff or a change in policy, and all of a sudden all those payments are held up and you as an organization are figuring out how do we deal with our cash flow during this time. Even though you know it’s coming It’s not there when you need it, so that’s going to be stressful for someone like you.

Matt Kasik: 14:37

Oh, it is. Yeah, we, you know, I like to talk about Medicaid in terms of it’s essentially a cost-based funding mechanism. So we have enough money to cover our costs. Keep the lights on, keep the wheels spinning, but when we want to innovate or when we want to replace a vehicle or a, you know, all of that there’s. There’s not much that goes into that and just for scope, we have about 225 vehicles all over.

Lyn Wineman: 15:13

Wow, 225 vehicles Wow.

Matt Kasik: 15:18

So you know, you think about fleet costs that go along with that. So yeah, we’re, you know, again, it goes back to advocacy. On my end, the state legislature sets our reimbursement rates. So we are, you know, we want to make sure that those stay competitive so we can still offer the high level of services that we do. With regards to how I got into the work that I do, so I grew up on a farm north of here, kind of by Schuyler, Columbus, that area.

So grew up there my brother Randy, my big brother. He has cerebral palsy, okay, and so growing up with him I kind of learned firsthand, and not even realizing it, because he’s my brother, you know. And it wasn’t like you know, navigating life was just what I lived through, so I have that in my background and as I eventually came from the farm to Lincoln, I’ve been in Lincoln pretty much my entire adult life and started working out of college, I worked for the Journal Star and ended up working in various leadership roles there for about 16 years and then I worked after that. I worked for Madonna Rehab Hospital for three years and I was the general manager of their proactive facility on 56th and Pine Lake.

Lyn Wineman: 16:44

Okay, I’ve gone to swimming classes there before. It’s a great swimming space.

Matt Kasik: 16:49

Yeah, it is an excellent facility. But then I you know when this role I replaced Dave Merrill. He was my predecessor and he had been in this role for 32 years.

Lyn Wineman: 17:01

It’s hard to replace somebody who has that kind of a legacy right.

Matt Kasik: 17:05

Exactly, Exactly. So I came on. Interestingly enough, I started in 2020. I started in March of 2020.

Lyn Wineman: 17:14

So literally days, either days before or days after the start of the pandemic.

Matt Kasik: 17:20

It was very interesting times. So not only you know learning a new organization, but learning how to navigate a pandemic was not something I’d recommend.

Lyn Wineman: 17:32

So they probably didn’t teach you about that in school.

Matt Kasik: 17:34

They sure didn’t say, they sure didn’t, but no, I really jumped at the opportunity and I just am ecstatic to come to work every day. You know, I like to think. You know, having the, the, the lived experience with my brother, um, it really kind of gives me a, a perspective of things when I’m making decisions or something that impacts, you know it’s going, a change in our organization will impact hundreds, if not thousands, of people. So I always will look through the lens of my brother and think how will this impact him, and so that’s really helped me as we’ve progressed here in our organization.

Lyn Wineman: 18:15

That’s great. What a journey and what a great perspective to have. And, Matt, you just said something, too, that struck me. You serve I think you said 725 individuals, but I’ve got to believe your impact is far greater than that, because each of those individuals has family and community around them that’s also supporting them, and the work that you do either brings them relief or peace of mind or happiness in knowing that their loved one is having this experience or this care as well, and that’s pretty fantastic. When you think about impact and ripple effect, I told someone today who mentioned ripple effect. I’m like, hey, let’s not make it a ripple effect, let’s make it a wave, and it kind of feels like that’s what you and Apace have going on as well.

Matt Kasik: 19:11

Yeah, we’re like a small town, you know, when you kind of think about the size and scope. So 760 employees, 130 contractors, 725 individuals plus all of their families, it’s a lot of people that we touch.

Lyn Wineman: 19:28

Big impact. So, Matt, you and I connected actually a while ago because our organization, KidGlov, had the fantastic opportunity to help Apace with a rebrand. And I’m just curious would you be willing to reflect a little bit with me and tell us what brought you to consider a rebrand for the organization?

Matt Kasik: 19:55

Yeah Well, first off, thank you again for all the work that you and your team did Just the creativity and the thoughtfulness through that process were amazing.

Lyn Wineman: 20:05

Thank you, Matt.

Matt Kasik: 20:06

We really had a good outcome from it and I still to this day. Folks, you know we’re able to reintroduce ourselves to the community in this way and it’s been such a cool experience. Rebranding is tough.

Lyn Wineman: 20:23

It’s not easy, it’s not for the faint of heart.

Matt Kasik: 20:25

And that’s why I started by thanking you, because I can’t fathom your team going through that over and over again with all the different organizations that you work with. A rebrand, a name, is so much more than just a name.

Lyn Wineman: 20:41

It’s the biggest thing you can do too. The name is the, but it’s. It is so much more, and I’m sorry that I interrupted you there. Kind of excited about it.

Matt Kasik: 20:49

Yeah, it’s, it’s such a personal thing A name is, you know, we were Region 5 Services, so that was our previous name and we moved to Apace. We have such a long tenured staff, when we had these discussions with staff, you know, one of the things that struck me was somebody who had worked for our organization for maybe 20, 25, 30 years. Right, that name had been a part of their life and their story for that whole time. And it’s where, where it gets the conflict comes, is the name itself is named an entity which is not a personal thing, it’s an organization. It doesn’t have feeling, and so what I found through the process was really, the number 760 employees. If you talk to 760 employees, you would get 760 suggestions on what the name should be.

So everybody had their own feelings and they felt strongly about it. In the end, when Apace was presented as an option, it just stood out so much to us. The meaning of Apace traveling at the same rate as something else. That is the work we do, that is the embodiment of the work we do. So it really stood out in that process Doesn’t mean people were happy about it.

Lyn Wineman: 22:15

It takes a while, change is hard, but that doesn’t mean it’s not important and that it won’t lead to good things, right?

Matt Kasik: 22:24

Yeah, ever since we switched all of our measurables, whether it’s our web traffic, our employment applications, everything increased. So I absolutely think it was the right thing to do. You know, one of the reasons why we changed was because our sister organization for lack of a better term, Region 5 Systems, also here in Lincoln, based in the same geography that we’re based in. We do different things, but many people in the community were coming to them when they should have been coming to us and vice versa, and we really made it complicated with two organizations essentially named the same I mean almost the same thing.

Lyn Wineman: 23:08

Almost the same. We even, Matt, I have to tell you because when we were working with you before you had the new name, we were also working for the other, Region 5. And our team would even get confused internally. It’d be like, no wait, that’s for this group or that group. It’s really confusing when you have a name that’s that close and you’re both doing human services of some sort.

Matt Kasik: 23:36

Yes, yes, absolutely it was, and so I do feel we were doing a disservice to the community just because of that. So that was one reason why we changed. The second reason is we were, you know, essentially named back in 1973 and the name did not change much through that time. And back then it was a different time, and today individuals who come into our services have choice, and so when they’re presented with a list of providers at Region 5 Services doesn’t necessarily sound like the most warm and welcoming name of an organization. Some of the stories I’d heard of folks before they got to know what we did, just the range of things that folks thought oh, I thought you did this, I thought you were a food distributor, I thought you were a call center, just the list was out there. So we really, really had a great experience rebranding and pushed forward In spite of it being a very difficult change.

Lyn Wineman: 24:44

It is hard. You know, matt, I’ll tell you this. I don’t know if I’ve had a chance to tell you this before. My whole career, I’ve been in advertising and marketing and I’ve done a lot of branding work. When KidGlov started, we were named Wineman Communications Group A very boring name, right but I just was a startup and I just needed people to find me right.

And so for the first time, when we rebranded and we went through the same process that we had a go through but it was the first time I was on the other side of the table. And what struck me is when my creative team came to me to present name options, I was actually very nervous, and so it gave me great empathy. That has impacted now the way we do our work. When we go to present new names and new logos, we acknowledge that the people on the other side are very nervous because you don’t know what’s going to happen. You don’t know how people are going to accept it, you don’t know if you’re going to like the names that we provide and sometimes and I think in the case with Apace we maybe did two different rounds of names. To say that, because it’s hard to sum up the essence of an organization where you are now and where you’re going to be in the future with one or two words. Sometimes it takes a couple tries and I’m okay with that as long as we get there, because nothing made me happier than, in the beginning of our conversation, for you to reference the fact that you are walking side by side with those you serve, because I know that that’s where the name Apace came from, and so I love that you’ve made that part of your story.

And going back to numbers, because we talked about a lot of numbers today, I just counted it up and I think we have worked on branding of some shape or form with 163 organizations. So, even though it’s hard work, it’s my favorite kind of work because, just like Apace, what I know is when an organization has the right brand, it’s not really about the name, it’s not really about the logo. It’s about opening the door for you to tell your story of your mission and your innovation and what makes you special and different. That’s my favorite part of it all. I love how you and your team have really, really leaned into that.

Matt Kasik: 27:28

With rebrands you really only notice the bad ones.

Lyn Wineman: 27:34

That is so, true, right. Like I mean, for those of us who love sports and maybe follow the Big 10, you know, I think one of the worst was the leaders and the legends subdivisions of the. Big Ten right.

Matt Kasik: 27:47

Yes, I think recently the HBO going away from HBO to Max. I mean that was such a institution of a, of a brand, to go away from it.

Lyn Wineman: 28:01

It’s a tough one. It’s a tough one for sure. Well, Matt, tell me what’s on the horizon, because we talked about hey, this brand’s got to take you into the future and, knowing you, I know you’ve got some key initiatives and projects and innovative things coming up.

Matt Kasik: 28:19

We do. There’s a couple of things I’d like to talk about. So, first off, I mentioned, you know, kind of our funding structure and Medicaid and innovation and change is hard. Because of that, those constraints. We have a foundation, the Apace Foundation, which supports the work of what we do. I like to think of that as you know it essentially, the foundation complements the work and is able to provide the funding when other funding isn’t available, and so we are currently in the midst of a capital campaign.

We’re trying to raise funds for our day center in Auburn, Nebraska. We’ve had that building for several years and it is just in need of a renovation. There’s items in disrepair and we really want to do right. Because of our funding stream and how it’s been for so long we’ve had to live in places and live with things that aren’t the best, and it’s really been a priority of mine to just push forward and, you know, when funds aren’t available, find funds to really do what’s right by those we support.

So one of the things that folks might not know is that we have a popcorn factory and I’m using the term factory in the most adorable way because it’s not what you think of a typical factory, but we do make popcorn. We actually have a facility in Tecumseh where we go and one day a week we pop popcorn. It’s branded under Crazy Kernel Popcorn. It’s been around for years and years and it’s in kind of the Auburn and surrounding areas. This project, essentially, as we’re looking at Auburn and our location there, we’re looking at modernizing not only the facility but bringing that popcorn operation into that facility as well.

The popcorn provides jobs for those that we support. Not only that, not only like the jobs in terms of popping the popcorn, but the folks that we support have created unique flavors and kind of experimented on their own. And in addition to that, individuals also will merchandise the popcorn. So, it kind of creates a full cycle where folks are going in and around the community making sure that the shelves are stocked all around the community.

Lyn Wineman: 30:55

I love that you describe that as adorable because, as you’re telling me the story, it’s so adorable and I’m I’m sorry I interrupted you, but I have to ask about these flavors. Are there any flavors of note that you can share?

Matt Kasik: 31:09

So they have the standards in terms of, like you know, cheddar I think there’s a cheddar jalapeno, that’s really good. You know your standard butter or caramel. From time to time things get, if it’s maybe around a seasonal time, so they might have a more of a Valentine’s Day themed popcorn.

Lyn Wineman: 31:26

That’s what I was wondering, right?

Matt Kasik: 31:28

Things like that with colors and that, and so the staff that we have that work there just really encourage creativity with those that we support. It creates quite an awesome thing.

Lyn Wineman: 31:40

I love it, and I interrupted you so. I’m sorry. So we talked about the foundation, the capital campaign, the popcorn, what else is up your sleeve?

Matt Kasik: 31:49

The second major initiative, and this is kind of an ongoing initiative, but about three years ago we started a program called Empowering Possible, and what this program does it’s through our foundation. The intended recipients are residents of Nebraska with an intellectual or developmental disability, so it doesn’t have to be anybody or somebody that’s supported by Apace, it can be anyone in the state. But what we found is that individuals with disabilities tend to, with their funding through Medicaid, Medicare might have a need for an adaptive piece of equipment, and so this program funds directly those needs.

So individuals can fill out applications when we open that up which will be May, I believe, is when we open those up that’s great. So it’s kind of a functional grant as well. But we have given and granted some fun and experiential type things. We are sending one individual to Japan, once in a lifetime trip.

We’ve also done trips that are on a much smaller scale, and you know, that’s one of the things that I think we take for granted. You know, you or I travel, but sometimes individuals with disabilities don’t get to travel, and so when I say funding trips, obviously the Japan trip is an outlier, but a lot of our trips are to Lake McConaughey to go fishing over a weekend, or to Colorado to the mountains. So we’re not talking terribly elaborate trips, but just another way to give an opportunity for those that wouldn’t have had it otherwise. So those are the two things that I wanted to mention.

Lyn Wineman: 33:32

I love that. Both of those sound like excellent, excellent things. So for our listeners who want to learn more Matt, where can they find more information about Apace?

Matt Kasik: 33:45

They can find it on our website. GoApace.com

Lyn Wineman: 33:47

GoApace.com and we will have that in the show notes on the kid glove site as well for anybody who didn’t get that and then matt when people go to the site. How can people from the community get involved to support your mission? Now you’ve mentioned fundraising and the capital campaign and I’m sure there’s links to that on the website, but are there any other ways that we can support you?

Matt Kasik: 34:13

Yeah, obviously, if somebody feels called or compelled to donate, those funds are fantastic, Immeasurable the impact that those have Beyond that, just again, the push for hiring individuals with disabilities. That’s how somebody from the outside can help us fulfill our mission is through employment of those with disabilities.

Lyn Wineman: 34:36

Really opening that up. That is fantastic, Matt. I want to ask you my favorite question next. And I warned you about this when I’ve asked it on every podcast, but everyone who listens knows I am a big fan of motivational quotes. I feel so lucky to get to talk with people like yourself. I’d love a Matt Kasik original quote to inspire our listeners.

Matt Kasik: 35:04

Well, I’m going to try to make it as original as possible. I’m pretty sure there was somebody out there that said something like this, but the quote that really hits home for me is you’re one person in the world, but to that one person you may be the world, and that hits home especially in relation to the work we do. I think about my brother and his services when we talk. You know his world is very small, his world. You know he doesn’t have kind of many of the outside issues that we face and in terms of his life, you know a lot of his issues are, you know, his body, his pains he’s having or experiences that just happened. And I like that quote, or I like that presence of thought, just because that in many cases where folks that we have working with individuals with disabilities you are their world. And so it really has a profound impact. So that is my quote.

Lyn Wineman: 36:16

It’s a great quote and you know what I love about it. It makes me think of the story you told of the phone call. You know, on the day you got the phone call on a Saturday morning about someone who was in a special Olympic sporting event, you were the one person, you were the world. At that moment. you were the world and you honored that experience and that person and that time. So that all rings very true and authentic to me, Matt.

Matt Kasik: 36:45

And especially not something to take for granted.

Lyn Wineman: 36:48

Absolutely, absolutely. Matt, I have loved this conversation and, as we wrap up this time together today, I’d love to hear from you what is the most important thing you’d like our listeners to remember about the work that you’re doing?

Matt Kasik: 37:04

Oh wow. What I would say is that individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities have not always gotten a fair shake, and in some cases have been marginalized. And the impact that a person can have just simply on saying hello to somebody with a disability goes so far. You know those actions are those actions truly speak louder than words, when you can provide kind of a you know a relationship opportunity or or, you know, building community with folks with disabilities, it really goes a long way. So don’t be shy. You know, if you see somebody with a disability, it’s okay to say hello. So embrace that, treat them as you wish you were treated as well.

Lyn Wineman: 37:54

Matt, that is beautiful. I love it and I’m just going to say I fully believe the world needs more people like you, more organizations like Apace. Thank you for the work that you and your team do and thank you for joining me on the podcast today.

Matt Kasik: 38:12

Well, thank you, it was a great time. I appreciate it.

Announcer: 38:17

We hope you enjoyed today’s Agency for Change podcast. To hear all our interviews with those who are making a positive change in our communities or to nominate a changemaker you’d love to hear from. Visit kidglov.com at K-I-D-G-L-O-V.com to get in touch, as always. If you like what you’ve heard today, be sure to rate, review, subscribe and share. Thanks for listening and we’ll see you next time.