Leaving 'a mark on your heart': Happiness Bag celebrates 50 years in the community
Jun. 17—For Jodi Moan, a gig at Happiness Bag was just supposed to represent a summer job assisting those with disabilities. She was taking a break from Indiana State University, where she had played women's basketball on a scholarship. Fast forward 36 years: The summer job quickly became a passion, and today, she's the facility's executive director, a title she has held for 23 years.
"When I first walked through the door, I never in a million years thought that I would still be here," she recalled. But "from the moment of walking into the [original] facility on South Seventh Street, the feeling of complete and unconditional acceptance and love by the friends was something immediate and unlike anything I had experienced before." ("Friend" is the preferred name for Happiness Bag's clientele).
Moan was offered other jobs, some which paid a lot more, but, she said, "leaving the friends that I had grown to know and love wasn't an option." She added, "This has never been a typical 'j-o-b,' [it] was definitely not about money, but it has always been about the amazing opportunity to be surrounded by some of the most loving, kind and completely accepting individuals ever to cross my path."
Happiness Bag provides educational and recreational programs and other services for children and adults with mental and physical disabilities. Curiously enough, it began life as an ISU-adjacent touring theater company.
Its name came from what is said to be a Korean tradition similar to the Western Christmas stocking, only used on a year-round basis.
In 1987, the organization shifted away from the theatrical arts to focus more on the educational and recreational areas of programming for the disabled, helping those ranging in age from 5-years-old to deep into adulthood, as well as providing support for their families. In 1997, it moved to its current location, sitting on six acres behind the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds. It serves about 250 friends and plans to soon expand its facility to accommodate more.
In the new location, "We began having more sports and recreation for our folks to do," Moan said. "It was about promoting an active lifestyle." Happiness Bag has become the coordinating center for Special Olympics Indiana — Vigo County, which will host a statewide competition Friday through Sunday in Terre Haute.
"We've evolved even more since that change-over," Moan added. "A lot of our friends didn't have a lot of opportunities for programs once they finished their formal education. If they were not employable, there was a shelter workshop at the time, not a good fit for everybody. We started the adult day program to give them the opportunity to go into a program or facility where they can work on maintaining daily living skills. They can learn something new with the eventual goal of being more independent."
Moan's friends enjoy venturing into the community, ringing Salvation Army bells at Christmas and helping plant gardens. "Our friends love to give back and make new friends," she said.
"They're generally always positive, they don't see the negativity in the world that we see," Moan added. "Once you hang out with my friends, they leave a mark on your heart, on your soul, and not because you feel sorry for them. It's their personalities and because of their outlook at perspective on things."
Bernice "Bernie" Fonyuy serves on Happiness Bag's board of directors. "She's a very special person," she says of Moan. "Anyone who's in that field is special, because the pay is not that great and they grow to love and nurture the individual as much as they can. All of Happiness Bag's friends love Jodi. We love Jodi and we don't know what we'd do without her."
Fonyuy's special-needs nonverbal son Rich has cerebral palsy and has gone to Happiness Bag since he was 5 (he's 44 now). "He went to day care, the summer program and now that he's older, they provide his residential staffing 24/7," she said. "He's grown up there. They've helped him grow up. They encourage him to be as independent as possible. Without the support from Happiness Bag at the time, it would have been very, very difficult."
Jennifer Grinstad has been coming to Happiness Bag even longer than Moan has been there, attending since age 16, nearly 40 years ago. She was in a production of "Alice in Wonderland" back when Happiness Bag emphasized theater and has participated in the Special Olympics yearly, competing in ramp bowling. She once advanced to the nationals in Louisiana.
Grinstad has a playful sense of humor that she's not shy about directing toward Moan, even when Moan is sitting directly in front of her. "She doesn't put up with a lot," Grinstad said. "She gives me a lot of advice, like stay out of trouble." Without Happiness Bag to visit, she added, "I'd probably stay home and be bored."
Though Moan and other Happiness Bag employees like to refer to their charges as "friends," Grinstad thinks of the place as family. "This is my first family," she said.
On June 25, Happiness Bag will sponsor a "Price is Right" fundraiser (coincidentally, the game show is also celebrating its 50th anniversary). On July 23, it will host a reunion of employees and a ground-breaking for the new extension to its facility.
It's been an eventful half-century for Happiness Bag.
Moan reflected, "Watching where we started 50 years ago, where we were when I started and to see where we are now and where we want to go and grow, is very challenging, but so amazing and something that drives me to continue pushing to make things even better for those to follow."
David Kronke can be reached at 812-231-4232 or at david.kronke@tribstar.com.
