By Staff
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Groundbreaking has been set for Hannah and Friends Farm, a 30-acre residential community on Hollyhock Road, being developed by a foundation headed by Notre Dame Head Coach Charlie Weis and his wife, Maura.
A ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. on Saturday to launch the construction of the caretakers' home for the development.
The entire effort is to be funded by the Hannah and Friends, which is a foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life for children and adults with special needs.
Hannah and Friends Farm is to be built on land located north of Auten Road and directly south of Eggleston School.
When completed, the fully supervised community will serve as a home for adults with special needs. It will include a recreation center, horses, and residential homes, each with four special-needs residents and around the clock care.
Hannah and Friends is named for the Weises' twelve-year-old daughter, Hannah, who has global developmental delays. Rather than focusing solely on caring for their own child, the Weises were motivated to launch a foundation that would care for children and adults with disabilities.
It is their hope to create an environment that could be duplicated in other communities seeking ways to care for special needs residents.
A recent fund-raising celebrity golf outing at Notre Dame's Warren Golf Course raised over $380,000 in contributions, according to Notre Dame Head Football Coach Charlie Weis, who is a co-founder of Hannah and Friends.
The endowment is approaching $2 million, with $1.5 million available for construction, according to Coach Weis. Roads and utilities are a prime need. The foundation is working to build an endowment to sustain the project on a long-term basis.
Complete information on Hannah and Friends can be found on the group's website: www.hannahandfriends.org.
For more information, contact Executive Director Sharon Bui at (574) 273-9824, or e-mail info@hannahandfriends.org.