VARC's 50th Anniversary: A Retrospective

VARC celebrated its 50th anniversary on March 28, founded in 1975 in Viroqua, WI. VARC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing residential, vocational, and community services to adults and children with disabilities and other life barriers.

The name VARC came to represent the Vernon Area Rehabilitation Center in 1979. The organization purpose and mission of VARC is to develop and provide meaningful employment, skill-building, and community inclusion services for individuals with varying abilities and other life barriers.

In the 1970’s a group of parents and educators in Viroqua championed the needs of individuals with disabilities in their community. Their earliest win included the founding of special education services in Viroqua, Westby, and Cashton schools. Next on the horizon was their goal to form a day services care program for adults with disabilities, which would help participants to develop skills in daily living, socialization, education, employment, and community integration.

In April of 1975 the HOPEFUL Center (Helping Our People Enjoy Full and Useful Lives) began its mission by providing services to 6 clients in the basement of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Viroqua. As the number of clients and employees quickly grew, the facility expanded and added more locations to accommodate the growing need. The nonprofit organization rebranded in 1979 to become VARC (Vernon Area Rehabilitation Center), adding additional facilities to serve around 70 clients, provide transportation for 60 clients, and employ a staff of 28 people. The number of programs grew, offering day services, transportation, housing options, and employment. VARC provided unique employment options with furniture restoration and contracted assembly work at their facility, as well as connecting clients with employment opportunities at businesses within the community.

Legacy and Leadership

The organizational purpose and mission of VARC is to develop and provide meaningful employment, skill-building, and community inclusion services for individuals with varying abilities and other life barriers. Tony Ugo was one of the original instructors, advocates, and the first CEO of VARC. His daughter, Liz Filter, continued that legacy by taking up the mantle of being VARC's President & CEO.  

“As we reflect on our growth, we are realizing just how much we have to be proud of and grateful for. We especially want to think of VARC’s first leaders," says Filter. "The formative vision of Tony Ugo and Dawn Simonson’s compassionate legacy are still deeply felt half a century later, and will continue to reverberate throughout the organization going forward. I am thankful for the dedication, kindness, and empathy of our current employees to serve clients that will carry VARC forward the next 50 years.”

VARC marked the opening of a center in a 1991 ribbon cutting.

In 2023 VARC celebrated a ribbon cutting and opening of Preschool Childcare Center in La Crosse, WI.

Statewide Growth

During its fifty years of operation, VARC has enjoyed strong and steady growth in Wisconsin, totaling 13 current locations including Viroqua, La Crosse, Portage, Mauston, Baraboo, Reedsburg, Richland Center, Racine, and Burlington. Today, VARC serves nearly 1,000 individuals with disabilities across Wisconsin and has around 250 staff members. The roster of VARC programming has evolved over time, now providing day services, employment services, residential programs, transportation, recovery-informed services, licensed childcare, child and youth programs, and customized community-based services tailored to individual needs. VARC is committed to empowering their clients to achieve their goals and to live fulfilling lives that make a positive impact in the community.

VARC remains one of Wisconsin's broadest disability service providers that advocates for people with disabilities. Participants in VARC programming have a variety of disabilities and other barriers to employment, including developmental disabilities, cognitive and behavioral support needs, autism, down syndrome, ADHD, recovery from addiction, mental health diagnoses, or physical disabilities. “Instead of focusing on their disability and what they cannot do, we look at their abilities, interests, and what contributions they can make,” explained Shelby Neubauer, VARC Director of Client Services. VARC embraces individualism and is dedicated to helping clients realize their individual potential.

VARC’s seven production facilities enable them to partner with commercial businesses to provide contract assembly, labeling, and packaging services, while also offering a diverse range of employment opportunities that integrate individuals with and without disabilities. VARC is a third-party contract manufacturer that is well-suited to handle assembly, sub-assembly, packaging, labeling, warehousing, fulfillment, and food-grade packaging. Manufacturers may delegate the production of certain components or the entire assembly of their product to VARC with efficiency and precision. Interested businesses can contact VARC for an estimate to outsource manufacturing, packaging, contract assembly, and sub-assembly for consistent production schedules or a one-time project.