>> Narrator: This week on "Friends and Neighbors."

>> We went into dog toys, because we both had a passion for our dogs, and we wanted to help our community through TradeWinds, which is a company out in Merrillville, Indiana that helps the disabled community by helping them find and keep stable jobs.

So we mashed all of it together and created Patchables.

>> Our hope is that they truly are able to call Sharing Meadows home as long as possible.

You can definitely see and feel the presence of God on the property, that He continues to bless us and continues to show us the way to grow and to reach those people.

>> Guest: We go 65, 70 miles an hour and you think, "Oh, I do that on the highway," but I'm here to tell you, it's a completely different 70 miles an hour.

First of all, it's very loud.

You're strapped in extremely tight.

As far as the dirt goes, there's no windshield, so it's constantly hitting you in the face.

It's an adrenaline rush for sure.

>> Guest: An arboretum is essentially an outdoor tree museum.

We do a lot of scientific research here, what it takes for trees and plants to survive, and how they deal with changes in their environment.

We also use that research to create some best practices on how people can care for trees and plants in their neighborhoods.

>> Narrator: Centier Bank is proud to serve hometown community banking across Indiana.

For over 128 years, Indiana's largest private family-owned bank has been not for sale and promises to keep it that way for years to come.

(bright gentle music) >> Narrator: Sacred Dunes Integrative Health is your comprehensive holistic wellness center, specializing in acupuncture, massage therapy, functional lab testing, nutrition, and herbal medicine.

Sacred Dunes, where wellness grows.

>> Narrator: Local programming is made possible by IBEW Local 697, Northwest Indiana's source for electrical professionals.

Providing certified, trained and experienced professionals for residential, commercial, industrial, and solar projects.

>> I have a very strong connection to other students.

Everyone makes an effort to help each other.

I'll remember the feeling of being here.

The feeling that I was a part of a family.

(bright upbeat music) >> Narrator: Strack and Van Til is hiring full and part-time positions for deli, floral, bakery, department managers and more with flexible work schedules, sign-on bonuses, paid vacation and benefits.

Learn more at strackandvantil.com.

>> Narrator: Methodist Hospitals' mission is to provide compassionate, quality healthcare services to all those in need.

Methodist Hospital, celebrating 100 years of healing in northwest Indiana.

Learn more at methodisthospitals.org.

(bright gentle music) >> Narrator: Additional support for Lakeshore Public Media and "Friends and Neighbors" is provided by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(bright gentle music) >> When we were initially looking at a problem to solve for Innovate WithIN, we came across textile waste, and it's not really something you see being approached every day.

So we were like, this may be something that we can start approaching and then encourage others to approach too, so that it is something that is heard of.

We also knew that it was something we saw in our community as a problem, and just seeing clothes not get donated or just get thrown away.

So we thought we could fix that.

(bright upbeat music) >> The name of the competition that we compete in every year is Innovate WithIN Competition, ran by the STARTedUP Foundation outta Indianapolis to push entrepreneurship and to try and maintain some of the talent in Indiana so we're not sending everyone out, and it's just grown I think beyond what anyone could have really imagined it could be.

I'd say, like, five years ago when we were competing, you could show up with an idea, and now you're not really gonna be in the conversation without, you know, manufacturing lined up and things like that.

Isis and Kayla did a really good job of taking that concept to fruition in one school year, which is really impressive.

>> We started out with something else entirely.

We still wanted to recycle textile waste, whether that be from making it into quilts or making it into different socks.

We ended up pivoting, because our labor costs were not going to be effective for our business model.

And what we did is we went into dog toys, because we both had a passion for our dogs, and we wanted to help our community through TradeWinds which is a company out in Merrillville, Indiana that helps the disabled community by helping them find and keep stable jobs.

So we mashed all of it together and all of our passions and the things we wanted to do with our community and within ourselves and created Patchables.

We stuff it with leftover and recycled hospital gowns that TradeWinds manufactures by shredding that and stuffing it to eliminate that textile waste as well.

(bright upbeat music) ♪ Ooh whoa whoa whoa ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ >> You're trying to help the world, and you're helping your dogs and you're being eco-friendly.

It does involve passion, because you have to truly care about the problem you're solving, and I think we took that passion to state and to regionals and presenting in front of judges, I think they saw that passion as well.

With that, it made us wanna keep going no matter whether we won or not and without money, and we would just keep working really hard, because it was something we genuinely cared about.

>> Business in general has been very impactful for both of us as we look to our future.

Through the competition Innovate WithIN, we have both gained full ride scholarships to Evansville University.

Life after high school will be incredible, because not only will we be working on our business, but I would like to work towards electrical engineering, and having that scholarship makes that possible.

>> It's given me a different perspective and, like, open, more open-minded about the things I can solve and problems and issues in that you don't need a general career.

Like, it doesn't have to be something very locked down, 'cause you can create so many things through entrepreneurship.

So I think going into, like, things like business, but I also would like to do healthcare.

(bright upbeat music) And we are going to be moving into wholesale and then moving into stores, and then as we grow moving into things like bigger stores and working on different products as far as pet beds, pet leashes.

And then our overall mission, I think, from when we started was to focus a lot on donating and just giving back to our community.

So getting in a space where we can do lots of things for the community and different shelters and really just overall showing the love that we got.

>> It was always our goal to make sure that our win was a community win.

So we donated $1,000 to our Hobart Humane Society and that was a very proud moment.

So that's what we've done so far with our profits.

Once we hit our desired margin for this year, we'll also be wanting to do a reoccurring $1,000 donation to the Hobart Humane Society once more.

>> The CEOs from Patchables really have a community spirit.

To be a for-profit company and support nonprofits like ours truly shows their commitment to this community and commitment to the pets that they'll be serving.

And of course, their donation of $1,000 to the Humane Society of Hobart was life impacting for all of our pets.

We need to raise almost $1 million a year to stay open and we serve more than 3,000 pets annually.

There are only about 15 staff members.

So we need volunteers, community support, we need companies like Patchables to join us in our mission.

They really embody what we need at our shelter, and what we need in good, kind, compassionate businesses.

They were really great.

They were great kids.

And I really look forward to seeing what they're doing in the future.

It's gonna be exciting.

>> You're talking about freshmen in high school when they did the competition who are sophomores now who own and operate a company.

So they have their own LLC, they have an EIN number, they're registered with the Secretary of State, and they filed taxes, they have manufacturing set up, they have a product they've brought to market.

That's a big deal.

That's where their passion is.

They don't stop working on it, because, you know, the competition's over or they're not getting a grade for it.

They're constantly progressing.

>> I think we always tend to look back at pictures or our state's videos and things like that, and it's just so astonishing to us, 'cause it only happened last year, but it feels like it's been a millennium, and it's so much has happened, and we truly are so proud of ourselves and our team for, like, how far we've come.

And it's something that really inspires you for the future.

'Cause, like, once you've done all of this, your only thought can really be is, like, "I can do so much more.

I can break all those barriers and do anything that I really put my mind to."

So we have such bright ideas for the future.

So many things we do still want to do, and I feel like this is just the beginning for us, but it has been a really impactful beginning.

(bright upbeat music) (bright gentle music) (bright upbeat music) >> Back in the '70s, Father Blaney was approached by a family and they said, "There really isn't much for our adult with Down Syndrome."

And in his research he realized, well, actually there isn't more out there.

Once they graduated high school, there wasn't much for our friends with intellectual disabilities.

And so he said, "Well, I'm gonna change that."

And he started a faith-based camp for adults with intellectual disabilities, 18 and older, and had such great success for that, that he at that point said, "Well, why does it have to stop at camp?"

And so when he was searching for the property, he found the 185 acres that we're located now in LaPorte County and he said, "This is going to be it."

I always like to discuss, when we talk about the sub-communities within the big communities, we call them a village.

So three homes in each village.

What I like to describe is when you go to college, you might identify by the dorm that you live in.

So it's a sub-community of the greater community.

There's still great pride in being a part of Share Foundation, but each individual village of three homes has its own personality.

The life of a resident, a villager, we pour into them through four major pillars.

That's intellectual, that's spiritual, that's their work life and then their health.

And so part of that means getting up just like everybody else and going to work.

So on the property of Share, we have 185 acres.

So our villagers actually take care of our property.

So they'll be on the mowing crew, they'll be weeding in front of their houses and taking care of the land.

But then there's also an aspect where we make soap that we sell that goes to help directly benefit their life.

So they make soap in our workshops that they go out to different craft fairs and vendor fairs.

We also have these old looms, and they weave dish towels and rugs and different things like that.

And so that's the work life.

But then we found at Share, we said, "We all wanna be lifelong learners."

And so we said, "Just like their siblings grew up and were able to go to college, we wanted to be able to provide that."

And so we actually have volunteer college professors that come and they've helped form the intellectual pillar of our foundation, and they teach them math.

We have a literacy program, reading and writing, art and all of those different things that encompass kind of, like, a college education so that they can continue to learn.

And so we're hopeful that that focus on their education will actually not only increase their quality of life now, but 10, 15, 20 years from now, we'll continue to increase their quality of life.

(bright uplifting music) >> I'm from Alabama, but I wanted some independence.

I was not doing much at home.

So we found, I came up here for a week, and then I decided to come and live here, because it felt like it would fit me at the time.

And it's done very well.

I really enjoy it.

I have a lot of friends, especially my best friend is probably my housemate Mary.

My favorite job would be the craft room where we make rosaries and other crafts.

And then the Mowing Crew is my favorite job during the summertime.

It's very fun.

I enjoy it very much.

It gives me, like, peace and time to myself.

I can do it, all of it.

I can do the weed whacker, I can do push mow, but I think the tractor's my favorite.

I love playing video games.

One of my friends, Matt, he loves video games, and so do I.

All of our friends, we love to get together and play and watch movies and we have fun.

It's very important to me to have friends, people I can talk to and that I trust.

I've been able to cook a lot more.

I go out to different places now.

Share really helps.

We'll go to them if we really need to talk, and if it's really something's really bothering us, they listen to what is bothering us.

And then also praying about it helps also, because I know that God's always there if I need Him.

I can just pray for His guidance and it helps.

>> Our hope is that they truly are able to call Sharing Meadows home as long as possible.

And so it's an exciting time.

We have plans for nine more homes, and so we'll break ground on three more.

We'll reevaluate and see where else can we grow?

How else can we move forward?

Who else needs our mission all across the country?

And so we're very excited, very encouraged.

You can definitely see and feel the presence of God on the property, that He continues to bless us and continues to show us the way to grow and to reach those people.

(bright uplifting music) (bright upbeat music) (engines roaring) >> We go 65, 70 miles an hour, and you think, "Oh, I do that on the highway," but I'm here to tell you, it's a completely different 70 miles an hour.

(bright upbeat music) First of all, it's very loud.

You're strapped in extremely tight.

As far as the dirt goes, there's no windshield.

So it's constantly hitting you in the face.

(upbeat music) Close quarters.

They say rubbing's racing.

It's an adrenaline rush for sure.

There's no experience like it.

There's a reason that we spend all this time and money on it, 'cause driving the car is the rush that we all look for.

The talent is incredible.

We're racing against guys that've been racing for 30 plus years.

And you know, they don't make mistakes, and they're just, they're so good.

>> Announcer: Please welcome Team Straka.

(crowd applauds) >> It's a lot harder than anybody thinks.

I went to a open practice in a four cylinder car out at Iliana Speedway, and I remember pulling onto the track being just extremely nervous, and I thought I was going really fast.

And then I didn't realize that we were still under yellow.

We hadn't even started going yet.

And I got passed by everybody about 100 times.

But I had a blast and I was hooked instantly.

It wasn't until the next year that we became pretty competitive.

Little by little, you get more comfortable.

You drive into the corner a little further.

You brake a little later.

You accelerate a little sooner.

You just pick up on that type of stuff.

Track conditions have a lot to do with it.

In a matter of 10 minutes, you have a drastically different track.

(bright upbeat music) >> We started at Southlake Speedway in Crown Point years ago when Jake and his brother was small.

I mean, his grandpa had been going there for 50 some years and that's how it started.

And he got into it.

We went almost every Saturday.

He always said he was gonna race, and okay, kids always say, but he did.

And you know, he loves it.

A lot of people come for the first time, and, you know, they come back, 'cause you can't beat dirt racing.

Jake started on black top.

He went on dirt one time, and never raced on black top again in his life.

>> I still get really nervous.

Then I climb in and I go to staging, and then you sit in staging for, sometimes, 15 minutes or so and you're just sitting there just rearing to go.

Heart's beating outta your chest.

But it's the strangest thing.

The second you drop onto the track, it all goes away.

(bright upbeat music) Hi, dad.

(bright upbeat music) It's a unique experience, and then after the race, it takes a little bit to come back down.

I know I definitely don't go to sleep early on Saturdays after the race.

I usually can't fall asleep right away.

I think if you run a heat race, green to checkered you're in the car for about two minutes, and the feature, you're probably in the car for, I don't know, five minutes.

And then we work on this thing, some weeks, it's literally every night after work.

If nothing goes wrong, it's definitely still three, four nights.

It's practically a whole nother job if you want to be competitive.

Thankfully Joe over here does a lot of the technical stuff.

We do have some sponsors, but most of the money's coming outta our pockets.

>> This is actually my third time here at the track.

My mom's friend, his name's Charles Boardman, the 07 car.

He races here at Medaryville.

It was cool.

I actually got to sit in my friend's car.

It's a really fun time and you have a blast.

Sometimes you'll get the feeling that the racers get.

(bright upbeat music) >> So it's a good place to come hang out, and good eats, and watching good racing.

If you're interested at all in racing and your kids like it, bring 'em out on Saturday night.

Check it out.

(bright upbeat music) >> Shadyhill is probably the most family-friendly racetrack we go to.

Even if they're not race fans, I think they enjoy it.

coming out a couple times a year.

(engines roaring) (bright music) >> Racing is by far the most competitive thing I've ever done in my life.

It's crazy.

It's fierce competition.

But when you're in the pits, and you're in trouble or you need a part or you need help, the same guy that you were just racing door to door with, they'll help you out in a heartbeat.

My parents come out most nights.

My aunt and uncles come out most nights.

My brother's always there.

We're just fortunate to have the friendships and family that's not family that becomes family from racing.

(bright upbeat music) (bright gentle music) >> An arboretum is essentially an outdoor tree museum.

We do a lot of scientific research here, what it takes for trees and plants to survive, and how they deal with changes in their environment.

We also use that research to create some best practices on how people can care for trees and plants in their neighborhood.

You can really get out to nature if you want to at the arboretum.

All of our roads are one way, so once you come in, you can drive, and eventually if you drive far enough, you'll be back where you started.

So you don't have to stress too much about knowing where you are.

But you can get really deep into our woods and our different collections here.

I think even just spending time in nature is more important than ever today.

The past couple of years have definitely shown just how critical it is to have green space for everyone's even just health and mental wellbeing.

And the arboretum is a really great resource for that for the community.

(bright gentle music) The arboretum has a 1,700 acre footprint, and you can definitely just come and explore and enjoy on your own.

But if you want something more guided, we have a ton of programs and classes and experiences that someone can register for.

Our public-facing programs are all built around connecting people to nature.

And we can do that with people of all ages.

A through line through those age groups is getting people to think differently about trees and plants in their area, and then hopefully learn a little bit about what it takes to care for them.

If you wanna get a little more advanced and learn about how to start doing natural areas conservation work on your own, we've got classes for that.

And then there's also a ton of art-based and wellness-based programs year round.

(bright gentle music) It's never too early to start engaging with nature.

And to that point, we have a four acres children's garden.

Five different areas, a playground structure, our Wonder Pond area, all designed around safe exploration that really helps children spark their natural curiosity in the world around them.

(bright gentle music) I really love our youth volunteer program.

Not only does it show how impactful spending a summer as a volunteer can be at the arboretum for the volunteers, we're helping people explore STEM and think about possible future career paths.

What's interesting about having the chance to do different volunteer roles in the garden for a middle and high school age student, is that you pick up non-STEM skills as well.

People feel more confident, you know, in themselves after spending the summer talking to guests.

They feel a deeper connection, not just to nature, but to the arboretum, because they've spent the summer with us.

We've literally helped a generation of STEM professionals find pathways into the field.

(bright gentle music) >> First experience with the arboretum was as a kid.

My parents enrolled me in the summer science camp program.

I did that second grade all the way through eighth grade.

And then I got to the point where I couldn't do those anymore.

And I asked one of my instructors, "How do I keep being involved with the arboretum?"

And he told me, "Well, you can volunteer.

There's this new children's garden.

They're having a volunteer program.

Why don't you join that?"

So I joined the volunteer program, did that as long as I could, and then I went, "Now what?"

And they said, "Well, you can volunteer in the Soil Sciences lab."

So I did that, and then I went to college, and now my job is to teach people about the arboretum through the tram tours.

If you told, you know, eighth grade me that this is where I'd be now, it would be like, "Really?

You can actually work here?"

Yeah, I mean, it's just, it really is, I would say, a dream come true.

Stewardship, for me, it starts with looking around you and not just seeing what's around you, but knowing what's around you.

And from there, you can learn more about what things you can do to help your environment, help your community.

We're an educational and research institution with 1,700 acres of trees from all over the world.

And it's not just trees.

There's, you know, lots of flowers and shrubs and gardens and all kinds of special events.

It's a place, as arboretums go, that's unlike any other, I would say.

When I am going out for a hike, you know, I just kind of, I don't like to listen to music or kind of, you know, tune out.

I like to tune in.

So I'm a certified arborist in addition to all of my other things that I do.

And tree identification and flower identification relies on all of your senses.

It's not just seeing a leaf.

You can feel a leaf, you can feel bark texture, you can smell flowers.

You know, it's a complete sensory experience.

And the only way that you're going to have a proper understanding of the natural world is by having that sensory experience.

You don't get that in a classroom.

Even starting young is crucial, especially now in the world that we live in.

You know, the more we can educate younger generations about the world that we live in and the way the planet is changing, the more we have a base for the future to be able to, you know, activate some change and really create positive change that will benefit the planet long term.

(bright gentle music) >> Narrator: Centier Bank is proud to serve hometown community banking across Indiana.

For over 128 years, Indiana's largest private family-owned bank has been not for sale and promises to keep it that way for years to come.

(bright gentle music) >> Narrator: Sacred Dunes Integrative Health is your comprehensive holistic wellness center, specializing in acupuncture, massage therapy, functional lab testing, nutrition, and herbal medicine.

Sacred Dunes, where wellness grows.

>> Narrator: Local programming is made possible by IBEW Local 697, Northwest Indiana's source for electrical professionals.

Providing certified trained and experienced professionals for residential, commercial, industrial, and solar projects.

>> Narrator: Strack and Van Til is hiring full and part-time positions for deli, floral, bakery, department managers and more with flexible work schedules, sign-on bonuses, paid vacation and benefits.

Learn more at strackandvantil.com.

>> Almost every single professor I've had, I'm on a first name basis.

By building that relationship with faculty, I was able to get involved with research.

It's one thing to read about an idea in a book versus physically doing it and seeing the results.

(bright upbeat music) >> Narrator: Methodist Hospitals' mission is to provide compassionate, quality healthcare services to all those in need.

Methodist Hospital, celebrating 100 years of healing in northwest Indiana.

Learn more at methodisthospitals.org.

(bright upbeat music) >> Narrator: Additional support for Lakeshore Public Media and "Friends and Neighbors" is provided by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(bright upbeat music continues) (bright gentle music)