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By Shannon Sturgis Bobby Kelly started out volunteering at Independent Living Services in Conway and now works there. + Enlarge

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Bobby Kelly caught a bug. Now, he wants others to catch it, too.

On a college-student whim as an undergraduate at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Kelly decided to volunteer with Independent Living Services, a Conway-based nonprofit that assists those with developmental disabilities in living a better, more-involved, independent life. Three years later the 24-year-old UCA graduate is Independent Living Services' development coordinator, overseeing fundraising for the agency first founded in 1970 and managing volunteers who assist with the agency's approximately 200 consumers. Kelly is now a graduate student at UCA.

"As an undergraduate, I had no intention of doing this," said Kelly, a Conway native. "But I started working one on one with a consumer, and it changed my life. It was a 31-year-old man, and he really opened up my mind to this world. When you are around the consumers, you learn more about yourself than the disability they have. It really will make you a better person."

Independent Living Services assists individuals with developmental disabilities such as mental retardation, cerebral palsy, autism and related conditions in living a more productive and independent life in their community. The agency operates an adult development center, intermediate care facility, three group homes, Conway apartments and Greenbrier apartments while also supporting consumers living in their own apartments or homes in the community. Assistance includes programs from 24-hour care to classes in money management — whatever is necessary to foster independence.

After being introduced to Independent Living Services as an undergraduate (Kelly graduated from UCA in December 2007 with a bachelor's of science degree in public relations and writing.), Kelly was assigned as an adult companion to his first consumer. He was quickly offered more opportunities before becoming responsible for managing the staff overseeing the 31-year-old consumer. When he was named Independent Living Services' development coordinator in December 2008, Kelly was special projects coordinator for the Independent Living Services Golf Ball Drop and had served as an adult companion for two consumers.

"I didn't know I wanted to help people the way that I do," Kelly said. "I don't really know what a disability is anymore."

As development coordinator, Kelly's duties are many, from marketing and public relations tasks to raising funds for the nonprofit, which depends on the federal government for the majority of its funds. The agency's largest fundraiser is the annual Golf Ball Drop. This year's event raised $12,000, increasing the event's five-year fundraising total to $67,000, resources used strictly for transportation-related costs.

But as Independent Living Services continues to grow, Kelly has witnessed an even greater need for volunteers, whether it's individuals assisting with the yearly Special Olympics held in April or groups volunteering for Independent Living Services' social functions. Kelly uses a software program to better match potential volunteers with volunteer opportunities, such as working at Profiles, Independent Living Services' adult development center in downtown Conway.

The facility is a place where consumers can experience a wide variety of activities to improve their daily lives, such as computer and home economics classes, music and art hobbies, and speech, physical and occupational therapies. Volunteers are needed at Profiles in a variety of areas, whether it's artists playing musical instruments for consumers, foreign students at local colleges introducing consumers to their cultures or just hanging out and engaging consumers in conversation.

"Pretty much anything you're interested in I can find a fit," Kelly said. "You don't even have to come in and do anything special. Sometimes the consumers just need someone to come in and break up the monotony. Maybe their family is gone or not involved. Sometimes a friend is all they need.

"There's all kinds of opportunities for what we're doing. I like this because it gives people a chance to see directly, face to face, the people they're helping out. I definitely caught the bug. I enjoy being here. I'm just trying to get other people to catch the bug."

Interested in volunteering with Independent Living Services? Contact development coordinator Bobby Kelly at (501) 329-8249 or e-mail him at bobby@indliving.org.