Our History

Reece Endeavor of Midland began with David and Florence Reece, longtime residents of Midland County, who had three children: Nancy, Sandra and William. William was born with Down Syndrome and, according to doctors, would be disabled for life.

The Reece family soon discovered there were very few resources to help with their son’s care. So, they worked with other parents of disabled children to found the Midland Association of Retarded Children (MARC). Its mission was to promote programs for children with mental disabilities.

The David Reece Fund

David Reece died in 1956, and his memorials were contributed to MARC, which established the David Reece Fund in 1957 with a humble $1,130 in his memory. His family and friends worked diligently on fundraising for the next 16 years until the Reece Fund was able to purchase its first home in 1973 on West Carpenter. The house remains in use today.

Establishing Our Program

After several years of purchasing homes for disabled residents and individuals transferring out of group or family homes, the David Reece Fund received a new request.

In 1989, Tim Bartlett, a young man with developmental disabilities, worked with his family, friends and the Arc of Midland to request that the David Reece Fund purchase a home and rent it to Tim.

The concept was that Tim would share the home with two people who would help with the rent and become housemates for him. Tim would receive assistance from a staff hired and paid for by the Department of Social Services and Community Mental Health. While this was a different concept from what the Fund was accustomed to, it quickly became apparent that the value of permanency for Tim and his acceptance in the community made this an exceptional model for future activities.

Reece Officially Established

Success was immediately evident, and many Midland families chose to follow in Tim’s footsteps. This model became so regularly used that, in 1997, the David Reece Fund became known as The Reece Community Living Endeavor in an effort to demonstrate the focus on this new model.

Re-Branding Reece

Re-branding efforts in 2011 gave us an updated look and a new name ‘Reece Endeavor of Midland’ to more clearly identify our organization with the Midland area.