Increases in insurance costs and state aid cuts have forced VIP Industries to take shelter under the United Way umbrella once more.

The non-profit employer of the handicapped, established in 1966, was an agency benefited by the United Way for eight to 10 years, prior to which it held its own individual fund-raising drives, said VIP Executive Director Hilary F. Schmittzehe. But Schmittzehe said the agency got to where it could exist on its own, supported in part by annual membership fund-raising drives of parents and friends of workers.

Then the insurance and state-aid factors took their toll. Those factors a 100 percent increase for workers' compensation insurance and a 10-15 percent reduction in state aid have pushed up the cost of doing business, said Schmittzehe. In the state's coming fiscal year, he said, the aid cuts could be double that.

Schmittzehe said: "We really appreciate being in United Way again. We think it's a prudent way to go; to have as many sources of funding in case one dries up. If we can do it all in one package, that's the way we would rather do it."

Schmittzehe acknowledged the arrangement makes for more security for the agency. It also does not require the agency to put its human resources toward fund-raising activities every year, which takes a lot of time.

VIP employs close to 200 physically and mentally handicapped people in Cape Girardeau County, and 300 overall. The employer also has plants in or near the Bollinger and Perry county seats of Marble Hill and Perryville.

Almost 100 staff workers supervisors, bookkeepers and the like also work in Cape Girardeau County.

VIP's entire operation, said Schmittzehe, has consistently operated as the largest handicapped employer in Missouri. "The next closest one," he said, "is probably 100 (employees) away."

Schmittzehe said he thinks most people don't know what type of work is done at VIP and refers to it as the "best kept secret in town." The work is done on a subcontract basis for industry and deals mostly with mailing materials and packaging, he said.

"We're heavy into hangers, comic books D.C., Disney, Marvel Golden Cat (cat litter), and more."

During a recent weekday morning, Schmittzehe showed employees in the VIP sheltered workshop placing orange "Toys R Us" stickers and J-hooks on packaged Batman comics to be sold at retail.

"In this plant the only thing we do are D.C. Comics," he said. "These will go all over the world."

At the plant's other end, employees ran the comics through a machine to shrink-wrap the plastic around them, then pressed them out flat and neat. Plant employees also worked on assembling plastic transparent hangers, while still others packaged promotional mailings for Solar Press in Perryville.

"This isn't busy work," said Schmittzehe. "This is important work. These are real jobs. Somebody's got to do it."

Along with employment, VIP offers its workers developmental training for skill maintenance in areas including math and reading, and a General Education Diploma program. Workers also have the option of taking a recreation class.

A latch-key program is available for employees with working parents, enabling employees to be kept at the work site until 4 or 4:30 p.m.