GCS Newsletter THE LEAFLET Issue JUL/AUG 2023

Garden Center Services

The View From My Chair

Gerry makes a BIG announcement

Dear Friends of Garden Center Services; the picture of me on the front of this issue of the Leaflet is of me finding a fun way to announce to our wonderful employees the news regarding a substantial increase to our rates from the Illinois Department of Human Services! To share important information like this I some times take on the persona of newscaster Gerry “Specs” Beagles ��!!

Through the efforts of the They Deserve More Coalition, the Illinois Association of

Rehabilitation Facilities, and the Institute on Public Policy for People with Disabilities, all of which Garden Center Services belongs to, an incredibly focused and convincing message was delivered to the Illinois legislature advocating for a much needed increase in the rates we are funded at for the services we provide.

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle. Happiness never decreases by being shared.

The positive outcome is that the state has granted an increase of $2.50 per hour effective January 1st, 2024, to help raise the hourly

wages for those employees that work directly with our participants, and to cover other costs as well. This increase is one of the largest the state has awarded for some time, and gets us closer to the amount of necessary funding as identified by the Guidehouse Rate Study.

We have a profound understanding at our agency that the quality of the services we provide our individuals is directly tied to the value of our workforce, and how well the management of GCS is taking care of them. At agencies such as ours there are always many things we can spend money on, but we are choosing to flow through 100% of our increase to our incredible staff! This is borne of our promise to keep strong our mission of “Advancing lives of connection, contribution

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-Gautama Buddha

A MESSAGE FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

WELCOME JONNY DURAN!

GARDEN CENTER’S NEW DIRECTOR OF NURSING

Help us welcome Garden Center’s new Director of Nursing, Jonny Duran!

Jonny grew up between Chicago and Puerto Rico. When he was young, Jonny’s Aunt lived with his family. She had a developmental disability as a result of uncontrolled epilepsy and spent long stretches of time in the hospital. As a pre-teen, Jonny spent a lot of his time in the hospital with her as his Aunt’s designated interpreter. While there, Jonny said he hung out with the nurses a lot. They made him feel at home, gave him treats, and generally kept him company, which ultimately led Jonny to join the profession himself.

Jonny comes to Garden Center with a wealth of experience in both direct support care and nursing. He worked at Clearbrook as a Direct Support Professional for over five years and still has relationships with many of the people he supported there. After he completed his nursing degree, Jonny worked in critical care to develop his nursing skills and also worked a short-term stint in hospice care.

Jonny says he loves a lot of things about working at Garden Center. He mentioned the flexibility and the kind people, but he said, “If I have to pick one thing I love the most, it is the time I get to spend with our consumers.”

We all love spending time with you too Jonny - we are so glad you are here!

SECOND CHANCE CELEBRATES ONE YEAR IN OUR NEW HOME!

This July, Garden Center’s Second Chance Thrift Shoppe celebrated it’s one-year anniversary at our new Chicago location! We had snacks and special sales to mark the occasion.

Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate with us! Help us work toward our second anniversary by joining our fun volunteer crew for whatever amount of time you can share. Fill out a volunteer form on our website or contact Tina for more information at 773-941-4481.

Check out our upcoming sales on the back of this issue!

TENDING OUR GARDEN

Garden Center Services publishes our newsletter six times a year. The majority of our readers receive the newsletter via email, but for those newsletters we mail, the printing and mailing costs add up.

We are happy to send out paper newsletters to anyone who is better able to read a printed copy, but if you currently receive a printed newsletter and wouldn’t mind switching to digital, please send your email address to Anne at amcferron@ GardenCenterServices.org.

Thank You!

Welcome Jonny Duran, RN!

GARDEN CENTER STAFF LEARN TO DANCE IN THE RAIN

It has become almost cliche’ to say that we are living in unprecedented times. That doesn’t, however, make it any less true. For many of us, this post-pandemic period coupled with the current political and global uncertainty has combined to create significant anxiety and stress. It can be difficult in the best of times to be fully present for the people we support, and this ongoing turmoil can make it even more challenging.

Last year, several Garden Center staff attended the Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities (IARF) conference and came back abuzz after hearing speaker Lou Radja address how we can navigate this very issue. It was clear to Garden Center staff, more people need to hear Lou’s message. Garden Center invited fellow disability provider, Sertoma Centre, to join us in the effort, and as a result, this past May, Garden Center hosted Lou to present Dancing in the Rain; Thriving in Challenging Times.

Lou, a gifted motivational speaker, gave his presentation twice so we could reach the most staff possible from both agencies. It was an inspirational day that we won’t soon forget.

Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.

A special thank you to Marist High School who loaned us their auditorium for the event.

SUNNY SMASH WRAP UP!

Garden Center’s 2023 Sunny Smash Co-Ed Softball Tournament was a huge success! We raised over $34,000 for programs and services at Garden Center and had a great time doing it. Help us show some love for our event sponsors below and be sure to save the date for next year’s event! Next year’s Sunny Smash will be June 1st, 2024.

OUR SPONSORS

MVP

CIBC Bank

Alley Cats

The Lovelady Family

GOLD GLOVE

Linda Sherwood

The Beagles/Haworth Family

Chicago Fire Protection

Scannell & Associates, PC

Kevin & Jane Doherty

Kaman Tool Corporation

The Sibik Family

Dave Rauen

HOME RUN

Dorothy Ballis

Mary Kay Marrello

Beverly Bank & Trust

Burbank Park District

Franconcello’s

DuMais Pediatric

Jenny Wojcik

2 BAGGER

Express Medi Spa

Robert Milan Law P.C.

Tom Walsh - Edward Jones

Westside Children’s Therapy

The Head Family

The Kudlinski Family

Hallberg - Valek Allstate

Pete’s Service Center

Joe Voves - Country Financial

The Studio Beverly

LOL - Diedre Walton

Institute on Public Policy for People with Disabilities

Wonderburger/ LaFiesta

Howard Beagles

Paul Krutulis

Stephen & Joanne Beagles

Rep. Mary Gill

Mike & Anne McFerron

Luigis Paisans Pizza Inc.

Beverly Ride On Chuck’s So. Comfort Cafe

Bush Family Eyecare

Petty & Bielik Orthodontics

Mitchell’s Flowers & Events

Hillside Chatham Florist

A special thank you to these businesses/ organizations, our many donors & volunteers who made this event possible!

Calabria Imports

Cravings

Jefe’s Catering

St. Christina Fields

Brackenbox

Duffy Design

PepsiCo

Wolf’s Bakery

Beverly Bakery

Keep an eye out for family packets. They’ll be on their way to you soon!

Lou Radja & Cindy Haworth

SECOND CHANCE THRIFT SALES

Growing dignity and independence

JULY

Special Tag Sales

Orange 50%OFF Purple 30%OFF

We need you! Any time you can help is appreciated. If you can sign up for one fourhour shift a week, that would be terrific! Visit our website and follow the THRIFT link for more information OR reach out to Gerry directly at 708-560-4400.

We’ve Moved!

GARDEN CENTER SERVICES

FOLLOW US TO OUR NEW FACEBOOK ADDRESSES!

Garden Center: www.facebook.com/GardenCenterServicesGCS

Second Chance: www.facebook.com/gcsSecondChanceThrift

GCS VACATION PHOTOS!

Vegas Baby! Sweethearts Getaway to Galena Glamping in IL

and meaning for persons with disabilities and the individuals that support them!! And we will accomplish this by always holding true to the agency’s core values of Respect, Empowerment and Compassion!!!

I’d be remiss if I didn’t take this opportunity to thank all of you that took the time to email, write or phone your legislators. It is really so true that the squeaky wheel get the oil!! Your efforts are also part of the reason for the increase.

We still have uncovered expenses at the agency and that is why we continue to hold various fundraisers throughout the year. I want to express my gratitude to all of you that helped to make our 2nd Annual Sunny Smash Softball Tournament such a success! After costs we netted over $34,000 to help support the agency’s programs and to maintain our physical properties. And as a reminder, our next event will be the Walk & Roll that will be held September 23rd at St. Christina’s field in Mt. Greenwood.