NOV/DEC
2021
Garden Center Services
The View From My Chair A MESSAGE FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Sumo Wrestler Gerry & Jailhouse Rock Tim
INSIDE THIS ISSUE THE VIEW FROM MY CHAIR Page 1 TRIBUTE Page 2 GCS STAFF IMPACT Page 3 GARVEY’S FUNDRAISER Page 4
I’ve had several people over the years who have approached me with somewhat disgruntled expressions and asked, “Why are you always coming up with different ways to try and get money from us? You’ve got the Walk ‘n Roll, the Gala, Giving Tuesday, heck, you even get some money from the Tootsie Roll days. What’s the deal?” Well, the deal is that our agency’s mission statement is one that I’m incredibly proud of and I will unabashedly do whatever it takes to ensure that we have the resources
necessary to care for the adults with developmental disabilities that we serve, and also to support the incredible staff that assist them! Even though Garden Center’s mission statement is found elsewhere in the Leaflet, I want to put it here, front and center: “Advancing lives of connection, contribution, and meaning for persons with developmental disabilities and the individuals that support them.”
If you walk in joy, happiness is close behind. -Todd Stocker
Years ago, Cindy Haworth, Associate Executive Director, and I were exposed to the truth and benefits of the leadership philosophy titled Servant Leadership. Servant leadership is a
management style in which you lead by putting the needs of your employees first. Servant leaders believe that when their staff members feel personally and professionally fulfilled, they will be empowered to provide more consistent and compassionate care. I am proud that as an agency we have demonstrated our commitment to this approach by working to identify substantial programs and means which can lift up our staffs’ individual and work experience. We have a truly awesome team of managers and administrative professionals that work tirelessly to demonstrate to all of Garden Center’s employees that they are personally valued and cared about. For several years running our agency has been an active contributor to the They Deserve More coalition which has advocated with continued on page 4
GARDEN CENTER FAMILY TRIBUTE TO RUDY CUASAY -Gerry Beagles
What a meaningful tribute it was to hold a memorial for Mr. Rudy Cuasay at our State Road location on the morning of Oct. 11. Rudy was the primary architect with the Frega and Associates architecture firm that oversaw several projects at our agency. Rudy went above and beyond to ensure that Garden Center got the highest quality and largest impact from every endeavor we collaborated on. While spending time at our State Road location he became more friend then business associate. I was very sorry to hear that Rudy had passed away from complications due to COVID earlier in the year.
Tessie & Gerry
Mr. John Frega, another dear friend, supporter, and founder of the Frega and Associates firm, had discussed the idea of Garden Center somehow demonstrating the contribution that Rudy had made to our agency. We decided to plant a Japanese maple with an accompanying plaque honoring our dear friend, Mr. Rudy Cuasay. I was so moved by the persons that found their way to the gathering. There was Rudy’s wife Tessie, his daughter Jennifer, and his three prized grandchildren; John Frega and his wife Eileen were there, along with their friends Carolyn and Lou Viverito. There were many others there whose lives had been made better because of Rudy. He was one of the good ones, and he will be missed.
GCS GEAR...IS HERE! L Order GCS’ cool new winter wear to put under your tree!
multiple colors available
L Visit our website www.GardenCenterServices.org L at the end of the week for details and to place your order P THIS IS NOT A FUNDRAISER Items are sold at cost and will be shipped directly to you.
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SECOND CHANCE THRIFT UPDATE
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We are excited to finally get started on our Thrift Shoppe plans! Currently, we are working to make necessary physical changes to the site and sign up dedicated volunteers needed to make the shop successful. We are hopeful we will be able to open after the new year.
Interested in volunteering?
Contact Denise Rau at 708-398-6576
Donations
We are unable to accept donations at this time, but will let you know as soon as we are ready!
DSP WEEK THANK YOU
A huge shout out to all of you who helped us celebrate our DSPs during September’s National DSP Recognition Week. We were overwhelmed with your generosity and kindness. The donations of meals, snacks, and gift cards was incredible. The money donated helped pay for the raffles and other prizes that were distributed throughout the week. Just as important and heartwarming were the cards, notes, and messages for these staff that work so hard. There are more names than we could mention here, but please know that we appreciate each and every one of Thank You! you so, so much.
TENDING OUR GARDEN BUSINESS PARTNERS Since the beginning of the year, Garden Center has received over $100,000 in monies from local businesses by their matches of employee’s donations, through sponsorships, and grants from their corporate foundations. These monies have been a huge support during a challenging time. Does your employer sponsor events, provide matching donations, have a corporate foundation, or support local organizations like GCS in other ways? We would love to talk with them. Just forward us a contact name and we’ll do the rest!
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EASY WAYS TO SUPPORT GCS WHEN YOU DO YOUR HOLIDAY SHOPPING Amazon Smile - Just go to Smile.Amazon.com instead of Amazon.com when you shop. You will be prompted to choose your charity of choice the first time (Garden Center Services!) and then whenever you shop at smile.amazon.com, Amazon will give .5% to GCS. iGive - iGive works with over 2300 of the most popular stores you shop online. Just go to igive.com and register. Now, each time you shop participating stores online, those stores will donate a percentage of your purchase to GCS!
GARDEN CENTER HAS A NEW WEBSITE You may have noticed a few weeks ago, Garden Center updated our website. Along with the new look, there is also new information on ways you can help, new forms for volunteering and employment, and more. You’ll also find a link in the upper right hand corner of the screen titled Donor Login. This link will connect you with your Garden Center Services donation account. If you have ever donated money to GCS, you have an account with us. If you have not set up a login with GCS before, follow the Donor Login button and choose the blue text link Having trouble Logging in? that is located under the blue www.GardenCenterServices.org login button. This will take you to a page where you can set a password using the got a facelift! email you make your donations under. Once in your account, you will be able to see previous donations, update your contact information, and create or update an existing monthly donation. As we move forward, other options will also be available here including the ability to see the results of your personal GCS fundraising pages and event registration info. If you have donated using different email addresses and/or spellings of your name (whether a typo or under a nickname) you may not see the information you expect in your account. Contact us at development@gardencenterservices.org and we will combine your accounts so everything is in one place. We appreciate your feedback. If you find errors on the website or think of other information that you believe might be useful to add, please let Anne know at amcferron@gardencenterservices.org.
GCS STAFF’S IMPACT REACHES BEYOND GARDEN CENTER You already know Garden Center has some amazing staff, but did you know our staff share their amazing skills to help other agencies like GCS? Garden Center Services is a member of Intersect for Ability, a partnership of Chicago-area, non-profit agencies that serve individuals with intellectual disabilities. This multi-project collaboration, funded by The Coleman Foundation, is currently focused on twelve projects to enhance services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. For the past year, One of the activity videos GCS GCS has worked alongside 14 other agencies on a project to create an online staff created for The Current curriculum database called The Current. Shannon O’Connell is Garden Center’s lead on the project which has created over 500 activities in six domain areas: Communication, Culture & Community, Educate & Explore, Health, Occupational & Vocational, and Wellness. This database is already benefiting hundreds of people with intellectual disabilities by providing those who support them a resource of quality, individualized, daily activities. We are proud of our participation with The Current and look forward to sharing with you progress on other Intersect for Ability projects we are collaborating on, in future issues of Garden Center’s newsletter.
Mark your calendar...
2022 GCS Holidays
Community Day Services will be closed the following holidays in 2022. If the holiday lands on a weekend, we will observe it on the date indicated.
DATE
HOLIDAY
Jan 1
(Closed on 31st)
New Year’s Day
Jan 17
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
May 30 Jun 19
Memorial Day
(Closed on 20th)
Juneteenth
Jul 4
Independence Day
Sep 5
Labor Day
Nov 24 & 25
Thanksgiving
Dec 24 & rd25
Christmas
(Closed on 23
& 26th)
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Growing dignity and independence 8333 S. Austin Ave. Burbank, IL 60459 10444 S. Kedzie Chicago, IL 60655 phone 773-941-4151 email info@gardencenterservices.org web www.GardenCenterServices.org
BOARD OF DIRECTORS President
John Dahlke
Vice President
Donna Blair
Treasurer
Anthony Di Miele
Secretary
Cindy Malloy
Members
Lisa Beemsterboer
Garden Center Garvey’s 3rd Quarter Recycle for a Reason UPDATE! A HUGE SHOUT OUT to our friends at Garvey’s Office Products for choosing GCS as their 3rd Quarter Recycle for a Reason recipient. Mr. Dave Rauen, our contact with Garvey’s, has been a wonderful friend and supporter of Garden Center for years. He has a true connection with a number of the persons we serve and we are so grateful for way he collaborates with Julie Nowobielski. of our staff to ensure that Garvey’s fulfills our office products needs in such a timely and economical fashion.
A special thank you to all of you who brought in your old electronics, cardboard and empty toner cartridges and to Garden Center’s Self-Advocacy group, The Dream Team, for helping collect it all! Who knew our junk was worth so much?!
Shannon Benaitis
GIVING TUESDAY IS ALMOST HERE!
Mary Gill Dr. Chris Grunow Rep. Fran Hurley Ava Rhodes - Smith Maria Zeimen, OSF
OUR MISSION Advancing lives of connection, contribution, and meaning for persons with developmental disabilities and the individuals that support them.
WOW!
For the past eight years, Garden Center has participated in Giving Tuesday, a nationwide day of giving that falls on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. We are excited to announce The Coleman Foundation has again pledged to give Garden Center $125 for each donation of $125 or more made from Nov 1 through Giving Tuesday (Nov. 30th) - up to $12,500! Like last year, donors who give $125 or more will receive a beautiful porcelain ornament. This year’s ornament features a painting by Victoria who attends Garden Center’s State Road program.
Read the insert in this issue of The Leaflet to learn more!
DEC 10th
Mt. Greenwood Holiday Stroll
Friday, December 10th 4-7pm Visit the Mount Greenwood Community and Business Association Facebook Page for more information.
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the Illinois’ legislature to provide an adequate living wage for our Direct Support Professionals (DSP). So what’s the potential outcomes for attending to your staff in this way? All I know is that nearly half of our direct care staff have been with us for over five years, and some for many more! As of today’s date we have only three staff vacancies at Garden Center! Through conversations with my colleagues at other agencies I know this is unparalleled. 100% of our staff are vaccinated! We have a very dedicated executive staff team that have years of experience in this field who have now been with this agency for some time. At the end of the day I truly believe that the proof is in the pudding! Please take care of yourselves and one another. Have safe, healthy, and joyful holidays.