THIS MONTH’S ISSUE The View From My Chair
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Garden Center Family Spotlight
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GCS Gears up for Reading
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Friends of Garden Center
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THE LEAFLET ISSUE JUL YEAR 2012
The View From My Chair a message from our Executive director
Check out Gerry's Blog at www.GardenCenterServices.org
OUR MISSION Garden Center Services is committed to supporting and empowering persons with developmental disabilities through innovative and person-centered services. Our commitment to the excellence of our programs is surpassed only by our devotion to the people we serve and the communities in which they live.
A couple of Saturday’s ago, a memorial the lack of adequate funding service was held for a wonderful woman we experience year after year has that had been attending programs at the made it harder and harder to provide agency for over 24 years. Karen, who had programs and activities that exceed struggled with cancer for the last several minimal standards. The challenge of years, continued to exhibit her goodness, attracting and retaining the kind of staff we friendliness, and strong work ethic, though want working with the individuals we assist the effects of her illness and treatments is made more difficult by the insufficient were obvious. During the time that I have wages we are able to pay. been lucky enough to work at Garden Center Services, Karen was not just a Our agency has remained financially consumer of our services, she became a sound by increasing the number of persons attending our programs, friend. There were certainly a review of the current days that our interactions; Did we do however, referral packets identifies many chats about weekends or “ everything individuals whose needs would holidays, touching base about how we both were possible to help not be effectively met by the state’s paradigms. But I honestly feeling, joking about/with her this person funding think the overriding source of my classroom staff, and the hugs, concern is tied to how well are we brought as much or more have the life the quality of life for the nurturing to me as it did to her. they wanted? ” affecting 150 or so individuals we serve. I had been with Karen in the hospital shortly before she passed, and It seems the older I get the faster time I know her leaving was a thing of mercy. passes. I so appreciate all of you that What weighs on me, and this has happened are reading this newsletter, and the many every time we’ve lost someone we’ve ways that you provide the backing and supported, is dealing with the question, encouragement that strengthens our efforts “Did we do everything possible to help this to provide the best services possible. I ask that you take up a sense of urgency about person have the life they wanted?” persons with developmental disabilities There are a number of factors that make it having the necessary resources to craft stressful to be a provider of supports and the lives they deserve. services to persons with developmental disabilities in the state of Illinois. Obviously A 5 0 1 ( c ) ( 3 ) N o n p r o fit organization