NOVEMBER
2015
Garden Center Services
The View From My Chair A MESSAGE FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
the desire for growth, the compassionate heart wanting to help, the need for acceptance & connection, the joy and laughter born from fulfillment. Gerry & Chris
INSIDE THIS ISSUE THE VIEW FROM MY CHAIR Page 1 LOREL KITCHEN REMODEL Page 2 GCS HOLIDAY CATALOG Page 3 AROUND GCS Page 4
As we head into another holiday season of gratitude and giving, I simply want to share with you a few thoughts that restate some ideas I’ve expressed in other newsletters. This morning I find myself wondering if the best use of this front page of the Leaflet wouldn’t just be a montage full of pictures capturing the precious individuals we support interacting with our awesome staff in the multitude of ways they do each and every day! I’m sure those photos would express much better than I the true essence of Garden Center Services;
I realize that as Executive Director of this indispensable organization it has become one of my primary responsibilities to solicit the discretionary funding necessary to provide the quality services our program participants deserve. I’m confident I don’t need to beleaguer you yet again with the distressing reality of the inadequate funding directed by the state of Illinois towards supports for individuals impacted by disabilities. In all honesty, it’s frustrating and tiring at times to always be approaching you with my hands out, but then I look into the faces of those we serve, and I’m fired up again.
And is it not true as we all begin making plans for the upcoming Thanksgiving dinner, that compared to the majority of people that we share this planet with, we have so much to grateful for. Oh I understand that things could be better, newer, easier, or less complicated, but I would wager we all have a place to lay our head tonight and some amount of food to put into our bellies. It is my sincere hope that we all allow these seeds of gratitude to grow to the point that our expression of thanks is to actively find ways of bringing more kindness into the world. And as Executive Director of this agency, I would ask that some of that generosity of spirit and resources be directed towards the individuals we serve.