THIS MONTH’S ISSUE The View From My Chair
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GCS Family Spotlight
02
Help GCS Earn $250,000!
03
Around GCS
04
THE LEAFLET ISSUE SEPTEMBER YEAR 2012
The View From My Chair a message from our Executive director
Welcome to our September Newsletter. My comments for this article are narrowly focused on some current and upcoming fundraising activities that are important to the financial health of the agency.
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.
You hopefully have noticed the thermometer in our last few newsletters and on our website that has been measuring the progress towards our goal of $22,500 in donations to help cover the costs of moving from the vandalized Wesbrook Center to the new Kedzie location. The thermometer in last months’ Leaflet showed that we were $700 short of that mark. The day the newsletter was distributed, I received a call from a wonderful woman whose son we support in one of our community-based homes. She wanted to drop by with a check for $700 so that we would reach the top of the thermometer! How cool is that?! This means we can now move on to Phase 2 of the goal we had established at the time of the unfortunate incident at the Wesbrook day program site. The target of the new thermometer you will find in the months’ newsletter is for $21,500. This money will be used to cover the cost we incurred in replacing the destroyed or stolen equipment, furniture, and program supplies. It will also enable us to fund the set up of data and communication systems, as well as fund the cost of the move itself and the storage for the items we were able to salvage from the Wesbrook building. Any donations you can make towards this aim are greatly appreciated. You will also find an article on page 3 about the Chase Community Giving Program which allows Garden Center to compete with charities nationwide for grants ranging from $10,000 to $250,000. All you have to do to support us in this effort is to vote for us on Facebook and the Chase website! So it doesn’t cost you anything, it’s quick & easy, and it could get us some much needed cash! But we need your
help in getting the word out through your social network of family, friends, and co-workers. We are confident of our success if this is a real GCS family effort!. Lastly, I want to mention the “Celebrate Me Home” event that is being held this Saturday, Sept. 8th, at 115 Bourbon Street Restaurant located at 3359 W. 159th St. in Merrionette Park. Monies from this affair are going to be donated to Garden Center Services to assist us with the purchase and rehab of a house that will become the new home for some women that are choosing to take advantage of the Ligas consent decree. This decree, which has become law in Illinois, states that individuals residing in congregate Intermediate Care Facilities for the Developmentally Disabled must be given the opportunity to move into smaller community based living arrangements if they so choose. A couple of the ladies we serve at our Berwyn ICF/DD have decided to take advantage of this opportunity, and the family of one of these individuals is the driving force behind this fundraiser. I’m sure this is going to be a terrific event! The work and effort that has been put forward by this family and their circle of friends has been tremendous. Here is a sneak preview of their INCREDIBLE Silent Auction Items!! Items include cooking classes, sports tickets (Cubs, Sox, Bears, Packers), signed Blackhawks memorabilia, a week’s stay in Ireland, Disney Park Hopper passes and more! These 33 auction items are in addition to the 80 basket raffle items that will be presented on the day of the event! Please join us for this celebration of helping people with disabilities have the most connected and independent lives possible. Thank You.
A 5 0 1 ( c ) ( 3 ) N o npr o fit organization