page 2: A Message from the President & CEO
page 4: Lambs on the Run
page 5: Quest Happenings
page 6: Special Olympics Update our mission: Creating opportunities, connections, and shared possibilities for people with developmental disabilities
2026 Volume 2 (Continued
We’re
If you’ve visited or driven by on the highway lately, you will notice our Farmyard looks like a different place! The barn and surrounding areas are all taking shape, and every day we are getting closer and closer to welcoming guests back to visit our animals and make memories.
This beautiful new space has been a dream for many years, and it goes far beyond a simple renovation. It is a meaningful step forward for our community, opening new doors for learning, connection, and opportunity for our participants and every guest who visits.
For our participants, the space will be another choice for them to build skills, gain confidence, and take pride in their work. And for our visitors, it is a chance to engage more deeply with our animals, our programs, and the purpose that drives everything we do.
With unpredictable Midwest weather, including a snowy winter and heavy spring storms, the construction team has worked tirelessly to keep things moving forward.
Planting season is here, and our Greenhouse is filled with beauty and color! From hardy annuals and perennials to fresh vegetables ready for your garden, there is something for every plant lover to enjoy.
We welcomed the season with Plant Palooza, a fiveday event that brought our community together. Guests explored our selection, created custom planters, and received expert advice from our Greenhouse team. With special savings, free seed mixes for children, and plenty of inspiration, it was a wonderful way to celebrate spring and Mother’s Day.
While the event has ended, our Greenhouse remains open and ready to help you grow. We invite you to stop by and see all that is still in bloom.
Dear Friends,
As we step into a new season at Lambs Farm, I’m feeling a real sense of momentum and gratitude. Everywhere you look, something is taking shape—in our programs, on our grounds, and in the lives of the men and women we serve.
The Farmyard is getting close to the finish line, and the excitement is building. This project is so much more than a renovation. It’s a renewed commitment to joy, learning, and connection for our participants and for the families who visit year after year.
Spring also means the Greenhouse is bursting back to life. Our team has been busy preparing beautiful plants and hanging baskets. Seeing the space filled with greenery and color always reminds me how much can grow with the right care and encouragement.
Across campus, major projects continue to move forward— Lambs Park, the pier, and several other improvements that will create more opportunities for recreation and community. These aren’t just upgrades; they’re investments in belonging.
We’re gearing up for one of our favorite traditions, the Lambs Farm 5K. It’s such a joyful day! If you haven’t joined us before, this is a wonderful year to start! Meanwhile, our artists are busy preparing for the LF Studios Summer Sale, and our Special Olympics athletes continue to train and compete with incredible determination. Their passion and dedication reminds us every day why our mission matters.
Our many friends make such a difference. We were fortunate to welcome a group of AARP volunteers this spring who spent two days helping with tax preparation. Their kindness and patience made a meaningful impact, and we’re grateful for the partnership that’s beginning to form.
Our story continues to unfold, and I thank you for being part of it. Your support and belief in the men and women of Lambs Farm make everything possible. I’m grateful to be moving forward into this next chapter with all of you.
With appreciation,
Kathy Buresch President & CEO
At the time of writing, we do not yet have a confirmed reopening date, but we encourage you to check our website and social media channels using the QR code below. We will share updates as soon as they are available, and we look forward to welcoming back our longtime guests while also meeting many new faces.
Our dedicated team of animal keepers has been making the most of this extra time with our Farmyard friends and can’t wait to show them their new and improved homes when construction wraps up.
In the meantime, we invite you to take a look at the progress and see how the barn has come together so far. This marks just Phase 1 of our project, and we are excited for what lies ahead. The future is bright for Lambs Farm, and we are grateful to have you following along and supporting our meaningful mission.
Now that spring skies have arrived, two major projects, Lambs Park and the fishing pier, are nearing completion and bringing new opportunities for our participants.
Lambs Park has come to life as an accessible and vibrant space, featuring innovative, disabilityfriendly, and sensoryfriendly equipment. While a few finishing touches remain, participants are already gathering, exercising, and having fun together.
Our second project, the fishing pier, has been beautifully renovated and is ready to welcome participants for a summer of fishing. The transformation is amazing, and improvements along the shoreline will continue, ensuring an enhanced outdoor experience for everyone.
Thank you to everyone who helped make these projects possible! We will continue to keep you updated as progress continues.
Another project we’re excited to share is LF Studios’ Group Art class Sunflower Triptych!
Over 10 weeks, participants brought this piece to life step by step. They began by prepping and priming the canvases, then sculpted texture using air-dry clay. From there, they built up layers of paint with highlight techniques and enhanced the details with gold leaf and colorful stains. The group also created a glass mosaic using dyed fire glass, and completed the piece with a final resin pour to seal it all together.
You can view this impressive piece at the Magnolia Cafe & Bakery!
Erin and Sari hope to see you there!
Bring your friends and family together for a morning of movement and meaning at Lambs on the Run! Join us on Sunday, June 7, from 9am to 12pm for a 5K run or 2-mile walk.
This popular event celebrates our 65th anniversary and supports our mission of creating opportunities, connections, and shared possibilities for people with developmental disabilities. Every registration and every step taken helps make a difference for our amazing participants.
Runners and walkers will begin at the Lambs Farm campus before making their way to the Old School Forest Preserve. After crossing the finish line, participants can enjoy refreshments, snacks, activities, and shopping at the Lambs Farm businesses.
Registration is $30 per person and includes a finisher medal along with access to select post-race activities. Participants will also have the opportunity to earn Lambs Farm merchandise and additional perks through fundraising efforts.
Sign up using the QR code below or learn more about sponsorship opportunities to increase your brand recognition. See you there!
Participants at Lambs Farm are enjoying a vibrant and creative spring as they begin a new term of exciting Quest classes and enriching experiences. From hands-on learning to community outings, there is something inspiring happening every day.
The popular Mystery Guest class has featured a variety of exciting surprise performances, including a magician, musicians, and more. Participants are also exploring new skills such as airbrush techniques while visiting local coffee shops, libraries, and museums. In the Your Vision Design Studio, creativity continues to grow as participants collaborate to design fun logos and merchandise together.
At LF Studios, artists are creating beautiful, one-of-a-kind pieces each day. Their latest project is a new 65th anniversary mosaic tree created for our 65th anniversary branding video. It is a stunning piece, and it was put together start to finish in just two weeks. This accomplishment highlights their creativity, teamwork, and talent.
In addition to large group projects, participants are crafting a wide variety of items, including flower bookmarks, resin bowls, pour paintings, soaps, and more. Their artwork is available for purchase at Lambs Farm businesses, and we are excited to host the first LF Studios Summer Sale on Thursday, June 25, and Friday, June 26 at LF Studios from 9am to 3pm, where guests can meet the artists, explore and purchase their latest creations.
Thank You, AARP Tax Volunteers!
A big thank you to the AARP Foundation TaxAide Volunteer Program for their time, dedication, and incredible support of our participants!
Earlier this month, their dedicated team spent two days assisting more than 80 participants with their tax returns, while also taking the time to educate them about the process.
From start to finish, the AARP team worked diligently through every step, demonstrating patience and professionalism while creating meaningful connections and learning experiences for everyone involved. We would especially like to recognize Jamie Epstein and Mike Lynn for their outstanding contributions and commitment.
We are grateful for this growing partnership and look forward to continuing this important work together to better serve our participants and families.
Here are some other fun things participants have been up to lately!
Athletes have been enjoying the warmer weather and recently competed in the Special Olympics Track events. Their determination and dedication paid off, resulting in 16 gold medals. These individuals not only earned new hardware but also secured spots at the Special Olympics State Games in June!
Everyone is also gearing up for the annual recreation event, Night of Stars, where we celebrate participants’ accomplishments throughout the year. Our Recreation Department offers a wide variety of opportunities for participants to stay active in every season, including the Healthy Lambs program, daily activities, fun outings, weekend bowling, swim practice, and more. Athletes have now started softball practice, and we are excited to watch them hit the diamond.
Participants also recently enjoyed a spirited Spirit Week, with each day featuring a new theme, including Derby Day, Baseball Day, Star Wars Day, Cinco de Mayo, Patriotic Day, and Denim Day. There is always something fun happening at Lambs Farm, and their smiles say it all!
Lambs Farm is grateful for the support we receive from our many friends. Listed below are the names of those especially generous individuals, foundations and corporations whose gifts of $1,000 or more were received from January - April 2026.
$50,000 and above
Mr. & Mrs. Warren Aldridge
Anonymous
$25,000 to $49,999
Alverin M. Cornell Fund
$10,000 to $24,999
Mr. & Mrs. David P. Glover
Pam H. Olson
Mr. Robert N. Savoie
Mr. & Mrs. James P. Zils
$5,000 to $9,999
Abbott Laboratories
Mr. & Mrs. Walt Bazarnik
Mrs. Nancy Casanova
Mr. Thomas D. Creigh
Dr. Shari B. Glynn and Dr. John Glynn
Ms. Elizabeth C. Jeffries
Mr. Donald P. Maves
New Trier Township
The Reichert Foundation
Mr. Peter K. Strohmayer
Mr. & Mrs. Philip Wernick
Mr. Sheldon O. Zisook
$2,500 to $4,999 AbbVie
Anonymous
Mrs. Virginia Cleary
Mr. Gerald H. Elbin
William & Susan Jacobs
PGA TOUR Superstore
Photo’s Hot Dogs
Ms. Rosalie Piazza
Ms. Susan Siebers
$1,000 to $2,499
Ms. Michelle Benham
Mr. Rick Bertolozzi
Dan Bleck
Mr. & Mrs. Gregg M. Elstien
Mr. & Mrs. Richard A. Fick
Rich Green
Mr. Keith Hickman
Dr. Melvin P. Katz
Mr. & Mrs. Fredric Keffer
Mr. & Mrs. Kennen H. Kim
Mr. David C. Kleiman
Laurie Demetrio Interiors
Dr. Patrick Leary
Mrs. Karen Lieberman
Dr. & Mrs. Marshall A. Lyall
Ms. Gale Zemel & Mr. David Mausner
Mr. & Mrs. Mark Moore
Northwestern Memorial Healthcare
Mr. Chaitanya Patel
Mr. & Mrs. Paul Rosengarten
Mr. Steven E. Scott
Mr. & Mrs. Phillip L. Stern
Sub-Zero Group Foundation
Synchrony Financial
Ms. Eiko Terao
The Galley, LLC
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas A. Thill
Mr. & Mrs. Willard T. Walker
Heidi Waltner-Pepper
Sharon & Randal Zabrowski
Bequests Allen B. Frake Trust
Facebook Fundraisers
Ann Seel Garrity
Lynda Landgraf
Lisa Lichtenstein
We are always especially honored by the decision to honor and remember friends and loved ones with a gift to Lambs Farm. Below, we list the names of those individuals who have been honored or remembered with a gift received from January - April 2026.
In Honor Of
Christopher Breck
Grayson Deeney
Nikki Foland
Ann Garrity
Lynda Landgraf
Lisa Lichtenstein
Wynn A. Rosengarten
Linda Schuh
Diane Spanier
Paul Spanier
Sarita Still
Abbey Wright
Ellen R. Zemel
James P. Zils
Jon Zils
Rodd Zisook
In Memory Of
Gloria Benham
Steve Budd
Mary Crake
Petra Delgado
John Durbin
Kaitlin Englehart
Gertrude E. Fredrich
Frank Froncek
Irene Froncek
Janie Froncek
Bernard G. Gardner
Harvey Ginsberg
Bob Hansen
Jennifer Hart
R. Shawn Heaviland
Thomas S. Hebda
Peter Jones
Phyllis Jones
Ryan Johnathan Justen
Mick Kundert
Dolores Lewandowski
Norbert Lewandowski
Laura Lyall
Leslie Lyall
Virginia A. Lyall
Gene Mandrea
Michael C. Martino
Tera L. Matthies
Mary McGonigel
Ruth McGowen
Dorothy Murphy
John “Jay” B. Murphy, Jr.
John B. Murphy
Katherine M. Murphy
Michael F. Murphy
Richard R. Murphy
Paula O’Connor
Carolyn Page
Dennis Page
Diane Posar
Neil Reisman
Daniel C. Reiter
Murray Rosenblatt
Shadow Rosenmutter
Nancy Sauseda
Barbara J. Schroeder
Barbara M. Silet
Janis Stanek
Laura L. Strohmayer
Judith Thompson
Stace Vysnionis
Alison Walker
Patrick White
Rich Winder
Andrea Zisook
14245 W. Rockland Road, Libertyville, IL 60048
Change service requested
Libertyville, IL
Permit No. 171
Lambs on the Run
Sunday, June 7 | 9am-12pm
Lambs Farm/Old School Forest Preserve
Bring your friends and family together for a morning of movement and meaning at Lambs on the Run.
Father’s Day Brunch
Sunday, June 21 | 10am-2pm
Magnolia Cafe & Bakery
Celebrate dad at Lambs Farm!
LF Studios Summer Sale
Thursday, June 25 | 9am-3pm
Friday, June 26 | 9am-3pm
LF Studios
Shop beautiful artwork made by our talented artists!
41st Annual Lambs Farm Golf Day
Tuesday, July 28
ThunderHawk Golf Club
Celebrate and support the men and women of Lambs Farm.
Puppy Painting Party
Saturday, July 18 | 10am - 1pm
Dogwood Garden & Pet Center
Come make a masterpiece with your pup!
14245
