Planting the Seeds for a New Beginning

May 19 was a magical evening. Lambs Farm Celebrated the Spirit with families, friends, and supporters, and we had so much to celebrate! It was wonderful to be together in person again and to celebrate our past and toast our new beginning. We recognized two fearless souls, “Original Lambs” Patti and Ruby, acknowledged and thanked our participant gala volunteers, and honored and celebrated our special award winners—Robert Neiman, Eli Spector and the Durbin Family.

We owe so much to the vision and passion of our co-founders, Bob Terese and Corinne Owen, and the new beginning that we celebrate is built on the sturdy, enduring foundation they laid. One of the highlights of the evening for me was learning for the first time from Patti that our dream of a commercial greenhouse at Lambs Farm was a private dream of Bob’s decades ago. Now Bob’s dream and ours is poised to come true.

The greenhouse will be a springboard for growing our vocational services and community outreach and a sign of many good things to come. Thank you for helping us plant the seeds for this new beginning for the men and women of Lambs Farm!

Kathy Buresch President & CEO

This high honor recognizes the remarkable generosity of individuals who have made a significant difference to Lambs Farm by donating their time, talent, leadership and resources.

Nobody else fits this description quite like Bob, as he has been a wise and tireless advocate for Lambs Farm since 1999. He has gone above and beyond to support our mission and is always there to celebrate our successes or help us navigate through challenges.

Each year, a participant is recognized with the Living Legacy Award. This award recognizes Lambs Farm participants who live life as our co-founders Bob Terese and Corinne Owen envisioned — learning, growing, sharing, and contributing to their community.

Eli Spector’s courage to try something new made him the perfect candidate. After struggling to find a job that was the right fit, Eli took a chance and helped out in the bakery during our busy catalog season. With guidance from Quest Manager Brooke Mezo, Eli had a successful stint as a temporary catalog fulfillment worker which led to a full-time, challenging job that he loves. Eli was so excited to receive this special honor and we are so proud of him.

The Casanova Award was established in memory of Vince Casanova, a long-term board member and champion of Lambs Farm. The award recognizes people with his passion and commitment to our participants.

The Durbin Family’s deep commitment to Lambs Farm spans three generations, spurred by their love and support for participant

Tom Durbin. Tom’s parents Bob and Julie were sage advisers, active volunteers and generous donors. Tom’s brothers, John and Doug, continue to make their parents proud as they and their spouses do everything they can to support Lambs Farm and carry on the Durbin tradition.

Following the heartfelt award presentations was a paddle raiser. Lambs Farm participant and plant lover Ja’Don hyped up the crowd as he shared his knowledge and the exciting news that we are building a commercial greenhouse. All generous donations raised from the paddle raiser will help us build the new business, which will provide new job opportunities and act as a stepping stone as we grow our vocational services and community outreach.

The evening concluded as guests joined the participants on the dance floor to enjoy great music played by Gentlemen of Leisure.

Special thank you to everyone who contributed to this memorable celebration. It was definitely a night to remember!

Celebrating the Spirit 2023 Sponsors

Thank you, 2023 sponsors, for your continued support of the men and women of Lambs Farm.

Jubilee Sponsor

Packaging Corporation of America

Celebrate Sponsors

The Aldridge Family

Paul Frederick & Marilyn Rosengarden Frederick, Autohaus on Edens

Nancy & Bob Goerne, Barbara Sheahan

Joe & Carol Milburn

Cheer Sponsors

The Alera Group

John Jennings & Anne Mullen

Michael & Toby Liner

Salute Sponsors

Abbott Assurance, A Marsh & McLennan Agency

LLC Company

MedScript LTC Pharmacy

Gerald & Olivia Shapiro

Uline

Toast Sponsors

James Davis & The Smith Davis

Morse Group

Joan Fuller

Merrill, A Bank of America Company

Monohan Law Group, LLC

RCA, LLC

Uline

Applaud Sponsors

Joan Golder

Elizabeth Jeffries

Peggy & Bob Kimble

Ron & Betty Krupp

Mary McGonigel

Bill & Mary Walker

Dick & Joan Willix

Gale Zemel & David Mausner