THIS MONTH’S ISSUE

THE LEAFLET

The View From My Chair

Garden Center Family Spotlight

GCS Potting Party 2012

Around GCS

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ISSUE MAY YEAR 2012

A 501(c)(3) NoNpRofIt oRgANIzAtIoN

Boy, you can tell its spring by the amount of growth happening at garden center Services! I am so pleased to inform you that we have closed on our new day program and office building to replace the Wesbrook site which we were forced to vacate. the building is close to 104th & Kedzie and should provide us the space to support the individuals that were attending the Wesbrook location and offer services to some new referrals. the deep cleaning and painting that we’ve already done has really brightened up the place, and I believe this new location will be a wonderful representation of garden center Services for years to come.

I want to thank all the staff and consumers for the way they have handled the last two months of working in very confined quarters and sharing common resources and supplies. I am also grateful to those staff that have been working so hard to get the Kedzie location ready. for anybody that still has not heard about the problems we incurred at Wesbrook, there is a link on our website to a wonderful article written by phil Kadner of the Southtown Star. As a result of this article we have had a number of donations to help us with the expenses we’ve experienced. Many donations have come from individuals that have not had a past relationship with our agency.

the garden gallery & Studio continues to develop before our eyes. All of the landscaping has been completed recently, and the site is a splendid addition to our agency, and the tinley park historic business district. the studio portion of the enterprise is active. Every day we have eight consumers at the studio creating art and helping take care of the building. As we choose more local art for the gallery and finish setting up the café, we will set

the date for our grand opening!

finally, I wanted to mention the oak Lawn living arrangement that is now home to four women that are supported by Garden Center. It’s good to have a garden center home located in the oak Lawn community, and we have found our neighbors there to be very welcoming and friendly.

today, I am celebrating my 9th year anniversary as the executive director of gcS. It is a privilege and honor to have this position, and it is one of the best things that has ever happened to me.

thank you,

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 MESSagE frOM OUr ExEcUTIvE dIrEcTOr

A 501(c)(3) NoNpRofIt oRgANIzAtIoN

the View from My chair

“ I want to thank all the staff and consumers for the way they have handled the last two months of working in very confined quarters and sharing common

resources and supplies.”

Rosa has been working at garden center for over two years. She works at the Burbank Manor Apartments (BMA) where she says she loves spending time with the people she supports. Rosa says the group is like family and she enjoys taking her garden center family out to dinner, shopping, to movies and just hanging out.

Before coming to garden center, Rosa was supporting a person with a disability in their home when she saw an ad for garden center that fit in perfectly with her experience. She quickly applied and has been an essential part of lives at the Burbank Manor Apartments ever since.

In her free time, Rosa loves to work out and is an avid video gamer.

ROSA LEDESMA

garden center family SpotlightKaren is a treasured member of the garden center family. Her positive attitude and beaming smile light up every room she enters. one of the spaces Karen regularly lights up is the art program at our new studio/gallery in tinley park. Karen is blind, but paints by associating the colors with things she knows through her other senses like the way a yellow lemon smells and how brown chocolate tastes. Karen has sold her works in an art show at Lewis University and her painting, Fruit Salad, is featured on the cover of the 2012 garden center Studio & gallery calendar. Painting is not where Karen’s interest in art ends. She is also a regular participant in garden center music classes and is taking piano lessons with our music instructor, Stephanie Burrow. She is currently learning the piece, This Land is My Land.

Karen recently moved from another garden center home into the new oak park house. Karen says she loves her new home’s accessible layout because, “I can get around better.” Karen is also looking forward to taking classes in braille at the chicago Lighthouse sometime soon.

KARENMcGEE

Prepare Building for OccupancyGOAL 22,500

$8,400

caMPaIgN TO rEcOvEr frOM vaNdaLISM/THEfT aT OUr WESBrOOK PrOgraM

As a result of the vandalism/theft at our Wesbrook site, gcS must raise $44,000 to offset the cost of moving our program. We have four specific goals: 1. prepare the new building for occupancy.2. Replace destroyed and stolen equipment, furniture, and program supplies.3. Set up communication and data systems.4. Move into the new space and pay the storage costs for items salvaged from the building. We will continue to keep you up-to-date on the progress of the campaign to restore our program. thank you for your generous support!

garden center Services held our Second Annual potting party at 115 Bourbon Street in Merrionette park on April 6th. the event was started last year, by now board member, Annmarie caulfield, and we hope to make it an garden center spring tradition.

over 150 people joined us for dancing, open bar, full-buffet, fantastic raffles, and great music with DJ Loren gent of fun!fun!fun!

the live art auction was a huge success with bidding wars on six large paintings created by garden center Studio artists.

We are pleased to announce (for those who didn’t make it to the 11pm drawing) that our own Becca Burrow, pictured on the front page of this newsletter with Gerry, won the ipad raffle.

the event was such a great time for all who attended that we started planning next year’s before we even made it to our cars! Thanks to all the volunteers and attendees who made the 2nd Annual potting party such a fantastic evening!

Garden Center’s Annual Potting Party Blooms Again gardEN

cENTEr’S NEEdS LIST

coffee Shop Style Sofas and chairsUmbrellasBar-type stoolsfree-standing shelf unitsprinterphoneoffice deskMicrowaveLarge coffee makerBooksElectronic keyboards (music)Event ticketsLaptop computerscraft suppliesframes for artworkBlank canvasesX-Box games

If you have an item to donate, please email Anne McFerron at amcferron@gardencenterservices.org

GCS BULLETIN BOARD

Brother & sister duo, Jeremy (in blue) and Jena (in red) Zientek, celebrate with friends

before showing off their auctioneering skills in the Potting Party’s live art auction

Kristy Stacey, and Jamie show off the raffle tickets they sold at the event

2012 Walk-n-Roll A Thon

SATURDAY, JUNE 2nd 10am

at Garden Center

8333 S. Austin Ave Burbank

This year you can make a pledge online by

visiting the Walk ‘n Roll-a-Thon 2012 area on

our homepage and clicking Make a Pledge.

www.GardenCenterServices.org

2012 Walk-n-Roll A Thon

SATURDAY, JUNE 2nd 10am

at Garden Center

8333 S. Austin Ave Burbank

This year you can make a pledge online by

visiting the Walk ‘n Roll-a-Thon 2012 area on

our homepage and clicking Make a Pledge.

www.GardenCenterServices.org

The DeMarias show off two of the paintings they won in the live art auction

Don’t Forget!You can bring used printer cartridges and small electronic items like cameras and cellphones to GCS for recycling. Help us earn $ and save the planet while you get rid of clutter!

WHErE WE grOW dIgNITy aNd INdEPENdENcE

phone 708.636.0054

email info@gardencenterservices.org

web www.gardencenterservices.org

BOard Of dIrEcTOrS

http://www.facebook.com/gardencenterservices

http://twitter.com/gardencentersrv

http://www.youtube.com/user/gardencenterservices

GCS MEMBERSHIP MEETING

May 18th, 7pm at Main Building

Everyone Welcome!

GCS Walk ‘n Roll-a-Thon

June 2nd , 10am at

8333 S. Austin Burbank, IL

Important Dates!

http://gardencenterservices.wordpress.com/

ARoUND gcS

Board members John Kunkes, Annmarie Caulfield, and Dan Wenzler at the 2012 Potting Party

Kathy receives a visit from Sunny, GCS’s Mascot

May 20th 12pm-4pm

SECOND CHANCE THRIFT SHOPPE SUPER SALE

HaLf Off EvEryTHINg IN THE STOrE!

44 Stephen Street Lemont,

Tim tries his hand at rock wall climbing

We would like to thank everyone who has signed up with igive. gcS has earned $267 through the program to date. If you’d like to sign up, just go to www.igive.com/gardencenter to take advantage of this easy way to help garden center today!

THANK YOU!

President daniel Wenzler

1st Vice President Scott Hardek

2nd Vice President doug combs

Treasurer r. Pat Ballis

Secretary annmarie caulfield

Members: John J. Kunkes

Linda Stearns

Linda Sherwood

Sharon duncan

Jenny Wojcik

Bob strikes a pose on a recent trip to the zoo

ENdS MONday, May 7th

AVON FUNDRAISER FOR GCS

Marie Markowski, a GCS family member, has generously offered to donate 90% of her earnings until Monday, May 7th toward the relocation of our

displaced Wesbrook program!

Just visit her webpage, http://mmarkowski.avonrepresentative.com and click on the link

"ONLINE EVENT" or pick up a flyer at the main building to shop and help GCS.