Fall 2014 Newsletter - Helping Hand Center

SERVING CHILDREN &
ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES
FALL 2014
Helping Hand Center is a nonprofit serving over 700 children and adults with developmental disabilities in suburban
Cook County and greater Chicagoland communities since 1955. We offer a range of programs and services including
outpatient therapies, early intervention, a school for children with Autism, high school transition, residential homes,
employment services, adult day programs, behavioral services, special recreation, and our aging program.
Taking a sneak peek into
our new building
On Friday, September 12th, Helping Hand Center hosted a “Sneak Peek” of
our new adult services building in Hodgkins. The open house allowed
family members to tour Phase 1 of the renovation process and get a closer
look at some of our brand new programming areas. Those in attendance
were thrilled with the warm colors and open layout. The fifty clients who
currently attend Day Program in the new building are excited for the
growth and improvement of our already outstanding services.
A note from the
Executive Director...
Mary Beth Hepp, Executive Director
Policy Board of Directors
Robert Ackermann
Ackermann Consulting Inc.
Susan E. Cox (President)
U.S District Courthouse
Michael Ettleson
Ettleson Cadillac-Buick-GMC, Inc.
Wilson Francis
URS Corporation
Don Fries (Vice-President)
Kelburn Engineering Company
Greg W. Hartje, CFA (Treasurer)
US Bank
Jeffrey S. MacKay
DuPage County Judicial Center
Mark C. Matray, M.D. (Secretary)
LaGrange Pediatrics
Karen A. Mitchell
First National Bank of LaGrange
Marc W. O’Brien
Bronson & Kahn LLC
Susan Schell
A. Eicoff & Company, Chicago
Jason Shirk
Mid American Group, Inc.
Noreen Veeser
Cossitt Avenue Elementary School
Bridget L. Voigt, M.D.
Rush University Medical Center
Foundation Board of Directors
Noreen A. Costelloe (Chair)
The Law Offices of Noreen A. Costelloe
Howard E. Habenicht (Secretary)
Retired
Thomas Janus
Janus & Associates CPAs P.C.
Frank Pigatto
Frank Pigatto Real Estate & Construction
Jeanne Reilly
Sotheby's International Realty
In our last newsletter I posed the question, “How does Helping Hand Center make good
decisions for our future in this current environment of economic uncertainties in
Illinois?” The answer came from our families who do not let unknowns stop them from
striving for what is best for their family member; they think positively and move
forward to get the resources and services they need.
We do the same at Helping Hand Center. We have excellent staff providing innovative
and quality services for people who work hard every day to reach their highest levels of
independence. When you add visionary leadership guiding us plus a dedicated community
supporting us, we have the resources and confidence to make the tough decisions to
continue our growth.
Here are just a few examples of how it all works together for our success:
We increased the number of children and adults we serve this past
year by 100 individuals.
We are expanding our programs to a new adult services building in Hodgkins.
We developed new partnerships with local park districts and other organizations
for programming “beyond Helping Hand Center’s 4 walls”.
Our School for Children with Autism grew from 34 students to 53 students and
soon will have the capacity for 75 students.
Adults receiving clinical services almost doubled in this past year.
Our reliance on State of Illinois Department of Human Services funding has
reduced from 85% to 45%.
We are excited to share our successes and future plans for growth. Next year is our
60th anniversary and we plan to keep growing. We will complete the next phase of
renovations in our new adult services building, increase the number of students in our
school, open new homes for more residential clients, and expand the size of our staff to
300 people.
Please remember that you are an important part of this success!
Because of your support and partnership we can
continue to grow for another 60+ years to assist
thousands more people with disabilities achieve
their highest levels of independence.
Celebrating
Sincerely,
Michael J. Slinkman
SKS & Associates
Herbert A. Smyers (Treasurer)
Retired
Christine Speiser
Retired
Mary Beth Hepp
Executive Director
Years
HELPING
HAND CENTER
Expanding our School
for Children with Autism
SCHOOL FOR AUTISM
Our School for Children with Autism has more room! The students are all settling into their new classrooms. Teachers, staff
and students are enjoying the new space and we welcomed our first wave of new students this September. Since the school has
aquired the much needed space, our capacity has grown from 34 to 53 students!
This fall, our staff is working on some of the finishing touches – room signs, white boards, and setting up our newly renovated
staff offices and therapy rooms.
Adult Services move into our new state-of-the-art facility
Our adult services team, with the amazing help of our
maintenance and IT staff, just finished moving into our new
facility at 6160 East Avenue. This is the new home of our
Adult Services! Group rooms are set up and supplies are all
organized now for our ambassador clients who are already
being served in this new space.
This is an exciting time for everyone at Helping Hand
Center. And, we’re not done...we started on the next phase
shortly after Labor Day which will give us an additional
10,000 sq. ft. in this awesome new building. Stay tuned for
more details about our exciting adult services expansion!
On site job shadowing at Sam’s Club in Hodgkins
This fall, our clients had the opportunity to visit Sam’s Club in
Hodgkins where they had a fabulous time job shadowing in the
kitchen, bakery and on the floor. Sam’s Club employees treated our
clients like family as they got hands-on experience and a good idea
of what it’s like working behind the scenes at one of our favorite
stores in the community.
s
n t S e r v ic e
E m p lo y m e
, m a k in g
C li e n t , E r in
b
S a m ’s C lu
p iz z a ’s a t
HHC Clients at Sam’s
Club in Hodgkins
H e lp in g H a
nd School
student, N
with Steve
ik k o ,
Cam
bra, HR at
Sam’s Club
Employment Services
Client, Lainie, read y to
decorate cupcakes
Annual Family Network ICE CREAM SOCIAL
HHC client Dan DeVries with his
sister-in-law, Laura DeVries.
HHC client Tyler Hutcheson with his dad, Tim,
and sister, Ellie.
HHC client Marybeth Webster whipping up an
ice cream sundae with help from volunteers.
HHC clients Joe Shaughnessy and
Peggy Neiweem.
HHC client, Victoria Ireland, with her
mom, Dorothy.
HHC client Greg Patyk with his dad,
Edward.
HHC clients Denise Townes, Andy
Betterton, and Michael Chmielewski.
Helping Hand School student, Sara Mikelenas,
with her mother, Rhonda, and friend Michael.
Photo bottom-left: Pediatric Clinic client, Makena Novotny, with her mom, Cindy.
Over 200 families attended our annual ice cream social. Everyone enjoyed
a delicious treat, dancing, and spending time with family and friends.
Our Employer Forum was a huge
SUCCESS
&
we helped our clients
GET JOBS!
We recently hosted our annual employer forum, kicking off the day with disability awareness training for local employers.
Representatives from more than 10 companies attended the forum and over 20 of our employment services clients interviewed with
potential employers. This has been our most successful forum yet with five of our clients getting jobs in the local community!!!
The employer forum is a great way to introduce our clients to community employers and to engage them in open interviews. Our
Employment Services Department assists clients with resume writing, interview preparation, job coaching and many other
necessary skills to be successful in the workplace. Check out the latest successes that have come from our recent Employer Forum!
Top row, left to right: Paula Chyna-Brookfield Zoo
Pat Ramirez - Plymouth Place, Linda Sachaschik - NuMark
Credit Union, Pat Dance-Plymouth Place, Byron Figueroa Clearstaff, Inc., Stephanie Bell - Meijer of Evergreen Park,
Kerry Depetro – Starbucks of Countryside, Meghan Feldstein Choose Chicago, Jeanne Stahurski Wilson - Nyco Products
Bottom row, left to right: Wayne Devries - Devries Groceries,
Jose Rivas- Andy’s Frozen Custard of Countryside,
Eric Carney-Meijer of Evergreen Park, Greg McIntyre McDonald’s of Countryside, Dale Lilburn - Plymouth Place.
Rep res entatives fro m mo re tha n
ten com pan ies
at the Em ploy er For um
Meet Maddie...
Ever since we met Maddie, working at Starbucks was her dream job, specifically the
Willowbrook location near her home.
So what did we do? Our Employment Services team met with the manager of the
Willowbrook Starbucks, Alex Oeming, and told her about Maddie, what an
enthusiastic person she was and valued customer. Immediately, Alex wanted to
bring Maddie in for an interview. After a great, relaxed first meeting, Maddie was
offered a part-time position as barista and café attendant at the busy Willowbrook
location. Maddie and her family are thrilled beyond belief, and the manager and
staff at the Willowbrook Starbucks are equally excited to have Maddie on board.
Helping Hand Center Introduces New Legacy Giving Program
Helping Hand Center has begun a legacy giving program to build a strong foundation of ongoing financial support through our
organization’s endowment fund. The endowment will assist in sustaining and expanding current programs and services. Legacy
giving provides individuals the opportunity to make a financial commitment to Helping Hand Center through an estate plan.
Visit our website, www.hhcenter.org, to view new informational resources on legacy giving.
2
Giving Tuesday
Dec
Mark your calendars and share the news with a friend!
The Tuesday after Thanksgiving is called Giving Tuesday. It falls on
December 2nd this year.
We’re excited to announce The Coleman Foundation will match any
NEW donations made to Helping Hand Center on this day up to
$15,000. Donations must be made on our website on December 2.
HAPPY GIVING!
WWW.HHCENTER.ORG
ners
t
r
a
P
nity
mu
Com
l
Coo
Paxair Employees Volunteer by holding the best
Bingo Night and dinner Ever for some of
our residential clients!
Antonino’s Ristorante in LaGrange is holding
a special through Thanksgiving and 10% of
the proceeds benefit HHC!
NuMark Credit Union employees grill up burgers
for HHC staff
Why? Because Numark chose HHC to be the
recipient of their Random Acts of Kindness!
Sharon Peterson from the City of
Countryside with HHC clients
Here’s the story...
Sal Quatrochi
from Westfield
Ford bought 50/50
split the pot raffle
tickets at the annual
Countryside
Rotary golf outing.
Sal put our name on
the tickets & we
won. Sharon
presented HHC
with the donation.
Meet brothers, Owen & Ryan
Like most three-year olds, Owen is preparing for preschool by
learning his numbers and colors. However, unlike most of his
peers, Owen receives some extra help from occupational therapy.
With the assistance from our Pediatric Clinic over the past two
years, Owen has improved his fine and gross motor skills and is
learning how to wait his turn and follow directions, which will aid
him as he begins school.
Owen’s five-year old brother, Ryan, has also been attending
occupational therapy since infancy. Through the services provided
to him through Helping Hand Center, Ryan has improved greatly in
his sensory processing and communication skills. For the first time,
Ryan recently started attending school full time, and has transitioned
from a special education program to a mainstream classroom.
SAVE THE DATE
HELPING HAND FOUNDATION
PRESENTS THE
16 TH ANNUAL
Congratulations Shakir!
Shakir was a student in our Helping Hand School for
the last eight and a half years. We are thrilled to
announce he just received his certificate of completion
and has ‘graduated’ into the next big phase of his life.
During his time at HHC, Shakir enjoyed social group
with his peers, working a part-time job at SubCon
(our packaging and assembly plant), cooking group,
playing basketball, and going out on restaurant and
community outings.
TO BENEFIT THE PROGRAMS & SERVICES
OF HELPING HAND CENTER
C elebrating 60Y ears
Please join us in
Saturday, March 21, 2015
6 pm to midnight
Marriott Hotel
1200 Burr Ridge Parkway
Burr Ridge, Illinois
Shakir has a beautiful
future ahead of him
and a wonderful
family to share it with!
NON-PROFIT
US POSTAGE
PAID
LaGrange, IL
Permit 234
SERVING CHILDREN &
ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES
9649 West 55th Street
Countryside, IL 60525
www.hhcenter.org
THE MISSION OF HELPING
HAND CENTER IS TO ASSIST
PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
TO ACHIEVE THEIR HIGHEST
LEVEL OF INDEPENDENCE
THROUGH QUALITY
PROGRAMS & SERVICES
FALL 2014
NEWSLETTER
FALL/WINTER CALENDAR
Tuesday, November 4
6:30pm
Policy Board Meeting
Helping Hand Center
Countryside
Sunday, November 9
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Donor Recognition Tea
Helping Hand Center
Countryside
Wed, Nov 26 – Fri, Nov 28
School for Children with Autism
Closed for the Thanksgiving Holiday
Thurs, Nov 27 - Fri, Nov 28
HHC Closed
Thanksgiving
Friday, December 5
10:00am-2:00pm
Adult Day Program Holiday
Performance & Luncheon
Helping Hand Center
Countryside
Saturday, December 6
9:00am-3:00pm
Craft Fair
Helping Hand Center
Countryside
Thursday, December 11
5:30pm-7:30pm
Children’s Services Holiday Party
Helping Hand Center
Countryside
Saturday, December 13
11:00am-3:00pm
Adult Holiday Celebration
Crystal Sky Banquets, McCook IL
Wednesday, January 21
6:00pm
Foundation Board Meeting
Helping Hand Center
Countryside
Friday, February 13, 2015
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
9th Annual Pasta Supper
Helping Hand Center
Countryside
Saturday, March 21, 2015
6:00 pm - Midnight
Helping Hand Center’s 16th
Annual Gala
Marriott, Burr Ridge, IL
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