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LIFE SKILLS FOUNDATION
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CONNECTING
PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES TO THE COMMUNITY
BY LAURIE BURSTEIN
Setting an alarm clock. Getting dressed. Making a shopping list
and going to the grocery store. Finding an apartment. Going to the
movies. For those with a disability, these facets of everyday life
can be daunting. What’s often needed is the right kind of help.
That’s where Life Skills Foundation comes in.
Life Skills Foundation was founded 39 years ago on the belief that
all people, regardless of their disabilities, can be successful.
Today Life Skills works with more than 1,000 individuals throughout
the St. Louis region, ranging in age from 10 to 70 years old, with
developmental disabilities including mental retardation, cerebral
palsy, autism, epilepsy or a learning disability.
“At Life Skills Foundation, we believe that everyone, regardless
of the severity of the disability, deserves the right to have a
home of his own, a job he can be proud of, and a circle of friends
to have fun with,” says Executive Director Wendy Buehler.
Buehler has been with the non-profit group for 20 years and says
the mission has remained the same: supporting people with developmental
disabilities to live and work with dignity in the community. Life
Skills provides job placement and training, support for finding
and maintaining a home or apartment, and teaches socialization skills
like making new friends. The organization also holds a summer camp
for teens with and without disabilities and provides a summer employment
program for teens with disabilities.
Life Skills Foundation
First row (left to right): SHARLENE WASSERMAN,
MYRNA HERSHMAN, LES WAGNER, ANNIE
GRAY (board president), PEGGY GOLDFADER,
MAGGIE WALTMAN, SHEILA COOK, GINA
LOUDON
Second row (left to right): EILEEN SCHECHTER
(secretary), BILL KELLER, JOSEPH A. LOTT,
JOHN MCNEARNEY,
MARIAN RHODES, GUY GREGG, HARVEY
COTLAR, DENNIS BUHR (immediate past president),
TERRI LOTT
Not pictured: JAMES L. FOGLE (treasurer),
DOUGLAS RUBENSTEIN (vice president), JOSEPH
COLAGIOVANNI,
MARK LANNI, GERRY KISTNER, JOANN
LEYKAM, ROBERT L LEVIN (director emeritus). |
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Life Skills Board President Annie Gray says the 24-member board’s
primary goal is to support the organization’s mission with each
board member’s time, talent and dollars. Gray has been on the board
since 1997 and has seen the board grow and change along with the
organization.
Gray outlined the objectives for the Life Skills board for the next
two years. “The challenge for Life Skills’ board of directors and
staff is three-fold: First, to serve a greater number of people
with disabilities. Next, to expand the visibility of Life Skills
and the services we provide to the greater St. Louis community,
and finally to raise the bar on our fundraising efforts,” Gray says.
One accomplishment Gray points to is the expansion of the group’s
programs into new areas of St. Louis including St. Charles County
and particularly St. Louis City where Life Skills now has an office.
Last year, Life Skills started a new youth program in the City serving
50 youths at risk. The goal was to get individuals ages 14 to 21
back in school or employed. The program was so popular, there was
a waiting list of 300, demonstrating the great need.
To ensure that the organization is able to expand and serve more
people, the board has made fundraising a priority. Gray realizes
there is a fundraising challenge with today’s slow economy, however
she says the board has used “people-to-people” fundraising. “With
relationship fundraising, our board has been successful in raising
funds through personal relationships,” Gray explains. In addition,
each board member is asked to make a personal donation although
there is no minimum requirement.
Operating a board today is much like operating a business. Along
those lines, Gray says the Life Skills board is using a 90-day initiative
technique with great results. There are no committees per se, but
instead projects are assigned to board members in 90-day increments.
Projects have a definite beginning and end with responsible members
reporting results at the end of the time period.
Gray adds that this method is part of the board’s “Improvement through
Innovation” theme. “We have redesigned how the Life Skills board
operates. By doing away with a lot of meetings and breaking down
our goals into manageable projects, we get positive results.”
Another recent accomplishment of the staff and board is the formation
of The Ambassadors of Life Skills Foundation. Gray says this is
ideal for those individuals who want to be involved in the group,
but don’t have the time to be full-fledged board members. The Ambassadors
provide assistance to the Board through advocacy, fundraising and
professional service. They participate in special events and are
called on to represent the interests of people with disabilities
to legislators and government officials.
What does it take to be a Life Skills board member or Ambassador?
Gray and Buehler agree individuals must have a sincere interest
in the organization and its goals. Sometimes board members have
personal connections in that they have a relative or friend with
a disability, but it is certainly not a necessary requirement to
get involved.
Laurie Burstein is a St. Louis-based free-lance writer.
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