February 2011

Helping Hand Center Gala
Helping Hand Center invites you to attend our 12th Annual Gala and Auction on March 12, 2011 at the Marriott in Burr Ridge. Please click on the following link for more information and to register:

http://hhcenter.org/2011gala/2011gala.html

We hope you can attend this fun event and support Helping Hand Center's mission to assist people with developmental disabilities achieve their highest levels of independence.

Strategic Plan
We have completed the Strategic Planning process for Helping Hand Center and we now have our 2011-13 Strategic Plan. The 4 main areas are:

• Increased Helping Hand Center Visibility
• Finding Alternative Funding Resources
• Increasing Family Involvement
• Increasing Community Partnerships

Family Support
Perspectives, a professional counseling and referrals resource, is still available to all Helping Hand Center families. Perspectives has been available to our staff as a human resources benefit and is now being expanded for our families. Here is the contact information: Your EAP can help: 800-456-6327.
www.perspectivesltd.com

Special Olympics - Go Wildcats!
Our Special Olympics Basketball team, the Wildcats, took first place in their District Tournament! It has been a very exciting inaugural season! The Wildcats have now moved on to the State Tournament at Illinois State University in March. More details to follow! Congrats Coach Joe, Coach Ashley and Coach Jillian - and the entire team!

Good Bye Hot Dog Day... Hello Chili Mac Day!
Starting this month the Family Association will be providing chili mac instead of hot dogs for their monthly lunch. Everything will be the same with the exception of hot dogs! The Family Association does this monthly for clients at the Countryside and Subcon locations.

Suburban Life Newspaper Article
Helping Hand is in the news and featured as one of the Top 10 Stories for 2010 in the Suburban Life Newspaper. Please follow the link and take a look :
http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/hodgkins/features/x1682034371/Catching-up-Community-support-has-kept-Helping-Hands-afloat

Senator Christine Radogno
We are working on our all agency video and we were able to get Senator Christine Radogno to say a few words about Helping Hand Center - take a look
http://www.hhcenter.org/SenatorRadogno.wmv

New Group Home
Our newest group home in currently being built and is looking great! We expect construction to be completed this summer. We continue to plan out all the details and our families and community continues to be very generous and supportive. The Bertucci family has donated the Cable/Phone/Internet for the home - thank you Bertucci's!

We are still for members of our community who may be interested in discussing how they or their company can help. If you, a family member, neighbor, or friend would be interested in discussing how they can help, please call Beth Patterson at 708-352-3580 ext. 228. Below is a list of needed goods and services:

Bad Weather Closing
With winter already here it is time to remind everyone about weather related closing. If Helping Hand Center has to close due to bad weather, the phone message will be changed to let callers know. Call the Helping Hand main number (708-352-3580) to see if the agency is open or no transportation service for the day. In addition you can go to www.emergencyclosing.com to check the status. The agency will remain open even during bad weather and will only close in extreme cases. Remember there may also be days where transportation services are cancelled but the agency remains open.

Important Dates to Remember
There is always something going on at Helping Hand Center! Please keep the following in mind and on your calendars:

• Family Association meetings: April 2nd, 10:00am
• Spaghetti Supper: Feb. 11th, 6:30pm
• March 12, 2011 - Helping Hand Center Gala, "La Bella Vita" being held at the Burr Ridge Marriott
• Family Association Fashion Show: April 9th, 11:00-3:30, Ashton Place in Willowbrook

Mary Beth Hepp
Helping Hand Center Executive Director