Illinois Grants an Increase!

Gerry Beagles • July 12, 2023

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle. Happiness never decreases by being shared.

Gautama Buddha

Dear Friends of Garden Center Services; the picture of me this time is of me finding a fun way to announce to our wonderful employees the news regarding a substantial increase to our rates from the Illinois Department of Human Services! To share important information like this I some times take on the persona of newscaster Gerry “Specs” Beagles😊!!

Through the efforts of the They Deserve More Coalition, the Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities, and the Institute on Public Policy for People with Disabilities, all of which Garden Center Services belongs to, an incredibly focused and convincing message was delivered to the Illinois legislature advocating for a much needed increase in the rates we are funded at for the services we provide.  The positive outcome is that the state has granted an increase of $2.50 per hour effective January 1st, 2024, to help raise the hourly wages for those employees that work directly with our participants, and to cover other costs as well. This increase is one of the largest the state has awarded for some time, and gets us closer to the amount of necessary funding as identified by the Guidehouse Rate Study.  

We have a profound understanding at our agency that the quality of the services we provide our individuals is directly tied to the value of our workforce, and how well the management of GCS is taking care of them. At agencies such as ours there are always many things we can spend money on, but we are choosing to flow through 100% of our increase to our incredible staff! This is borne of our promise to keep strong our mission of “Advancing lives of connection, contribution and meaning for persons with disabilities and the individuals that support them!!  And we will accomplish this by always holding true to the agency’s core values of Respect, Empowerment and Compassion!!!

I’d be remiss if I didn’t take this opportunity to thank all of you that took the time to email, write or phone your legislators. It is really so true that the squeaky wheel get the oil!! Your efforts are also part of the reason for the increase.

We still have uncovered expenses at the agency and that is why we continue to hold various fundraisers throughout the year. I want to express my gratitude to all of you that helped to make our 2nd Annual Sunny Smash Softball Tournament such a success! After costs we netted over $34,000 to help support the agency’s programs and to maintain our physical properties. And as a reminder, our next event will be the Walk & Roll that will be held September 23rd at St. Christina’s field in Mt. Greenwood.

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Welcome 2025!

By Gerry Beagles • January 21, 2025
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Physical Plant Updates & Giving Tuesday

By Gerry Beagles • November 8, 2024
It’s hard to believe that soon it will be mid-November and we’ll all be making plans for our Thanksgiving celebrations. With all the tension and conflict that are present in many parts of our world, it is still very true that we have much to be grateful for. I have been emphasizing to our staff recently that my gratitude for our agency just continues to grow as I experience Garden Center Services as being a haven of safety, support, and kindheartedness for the individuals we serve and for our employees. I have frequently spoken about our services and programs and how proud I am regarding the quality of our supports and the high marks we get from the state surveys. An additional massive area of responsibility that we deal with is the upkeep, maintenance, and repair of the agency’s many properties and vehicles! We currently have 10 group homes, the 15 bed ICF, the State Road community day services program, the thrift shop/administrative offices on Kedzie Avenue, and 25 vehicles at last count! Now, knowing the wear and tear on your homes and cars, can you the imagine the impact over time on our holdings! Overseeing this huge task are the two fine gentlemen you see pictured here; Mr. Bryan Kochanny, Director of Maintenance and Transportation and Alan Maciel, Maintenance Specialist. Yes, you heard me right, TWO!! I am amazed at what these guys are able to take care of. Under the direction of Mr. Ralph Storino, Director of Fiscal Management, Bryan and Alan repair many things on their own and also manage the subcontractors that are brought in to work on more complex concerns or new installations. Just in the last six weeks or so here are some of the projects we’ve tackled; painted multiple bathrooms at the Moody CILA, completely redesigned two bathrooms at the ICF to be totally accessible, painted one of the BMA Manor apartments, laid the extensive in-ground piping needed for the new generator that will power the ICF in case of a natural disaster, and mechanical work on multiple vehicles. Please realize these are the projects dealt with in addition to all the daily crisis that come up. The other fact that I can share with you is that there is very little state funding provided to cover the extraordinary expense of these physical plant needs. We spend hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to keep our properties safe and looking nice, and it is our fund development efforts that help make this possible, which is a great opportunity to talk about Giving Tuesday! This year, Giving Tuesday will be on Dec. 3rd. This is a day identified nationally when individuals and businesses are asked to consider making charitable donations to non-profits as a way of kicking off the Christmas Season of caring. Here at Garden Center Services we would certainly appreciate it if you would choose our agency as one of the organizations you donate to. Thank you, and on behalf of myself, Cindy, and the Board of Directors, May you all have safe, healthy, and joy filled holidays. Gerry

Fulfilling Our Mission

By Gerry Beagles • June 21, 2024
Inside this month’s Leaflet you will find an article speaking about the accrediting body, the Council on Quality and Leadership (CQL). We decided to seek out this accreditation to ensure that the focus of our programs and supports at Garden Center Services will always be on each individual that we serve, and will be driven by what each person wants as we give the utmost respect to the inherent rights and personal choices that every individual has. We believe that we have a really strong and positive culture at our agency, but we can always do better, and I am very pleased and proud that we have taken this step and are now accredited by CQL. This formal status is recognized widely as an agency’s commitment to offer the best practiced programs and services to this population and will be helpful as we go forward applying for grants and financial assistance from charitable foundations and major gift donors. I also wanted to gratefully announce that the Illinois’ legislature has once again demonstrated their understanding and support of disability services in our state by voting in a $1.00 an hour increase for our Direct Support Professionals in the coming fiscal year budget. Even though Governor Pritzker’s original projected budget contained no increase for services like ours, the intense work and advocacy of our professional associations, our families and supporters, our staff themselves, convinced the House and Senate of the importance of providing a decent living wage for those employees that provide compassionate assistance to persons receiving services. In terms of fulfilling our mission statement here at Garden Center, I am also pleased to share that all the final items have been addressed regarding our Permanent Supportive Housing project that will be located in the town of Worth will begin construction this August! This beautiful apartment building will provide a home for 16 individuals with disabilities that can live independently in the community with minimal support. I am very grateful for the support that we have had from so many for this project, and really appreciate how this enhances Garden Center’s view as an agency fully committed to all persons with disabilities. Finally, I want to express so much gratitude for everyone that found ways to support our recent fundraiser, the Sunny Smash softball tournament. Or, as some of us have been saying, the Soggy Smash tournament, due to the rain that visited us on the day of the event. I’m pleased that even with the drizzle and rain we were able to get some games in, had numerous raffle prize won, enjoyed delicious food provided by Calabria Imports and Cravings Ice Cream Shop, and people were able to stick around and enjoy each other’s company. Even with the inclement weather we overshot our financial goal and raised over $45,000 for the agency programs. I want to specifically give a well deserved shout out to Anne McFerron and Shannon Voves, the two staff that put a lot of time and energy into planning and running the event! Please be safe out there and continue to enjoy what I hope will soon be a cicada free summer.  Peace, Gerry
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