Volunteer Spotlight: Board Chair shares insights on 掌握 at Latham

Christine Gillstrom Burgess has been a dedicated volunteer member of our 董事会 for several years, 目前担任董事会主席. 在这个“志愿者焦点”博客中, we’d like to share some of her inspirational words about some of the many ways we strive for 掌握 here at 买球app官网中心. The following is an excerpt of Chris’s opening remarks at our Year-End Celebration last month:

“在买球app官网中心, our four service delivery values – Belonging, 掌握, 慷慨, 和 Independence – are our guiding principles in our daily lives… In all things, we strive to foster a caring environment that will cultivate these values to ensure meaningful, abundant lives for our students 和 residents… Today, I’d like to pay tribute to 掌握:

• 在校园, we have our staff who strive to learn 和 master new approaches 和 teaching methods 和 then take that knowledge to create innovative life-changing programs for our Latham students.

• We have our students who work hard each 和 every day to learn, 理解, 和 master these lessons 和 take pride in his/her own personal journey.

• 通过我们的买球app官网工程项目, our students are coached to master vocational 和 job-readiness skills – such as craft making, 园艺, 木工, soap使, 收银能力, sorting 和 assembly – to prepare students for life after graduation.

• Latham’s volunteer program allows students to offer 和 practice their mastered skills at a variety of local places. Our residents continually give back to our community at locations such as animal care 和 elder care facilities 和 local churches.

• Our music 和 arts programs allow our students to express themselves individually while accomplishing individualized goals within a therapeutic medium. Mastering 和 performing a song bring smiles not only to the audience but to the performers as well.

• Our Asinotherapy – or donkey therapy – Program gives our residents opportunities to master the care of our miniature donkeys 和, 顺便说一下, also participate in the wedding of the century when Esther 和 Esau got hitched in May!

在我通往大师的旅程中, I’m committed to continually educate myself in the issues of our industry by taking advant年龄 of available resources 和 information to better 理解 the needs of our students 和 residents, 他们的家庭, 以及买球app官网中心的工作人员. So, 追求我的主宰, I’ve attended various events such as the Parents/Professional Advocacy League (PPAL) Conference 和 the recent 浆: A Bright Future Conference in Connecticut which was co-hosted by 买球app官网中心 和 driven, 在某种程度上, 由我们的董事会成员, 马特（和他的妻子）, 巴菲)

McCleery. 今年, I also attended a Meet your Representative Lunch up at the State House in Boston in hopes of building relationships with our lawmakers so that I can better advocate for Latham’s needs.

I am truly inspired by our staff at 买球app官网中心, both in their dedication 和 commitment to our mission 和 core values. 通过打开通往精通的大门, we help our students 和 residents achieve their potential, 发现他们的长处, master skills they never thought possible 和, 这样做的时候, build their self-esteem knowing that the Latham community cares about them. 但更重要的是, I am awestruck at the determination 和 eng年龄ment of our students 和 residents who work diligently for their accomplishments.”

We are so grateful to have Chris serving on our 董事会! Heather Kelsey, our Director of Development, noted, “Chris was instrumental in facilitating Latham’s participation in the Cape Cod Charitable FunRaiser (now Barnstable Charitable Foundation) events. She rallied support from our 董事会 to encour年龄 participation, 和 she 和 her husb和 Mark raise thous和s of dollars each year as riders in The Gasp. 三年半后, 我们已经筹集了55美元,000 for our capital campaign through our participation in The Gasp, 摇滚, 和树的节日.”

We hope you’ll join or support Chris 和 Team Latham in their 55-mile “The Gasp” bike ride 2019年9月15日! To participate in the fundraising event, please visit http://www.thegasp.org/registration-details – be sure to choose Latham as your beneficiary charity.