Friday, November 20, 2009

Here we grow again....

Here we grow again….

I am so excited to announce some more wonderful changes here in the Down Syndrome Indiana office! First of all, I would like to welcome our newest parent group called Raising Special Kids Down syndrome support group which will serve the Muncie, IN area. This parent group will meet on the 2nd Tuesday of each month from 6pm to 7pm at Hillcroft Services, 114 East Streeter Avenue in Muncie, IN 47303. In addition to the parent support group meeting, there will be educational programming for the children which will be lead by professionals in the fields of Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Speech Pathology. For more information, please feel free to contact the DSI office at 317-925-7617 and speak with Stephanie Glowner or contact Debbie McCoy at slaterjomc@gmail.com.

I am pleased to name Stephanie Glowner as Parent Support and Education Coordinator. As PS&E Coordinator, Stephanie will be the main contact for our families in need of support as well as the main contact for our parent group chairs and parent groups in general. Stephanie is the mother of Katy and brings a wealth of personal experience and warm hearted humor to the position. It truly brightens the office to have Stephanie on staff and I have no doubt that our families who have had contact with her feel the same way. Rachel Wood, DSI Outreach Coordinator will now be coordinating the 2010 Buddy Walk which will be held on Saturday, October 23, 2010! Rachel’s background in event planning has made the decision to bring the Buddy Walk ® Coordinator position in house a no-brainer. The first Buddy Walk® Committee meeting will be on January 24th. Anyone is welcome to serve on the Buddy Walk® Committee. If you are interested, please e-mail Rachel at buddywalk@dsindiana.org for more information.

I would also like to extend a warm welcome to the newest member of the DSI staff team, Amanda Congrove, DSI Director of Resource Development. Amanda has a Master’s degree in Philanthropic Studies and a certificate in Nonprofit Management from the Center on Philanthropy at IUPUI. She has previous experience working for WFYI and Special Olympics Indiana as a fundraiser. One of the qualities that I love about Amanda is that philanthropy, volunteering and serving others, is a value that she believes in and demonstrates in her everyday life. Because of her fundraising and nonprofit management skills coupled with her belief in inclusion and acceptance, I believe she will excel in her new position and hope that all of you extend the same warm welcome to her that you have extended to the current staff when we joined DSI.

I hope you have a happy, healthy and prosperous holiday season.

It is my pleasure to serve you!

Lisa Tokarz-Gutierrez, Executive Director