| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are pleased to congratulate the Good Shepherd | ||||||
| 4 | Center on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its founding; | ||||||
| 5 | and
| ||||||
| 6 | WHEREAS, The Good Shepherd Center was founded in 1963, at a | ||||||
| 7 | time when children with developmental disabilities were not | ||||||
| 8 | provided with needed educational opportunities until the age of | ||||||
| 9 | 7; Louise Schweinfurth, a graduate of the first class at the | ||||||
| 10 | prodigious Erickson Institute, founded the Good Shepherd | ||||||
| 11 | Center to give children with developmental disabilities the | ||||||
| 12 | extra support they needed early in life to insure better | ||||||
| 13 | academic success in their future; the first location was a | ||||||
| 14 | vacant classroom at Good Shepherd Church in Park Forest; and
| ||||||
| 15 | WHEREAS, The Good Shepherd Center continued to take on more | ||||||
| 16 | children and added services throughout the years; in 1968, the | ||||||
| 17 | school received a grant from the State of Illinois to increase | ||||||
| 18 | the number of children served and needed to move to find more | ||||||
| 19 | space; it settled in the second floor of Flossmoor Community | ||||||
| 20 | Church; in the 1970's, the school evolved into an Early | ||||||
| 21 | Intervention Program that serves children aged birth to 3; | ||||||
| 22 | programs such as the In-Home Respite Care program, to help give | ||||||
| 23 | families time to themselves, and Lekotek, to aid in child | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | development through play, were added; and
| ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, In 2001, the Good Shepherd Center expanded its | ||||||
| 3 | mission to include serving children without development | ||||||
| 4 | disabilities; and
| ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Since 2002, the Good Shepherd Center has added | ||||||
| 6 | resources for families with Autism, training opportunities and | ||||||
| 7 | support for day care center and home providers in south | ||||||
| 8 | suburban Cook County, a Parent Institute Day event to provide | ||||||
| 9 | information that targets topical issues regarding children | ||||||
| 10 | with and without developmental disabilities, and pre-school | ||||||
| 11 | classes; and
| ||||||
| 12 | WHEREAS, In 2013, the Good Shepherd Center will celebrate | ||||||
| 13 | the 50th anniversary of its founding and will initiate a new | ||||||
| 14 | program to provide support for those who need help | ||||||
| 15 | accomplishing daily tasks, such as bed making, dusting, and | ||||||
| 16 | vacuuming; therefore, be it
| ||||||
| 17 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 18 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 19 | we congratulate the Good Shepherd Center on the 50th | ||||||
| 20 | anniversary of its founding and honor the Center's commitment | ||||||
| 21 | to making a positive difference in the lives of those who have | ||||||
| 22 | developmental disabilities and their families; and be it | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | further
| ||||||
| 2 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 3 | presented to the Good Shepherd Center as an expression of our | ||||||
| 4 | esteem and respect.
| ||||||