A Community of Care
(from Annual Report 2015)
Dear Friends,
By any measure, 2015 was a year of superlatives for The Chicago Lighthouse! We continued our proud tradition of introducing groundbreaking initiatives to better serve the blind, visually impaired, disabled and Veteran communities.
We are spotlighting Judy and Ray McCaskey, wonderful supporters of our early education programs, and for whom we are naming our blended preschool. In addition, with generous funding from the McCormick Foundation and the Boeing Corporation, we are implementing a call center at The Lighthouse to help connect Illinois Veterans with appropriate resources and services. Other highlights include the unveiling of a totally revamped website which will better serve our diverse audiences and allow us to reach new participants, donors, and other friends. All these exciting developments bring home the point that The Lighthouse provides a community of care offering the most innovative and far-reaching programs that change lives!
Amongst those lives we’ve impacted is Alison Dalton, a talented violinist with the CSO who became visually impaired, but was able to resume her promising career after receiving help from The Pangere Center. The Center is celebrating its 5th anniversary at The Lighthouse. There are also Michael Smith, a Veteran, and Kimberly Duhart, who is physically disabled, both of whom found rewarding career paths thanks to employment opportunities in our call centers. You’ll be able to read their compelling, inspirational stories in these pages.
As we prepare to observe the 110th anniversary of The Chicago Lighthouse in 2016, we look forward to many other new, game-changing developments in the coming year.
We invite you to be part of the celebration.
Meantime, on behalf of all the people whose lives we’ve touched, we thank you for your generous support!
Janet P. Szlyk, Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
