Happy New Year!

The New Year is a time of new beginnings, new goals, and a new outlook on the future. If this past year is any proof, the future is looking very bright for Wendell Foster! 2023 was a year full of Yes! Moments, not only for those we serve, but for our organization as well, and we have many more memorable moments to come in 2024.

We're kicking off the year with the return of the Wendell Foster Half Marathon & 5K, presented by Owensboro Health, on March 23rd! This has evolved into an iconic event for Owensboro as the area's only 13.1-mile race, and this year's race is even more special as we return to our inaugural month of March. You may remember our Steps Ambassadors taking their first steps at last year's Rooster Booster...well now it's time for them to take their final steps across the finish line! There are so many ways to get involved in this event, whether it be running 13.1 miles, walking in our 5K, volunteering, or simply coming down to Smothers Park to cheer on all the participants for their accomplishments. With hundreds of volunteers and runners coming together to support our mission of empowering people with disabilities, this event embodies the true spirit of Wendell Foster.

This year, we will continue our efforts toward fundraising for our new Aquatic Therapy Center project. Aquatic therapy has been used at Wendell Foster since we began, and our almost 40-year-old therapy pool is showing major signs of wear and tear. In fact, the pool was inoperable for 25% of last year. This means more missed therapy appointments for our care recipients and less time receiving the crucial care they need. Aquatic therapy has many benefits, from pain relief to increased mobility and even improved mental health. Without a functional therapy pool at Wendell Foster, the people we serve are missing out on these life-changing benefits! Our new Aquatic Therapy Center, located in the Latham Outpatient Therapy Facility, will be a state-of-the-art, sustainable space, providing aquatic therapy for years to come. I look forward to seeing the continued progress of our fundraising efforts for this project.

Finally, I can't wait to witness even more Yes! Moments from those we serve in 2024. You may remember we started the Yes! Moments campaign in 2022 as a way to spotlight the achievements of Wendell Foster's care recipients. It is their perseverance and determination that inspires me every day in my role as CEO of this organization. I hope you too have been inspired by the Yes! Moments we've featured in our monthly newsletters and on social media. The Yes! Moment in this month's newsletter features one of our residents, Gary, and is a reminder of the power of friendship. I think you'll find this story just as heartwarming as I did!

Thank you to all of our donors, volunteers, and supporters for allowing us to continue our mission into the new year. It's because of you that we can make these Yes! Moments happen every single day for people with disabilities. Stay tuned, because 2024 is shaping up to be another groundbreaking year for Wendell Foster!

Wendell Foster is honored to be a recipient of this year's Glenmore Gives Grant! The Glenmore Distillery has been a continuous supporter of Wendell Foster, and the 2022 grant funded the addition of a Playball Therapy Ball for our Physical Therapy department (as seen in our October 2023 Newsletter). With the help of the 2021 Glenmore Gives grant, Wendell Foster introduced a communication board in our Sensory Park, allowing people of all disabilities to communicate and play together at the park!

This year's grant will support our new Aquatic Therapy Center project, which will provide a state-of-the-art therapy pool for our care recipients to participate in aquatic therapy. We are so thankful for our community partners like the Glenmore Distillery who help us provide those we serve with the highest levels of care. Thank you for being Wendell Foster Difference Makers!

If you have an interest in learning more about our Aquatic Therapy Center project and how you can get involved, please contact Kara Howard, Vice President of Development and Community Engagement, at (270) 852-1458 or by email at [email protected].

It's a new year, and you know what that means...time to make those New Year's Resolutions! Are you wanting to become more fit in the new year? Or do you want to test yourself and strive for a difficult goal? Well, look no further than the Wendell Foster Half Marathon & 5K!

Whether it's your first race EVER or your first race in a while, we have you covered with training! Take the guesswork out of getting ready for race day with our training plan, and attend training runs each Saturday at Legends! It doesn't matter if you're just starting your running journey or if you're a seasoned pro, our training runs are a great way to join a supportive group of runners in reaching your goals. All paces are welcome, and our pacers even attend training runs so they're with you every step of the way leading up to March 23rd. If that isn't motivating enough, we have fun giveaways at each training run, with a very special giveaway for those who attend 8 or more training runs! It's never too late to get started! Check out the schedule below and come train with us this Saturday! 💪

It's been said so often by our staff, volunteers, and friends of Wendell Foster that although we are here to serve our care recipients, it is truly those we serve who make a lasting impact on the lives of those around them. More often than not, they teach us valuable lessons and show us the meaning of true friendship. Gary, a Wendell Foster resident, and Owensboro native Jason Goddard discovered this firsthand after a chance encounter led to their meaningful friendship.

If you know Gary, you know he is a lifelong supporter of law enforcement! His room is decorated with police memorabilia, and he even worked at the Owensboro Police Department for a brief time, helping with tasks such as cleaning and keeping the police station organized. As a sergeant for the OPD, Jason was familiar with Gary from his job at the station, but they connected through the "Coffee with a Cop" event in the spring of 2023. Through Gary's Person-Centered Specialist, Sasha, Jason scheduled a time to surprise Gary on campus with his favorite lunch, McDonald's, and take a ride to the station in Jason's police cruiser.

After this meeting, Gary and Jason continued to grow their friendship! Jason even surprised Gary before Christmas with a police cruiser ornament for his Christmas tree and a police patch. While Gary loves his visits from Jason, it's Gary's positive attitude and love for others that positively impacts Jason's life. "Since I met Gary, it's always been such a good experience for me (to visit him), and I get probably more out of it than he does," Jason said. "Everybody who comes in contact with Gary has a smile on their face when they're with him."

At Wendell Foster, we celebrate Yes! Moments of all kinds for our care recipients, whether it's an achievement in therapy or something you and I may take for granted, like getting a job or building a friendship. But many times, we're the ones who experience the wonderful benefits of having relationships with the people we serve. That itself is a Yes! Moment! We are so excited to see how Gary and Jason's friendship continues to grow and develop (and how many times Gary will beat Jason in UNO)!

Watch this video to learn more about Gary and Jason's friendship! Thank you to Jason Goddard for participating in the video, and showing off his singing skills! 😉

Cubby Beds is proud to be partnering with Wendell Foster to offer a FREE virtual education session to provide more information about our smart safety bed!

The Cubby Bed is a sensory-friendly and safe bed that is new to the industry. It provides benefits for those with sleep issues, anxiety, elopement, self-injury, entrapment, or fall risks.

During this session, we will discuss:

The Importance of Sleep

Cubby Beds Features + Benefits

Getting the Cubby Bed Covered by Insurance

Cubby Beds Resources + Support

Q + A

For questions, email Cindy Huston at [email protected].

The Nonprofit Coalition of Owensboro (NPC) is excited to announce its 2024 meeting dates! NPC, which was founded in 2021 as a partnership between Wendell Foster and Kentucky Wesleyan College, provides opportunities for nonprofit professionals to network and participate in educational sessions on topics in the nonprofit sector. This year's sessions are being made possible through a partnership with The Marilyn and William Young Charitable Foundation. All nonprofit professionals in Owensboro are invited to attend the sessions.

The first session of 2024 will take place on February 21st at Kentucky Wesleyan College's Tapscott Chapel. Dr. Rhonda Trautman, Director of Online Programs at the Martin School of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Kentucky, will be presenting on change management. In the meantime, be sure to "like" NPC's Facebook page at the button below to keep up with all things NPC! ⬇️

It's the beginning of a new year, and you know what that means...more fun to look forward to at Wendell Foster! Check out what we've been up to this month:

1. Lonnie and Dwayne enjoyed the all-you-can-eat buffet at Golden Corral!

2. D's Door Art stopped by campus. Charity had "SNOW" much fun painting!

3. Jay and Gary sang their hearts out with a bit of karaoke fun!

4. Branden and some of the guys went to see Aquaman in theaters!

5. Our residents became culinary masters thanks to Joys Cooking Classes and More!

6. Ian had a blast at the Children's Museum of Evansville. He couldn't stop smiling!

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