An Evening of Generosity ✨

Our community came together in a huge way for Wendell Foster at the Forever a Difference Maker Gala & Auction, presented by Southern Star, on September 30th! Thanks to our generous attendees, sponsors, item donors, and supporters, our final amount raised for the event was a record-breaking total of $170,000! This is the most we have ever raised from this event! We loved every moment of this night, from the exciting live auction hosted by Emcee Chad Benefield and Auctioneer Joseph Mills (with items displayed by Wendell Foster's Aktion Club), to hearing the impactful testimony of our Featured Family, the Greenwells. Thank you to all of our Difference Makers who helped make this event a huge success! We couldn't fulfill our mission of empowering people with disabilities without you. 💙

Re-live every moment of this fantastic evening with photos from our official photographer, Bryan Leazenby of OnSite Images! Be sure to share your photos on social media with the hashtag #WFGala23!

Thank you, Representative Johnson, for your efforts in passing House Bill 334! You are Forever a Difference Maker!

Watch the video below to learn more about The Greenwells! We were proud to honor them as the Featured Family for our Special Appeal. Thank you, Brian and Lauren, for sharing your story!

Thank you to our vendors for making this event possible:

🌟 Owensboro Convention Center

🌿 Welborn's Floral & Event

🎶 DJ Yondell

📸 Bryan Leazenby of OnSite Images

📽️ Wonder Boy Media

🎈 The Event Kode

📜 Greenwell Chisholm

Did you know October is National Physical Therapy Month? Physical Therapy is one of three outpatient therapies offered at Wendell Foster. With Physical Therapy, individuals can improve strength endurance, coordination, gross motor function, and range of motion. Our team of experienced therapists treat people with disabilities throughout their lifespans.

Wendell Foster's Physical Therapists use a variety of tools to make therapy fun for our care recipients. Therapy is a lifelong process for many clients, so it's important to introduce new equipment into therapy appointments to keep the sessions interesting! A new addition to the PT Department's inventory of equipment is the Playball Therapy Ball. The Playball may look like a regular exercise ball, but it's a powerful therapy tool with many uses! The ball is a "smart" therapy ball that uses motion sensors to detect movement. Therapists can connect the Playball to a tablet to track a client's performance and progress, giving results in real-time. Using the ball, clients can play interactive games while performing rehabilitation exercises.

Levi has been attending physical therapy at Wendell Foster since he was 6 months old. Due to an abnormality in his spine caused by spina bifida, Levi has no active motion in his legs, leading to difficulties in maintaining his posture and balance. He has used the Playball for the last four months in sessions with his therapist, Erin Sieberkrob, to improve his core strength. Levi uses the ball to play games on the tablet while in a sitting position to practice maintaining his posture and engaging his core. He can also balance the ball against a wall while participating in the games, adding an extra level of difficulty to the exercise. Erin says that increased core strength gives Levi more independence, allowing him to move around on his own and complete everyday tasks just like any other kid. An added bonus is the fun Levi has while using the Playball! "The Playball brings in the games on the tablet, and lets Levi focus on that while we're working on other things that usually aren't quite as fun," explained Erin. Erin has noticed an improvement in Levi's posture since using the Playball, and has to remind him less frequently to engage his core during exercises.

This progress in Levi and other clients wouldn't be possible without the Glenmore Distillery! Glenmore funded the Playball through their Glenmore Gives Grant, and is a longstanding partner of Wendell Foster's. We are so thankful for our community partners who help us in providing the highest level of therapy services for our care recipients!

Thank you, Glenmore Distillery! You are a #WFDifferenceMaker!

Another form of Physical Therapy widely used at Wendell Foster is aquatic therapy. Did you know Wendell Foster has a therapy pool on our campus? Benefits of aquatic therapy range from relaxation and pain relief, to increased mobility in and out of the water. Watch the video below to learn more about aquatic therapy!

Our current pool is close to 40 years old, and has several maintenance limitations that are preventing aquatic therapy appointments from taking place. With this in mind, Wendell Foster is excited to announce our next big project, our new Aquatic Therapy Center! This updated Aquatic Therapy Center will be a state-of-the-art space for our care recipients to receive aquatic therapy while also providing Wendell Foster with a sustainable facility that can be maintained for years to come.

If you have an interest in learning more about this 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 khoward@wendellfoster.org.

Wendell Foster's 2023 Special Needs Expo took place on October 21st, and it was an awesome community event! ⭐ The Special Needs Expo is an opportunity for community agencies to collaborate in providing information about resources and services that will assist families in supporting a loved one with a disability. We loved seeing all of our vendors gather to educate families on their products and services that support people with disabilities. The Mini Sports Fest was a blast, and it was great seeing everyone try their hand at all the different sports with the help of the Daviess County Special Olympics. As always, this event was full of new information, friendly faces, and a ton of fun! We'd like to thank all who participated in this year's Special Needs Expo! 💛

We love Fall here at Wendell Foster! Over the past few weeks, our residents and staff have fully jumped into the fall festivities around the community. John, Jay, and the Cottage B staff kicked off the excitement with “Boo at the Zoo!” This event took place at Mesker Park Zoo in Evansville, IN, and had a vast number of attractions for its visitors. John and Jay saw several animals in the exhibits, enjoyed live entertainment, participated in the costume contest, and went trick-or-treating, all in one night!

The fun doesn’t stop there! The Mulligan Family graciously invited us back to their beautiful farm for the second year in a row. We are so thankful for their kindness and hospitality as they created an atmosphere that was nothing short of fun. During the outing, our residents soaked up the crisp autumn air and were “fall- aboard” the hay ride! The Mulligans had an amazing tailored ramp and cart to ensure our residents were comfortable and able to sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride! It doesn’t get much better than that!

This month of October has quickly come and gone. Memories were made, new experiences were had, and laughs were plenty. We had a ball this fall at WF! 🍂

We've loved celebrating the fall season at Wendell Foster, ever since our humble beginnings more than 75 years ago! Pictured on the right is a photo of the first-ever Halloween party at Wendell Foster's campus in 1947! The party took place on the lawn of the Slaughter Home, a house sold to Wendell and Edith Foster at an extremely discounted rate to use for their home and school. Magician Bob Cox was on hand at the party to dazzle with some magic tricks! It looks like a fun time was had by all!

Wendell Foster is so thankful for our community partners who help us fulfill our mission of empowering people with disabilities. Thank you for being a #WFDifferenceMaker! 💙

(1) Aktion Club purchased over 30 costumes to donate to local elementary schools for children who may not be able to afford costumes of their own.

(2) Ronda and others from Cottage C enjoying an afternoon of bowling and arcade games at Southern Lanes.

(3) Gary visiting the Daviess County Detention Center. He loved getting to learn about this segment of law enforcement.

(4) Jimmy and Mark on the General Jackson Showboat in Nashville, TN, where they enjoyed a yummy dinner and watched the Tennessee Legends musical show.

(5) Corey and his friends John, Zach, and Conner having a guys-only breakfast at Gramps Coffee and Donuts.

(6) For AAC Awareness Month, Wendell Foster's Speech Department gave out full-size candy bars to the first 15 people who could use a communication device!