Director's Corner

SCHOOL'S OUT
School’s out for the summer and children are ready for a break. This year we had twenty-two young adults graduate from high school from six of our locations. Each graduate has been with DePaul for at least a year. Several of them have been with us most of their school careers. This is a time of great celebration as we recognize the accomplishments of our youth. As high school graduates, they will be prepared to go to college or to get more training for careers. We wish them well as they enter a new phase of their lives! July 1st begins a new fiscal year here at DePaul Family Services. Last year, our Board of Directors voted to have staggered three year terms of office for its members. This spring, at the Board’s annual meeting, we said goodbye to several faithful board members who will be ending their terms of service effective July 1.

Evelyn Board has been with us since 1986. She has a wealth of experience with our agency and has witnessed a great deal of growth in 21 years. Evie Brown has served two terms since 1993. Evie has attended many of our functions as well as Board meetings. Doug Henson has served DePaul since 1995. Most recently he has served as Board President. Doug shared his legal knowledge with us as he is a practicing attorney. We are very grateful for the time each of these faithful members has given DePaul. Together they have served on our Board for nearly 50 years. We will miss their insight, wisdom and experience. Many thanks to each of them for their gifts which they shared with us!

Our “3000 Hours” campaign is going well. Last December, made a commitment to provide 3000 hours of community service for the year in our various service locations in celebration of our 30th anniversary. We have met our goal already! We crossed the 3000 hour mark in May thanks to the efforts of our staff, our OPTIONS clients, our foster families, care providers and our youth. We are pleased that we are able give back to our neighborhoods and communities after 30 years of support for our programs.

As I write this, we are preparing for the first picnic of the season. I hope each of you who are foster parents or care providers will come out for good food and an opportunity to visit with friends.

Sue Bentley
Executive Director
DePaul Family Services