GCS - Letter from the Executive Director

A Letter from the Executive Director

Hello everyone,

2008 brings to Grace Community Services a great deal of opportunities and challenges. We have identified a site at 305 Hibiscus Drive in Brighton for our home for 5 female consumers. At this time, our architect is going out to bid on the project, and we hope to be breaking ground in the spring. The neighbors in the area have been quite wonderful. We are fortunate to be moving into such a nice neighborhood. We look forward to establishing long term relationships with this group. We are excited to see the Grace Community Services’ family growing.

We have been fortunate to have moved our offices to a much more spacious and accessible location. We are now at 1788 Penfield Road, Suite 2, Penfield, NY 14526. We are in “Penfield Place” and our sign is out front. However, we have found that it is much easier to inform people to take 441 towards Penfield and hang a left at the “Penfield Hots” sign. That sign is near to impossible to miss. CLICK HERE for a link to Google maps. Feel free to stop by and say hello.

The Friends of Grace have been active in their fund raising efforts and their support of our home and community-based programs. This is a wonderful group, and I would encourage you to consider joining them in their efforts. Cynthia White is the head of the Friends of Grace, and she can be contacted at fgcs@gracecommunityservices.com. As well, she can be called at (585) 672-2749 x120. Their webpage can be visited by clicking on “Volunteer” in the side directory of this page.

Our volunteer recognition event on July 14, 2007 at 1930 Westfall Road was quite delightful. The event was featured in the Penfield Post. If you happen to be in the area, please note that we have planted a sycamore tree that is a symbol of the volunteers’ valued efforts. It is surrounded by a landscaped area that includes a bench and some stepping stones. CLICK HERE for pictures.

As you may know, services such as ours are coming under scrutiny due to Medicaid being our primary funding mechanism. This year is going to present funding challenges for us, and we anticipate that we will be experiencing the same in the coming years. If you find it in your heart, please visit http://lutheran-jamestown.org/donate.htm or call me at (585) 672-2749 x100. Lutheran Social Services, our parent company, has developed a mechanism for planned giving that would benefit Grace Community Services as well. Please visit http://lutheran-jamestown.org/fndpln.htm or call Gwen Axelson at the LSS Foundation at (716) 665-8137. We now have the ability to receive donations through JustGive.org, which has a link on each page of our website (above left on this page).

In other news, as of August of 2007, Grace Community Services is a tobacco-free agency. As a health care provider, we believe that providing a tobacco-free environment helps to demonstrate our commitment to encouraging healthier lifestyles. Employees affected by this change will be receiving support from the Tobacco Coalition of New York State. This group will be providing nicotine replacement therapies free of charge.

In closing, I’d like to take the time to thank the employees of Grace Community Services for their diligent efforts to ensure the quality of care for our consumers. As well, I’d like to thank the families and friends of Grace Community Services for their continued support.

Sincerely,

Patrick J. McGrath

Executive Director

Grace Community Services

Patrick J. McGrath

Executive Director

Grace Community Services