We had an un-grill-ievable turnout at the First Responders BBQ on July 18th, presented by Wendell Foster and Chamber Young Professionals (CYP)! It was the perfect day to host our local First Responders on campus, spend time with them in a non-emergency setting, and celebrate all they do for our community! Old friends stopped by, and new friends were made! ❤️

Residents didn't just make friends with First Responders, though! Through our continued partnership with CYP, we added an exciting new element to this year's barbecue... BBQ Buddies! CYP members paired up with Wendell Foster residents to enjoy the day. CYP Chair Jake Boswell said CYP members had a goal for this year's BBQ: to build relationships with those who call Wendell Foster home. The BBQ Buddies ate delicious food together, enjoyed awesome music, and had great conversations! We think these friendships will last a lifetime! We can't forget to mention the most exciting moment of the day (no, we aren't talking about the egg race), the Air Evac landing on campus! We were honored to host the Air Evac Lifeteam 92 from Breckinridge County, and they gave us quite the show! 🚁

Thank you to everyone who helped make our 2024 First Responder's BBQ a success! 🤝

Meat Donation & Grilling Team: Atmos Energy 🔥

Hotdogs: Field Meats 🌭

Ice Cream: Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers 🍦

Photo Booth: Something Borrowed Owensboro 📸

Music: Blue Line Entertainment 🎵

Tent Rental: Bakos Party Rentals 🎪

Volunteers: Chamber Young Professionals, Independence Bank, Aktion Club sponsored by Kiwanis Club of Owensboro 😄

A favorite Wendell Foster event is BACK! The Forever a Difference Maker Gala & Auction, presented by Boardwalk Pipelines, returns September 21st at the Owensboro Convention Center! Join us for a night of elegance and fun, featuring complimentary beer and wine, dinner, and our iconic live and silent auctions! Emcees Jake Boswell and Ron Rhodes will bring the energy to the stage, along with Auctioneer John Kurtz. It's sure to be a spectacular evening honoring our Difference Makers who make our mission possible each day- this is a night you won't want to miss! 💙

Auction items include rare bourbon, curated travel experiences, sports memorabilia, and tickets to popular attractions.

Tickets are $75 per person, $150 per couple, and $500 for a table of eight. This popular event is sure to sell out, so don't wait to purchase your tickets! Stay tuned as we add auction items to the Gala website leading up to the event!

Did you know that Wendell Foster has a sensory room, located in our Green Outpatient Therapy Facility? This room is full of fun equipment that can engage and stimulate a person's senses, including a bubble tower, a ball pit, and fiber-optic tails. While these toys can be stimulating, the room also has a calming effect on our care recipients. Clients can relax by watching the changing lights and colors and touching the different textures of the equipment. You may be wondering why Wendell Foster needs a room like this for our therapy services. Our longtime client, Litsey, is a prime example of how a sensory room can improve a person's therapy experience.

Litsey has participated in therapy services at Wendell Foster since she was two years old. Litsey's diagnosis is CHARGE Syndrome, which is a rare genetic disorder that affects multiple parts of the body, including the eyes, ears, nerves, and nasal passages. For many years, Litsey had a tracheostomy tube, and she currently utilizes a feeding tube, hearing aid, and glasses. Because of the way CHARGE affects the parts of her body that control her senses, Litsey had difficulty tolerating her therapy appointments when she first started at WF. Litsey's Speech Therapist, Michele Clouse, needed to get creative for Litsey to have a positive, productive therapy experience. Before each of her sessions, Michele started taking Litsey to the sensory room. She also found that swinging in the Occupational Therapy room helped Litsey feel calmer before her appointments. Because of her time in the sensory room, Litsey was able to tolerate neuromuscular stimulation during Speech so she could start achieving her goals. Tasks such as swallowing, exploring different foods, communication and social skills, and advancing her language became easier for Litsey after spending time regulating with sensory tools.

Today, Litsey is 9 years old and has made huge steps in her development! Her tracheostomy tube has been removed, and she is consistently improving her communication skills. Litsey is answering yes or no questions, and is using sign language and assitive technology to communicate. She is also starting to taste multiple foods and try different textures! Litsey has begun to chew and crunch on some food items, and even swallow them. This is a huge improvement from where she started in her therapy journey! Litsey's story is a testament to our therapists' ability to pivot and create personalized plans for our care recipients. Still, Michele said this success can also be attributed to Litsey and her team of supporters. "She is a very strong willed, intelligent young lady whose family provides her with many opportunities to experience life," said Michele. We know Litsey will continue to grow leaps and bounds with her determination and Michele's dedication to her therapy plan!

(Left) Litsey and her Speech Therapist, Michele, use the swing in the Occupational Therapy Room. (Right) Litsey regulates before her Speech sessions in the sensory room ball pit. Litsey participates in sensory play to calm her emotions prior to her appointments.

Drumroll, please! 🥁 Congratulations to our five lucky winners...

Grand Prize: Tiffanie Quisenberry of Bowling Green, KY (Ticket #W153)

2nd Prize: Mark Bohn of Columbia, TN (Ticket #W87)

3rd Prize: Chad Baker of Paducah, KY (Ticket #W100)

4th Prize: Jennefer Greenlee of Owensboro, KY (Ticket #W751)

5th Prize: Norman Shelton of Philpot, KY (Ticket #W690)

Cheers to our incredible supporters and thank you to all who took a chance! Together, we raised nearly $20,000 to empower individuals with disabilities! 🥃💙

Kentucky Charitable Gaming License: ORG0001656.

The first round of Wendell Foster's Biggest Loser Challenge came to a close at the end of June, and our staff finished out the challenge with some impressive results! You may remember this challenge was started to encourage our staff to put themselves and their health first. We are so dedicated to the individuals we serve that it can be easy to forget to take care of our bodies. Staff members enthusiastically participated in the challenge, and we ended our first round of the Biggest Loser with a combined 213.4 pounds lost from all who participated! How awesome is that! 💥

Congratulations to all staff who completed this challenge! We hope that even more will join in for round two of the challenge, coming soon! 🏋️

In our May Newsletter, we asked a few of our staff members participating in the Biggest Loser to tell us why they joined the challenge and what they hoped to achieve by improving their health. We caught up with these staff members to give you an update! ⬇️

Wendell Foster is excited to announce that we are a recipient of the 2024 WHAS Crusade for the Children Grant! The WHAS Crusade is a longtime supporter of Wendell Foster, and their grants have funded many projects on our campus. In recent years, the Crusade funded our Specialized Feeding Treatment Area, two communication devices: the Accent 1400 and NovaChat10, and a literacy program called Seeing Stars, all for our Speech Therapy department.

We are thrilled the Crusade is assisting with another essential project on our campus, the new Aquatic Therapy Center! Funds from this year's WHAS Crusade for Children Grant will help us purchase the non-slip tile that will be placed throughout the Aquatic Therapy Center. This tile is crucial to providing a safe therapy environment for our clients, therapists, and families. Because many of our therapy patients are children, this project aligns perfectly with the Crusade's mission of making life better for children with special needs. We can't wait for the children we serve to experience the life-changing benefits of aquatic therapy through this new Aquatic Therapy Center!

Thank you, WHAS Crusade, for being #WFDifferenceMakers!

The month of June had us buzzing around like bees! 💛 See what we've been up to:

1. Lucas enjoyed a visit home to see his family and a splash in the pool!

2. Residents felt like they were "rolling in the dough" after learning how to make pizza at Donatos.

3. Bobby made sure to put on plenty of sunscreen so he didn’t catch too many rays at Smothers Park.

4. Double the birthdays and double the fun! Megan and Andrew are 45 and fabulous!

5. Phoebe attended the Special Needs Day of the Muhlenberg County Fair. She loved the rides!

6. Bryant shined brighter than fireworks with his "Fireworks and Freedom" shirt in honor of July 4th.

About Wendell Foster

For over 75 years, our focus has been to provide children and adults with disabilities with the tools, education, therapies, and support to reach their dreams and potential.

As a leader in serving those with disabilities, we provide more than 65,000 services annually through multiple programs.

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