|
Holidays for most of us are full of heart warming memories
and special times with our family and friends. Flooding many
people's thoughts are feelings of nostalgia and optimism for the
future. Unfortunately, this is not the experience for hundreds
of children and youth that TLC will be responsible for during the
Holidays. If you are interested in assisting us to help make some
positive memories for one of our children or youth during this time
of year please click
here to see our Holiday wish list. We trust
that this Holiday season will be a memory building one for you and
your family.
Thank you for
your great support this year in helping us to serve nearly 8,000
kids. Each and every one of you has truly been a blessing to us.
Warmest Personal
Regards,
Bob Drummond,
Ed.D
President and
CEO
CHANGING LIVES...
Reflecting on this year...
Looking back at
2006, TLC has had a busy year of exciting events, meeting new
friends, inspiring stories and most importantly making a difference
in the lives of nearly 8,000 youth. With the Holidays upon us, TLC
feels so blessed that we are able to share joy and give hope to
youth and families in crisis. Each of our programs have touched many
lives this year.
Resource Family
Services
The Resource
Family Services program can reflect on a very busy, but amazing
year. Through November 2006, the program placed 133 children and
youth in resource/foster homes with 10,527 days of care.
This would not
be possible without the wonderful resource parents who open their
hearts and their homes for children and youth who have experienced
abuse, neglect, and/or some type of family disruption. They accept
placements in the middle of the night and sometimes plan for one
child and end up taking two, so siblings can stay together.
TLC is now
working with a sibling group of five who were homeless when they
were referred to the program. Unfortunately, the group had to be
split into two of TLC's resource homes. However, these families have
worked together so the siblings can call each other, visit each
other and support each other during this confusing time. On
Thanksgiving Day, one of the families was able to have all of the
siblings at their home to enjoy a holiday meal together and spend
time playing. There are not enough words to say how much these
families do to help out children in need, especially during the
holidays.
Juvenile Intervention Services
Juvenile Intervention Services which is comprised of three
programs has grown in 2006, allowing them to serve more youth.
Truancy Case Management has served 63 youth this year compared to 53
last year. School-Based Truancy Case Management has served 55
youth the first semester of school and continues prevent youth from
having a truancy petition filed. Juvenile Offender Case
Management has served 114 youth thus far, compared to 104 in
2005. The Juvenile Intervention Services program is looking
forward to seeing what 2007 brings as well as continuing to serve
youth and families for TLC.
Street Outreach and Youth
Crisis Services
TLC encounters
many youth and children who are experiencing a crisis situation or
may be homeless and living on the streets. Our Street Outreach
Services (S.O.S.) program and Youth Crisis Services (Y.C.S.) program
have been out in the community all year working to give these kids
hope and improve their situation.
The S.O.S.
program has doubled the number of youth they helped find a home in
2006. This year, they have helped 41 youth. The Y.C.S. program
saw 103 youth stay in TLC's Emergency Shelter with a 92% success
rate of them returning home after intervention services.
Residential Services
TLC's
residential services has also helped many youth in need of Level V
care this year. Joe, who was without natural parents for most of his
childhood, came to stay at TLC in our residential program. During
his stay, he was connected to a potential adoptive family through an
outside agency. For several months, Joe went on extended weekend
passes as well as holidays to become acquainted with this new
family. Over the past few months, the staff at TLC's Level V home
saw a wonderful transformation happen. From what was once a shy,
withdrawn and angry youth evolved a hopeful, enthusiastic,
adolescent who could not stop talking about his new family.
In early
November, Joe left TLC to live with his new adoptive family. This
year, Joe will be able to experience what it means to be part of a
family during the Holidays. One TLC residential staff noted that,
when his new father came to pick Joe up for the last time he simply
said to him, “Welcome home.”
Many children
will have hope for a better situation during the winter months and
holiday season because of the dedication of these
programs!
Looking for Gift Giving Ideas?...
Year-end
planning is a ritual for many of TLC's friends who like to
coordinate their tax and gift planning. Consider the following
important ideas for your year-end gift planning:
•
Gifts of Cash. Take advantage of TLC's
Kansas tax credits and receive 50 percent of your donation
back from the state of Kansas in the form of a tax credit or a
refund on your Kansas income tax liability. Click here
to learn more about this unique opportunity.
•
Appreciated Securities. Transfer
appreciated stocks, bonds, and/or mutual funds to avoid capital
gains tax and qualify for a charitable income tax deduction equal to
the full fair market value of the securities. Click
here to learn more.
•
Give from your IRA. If you are over 70˝,
you may rollover up to $100,000 annually from your Individual
Retirement Account (IRA) to TLC. Click
here to learn more about this new method of making tax-free
charitable gifts.
•
Life Income Gifts. Several gift
arrangements permit you or your beneficiaries to receive fixed or
variable lifetime income while TLC receives the remainder. Click
here to learn how life income gifts (gift annuities,
charitable remainder unitrusts, charitable remainder annuity trusts,
etc.) can provide an immediate income tax deduction.
Year-end is the
perfect time to reflect about long-term planning as well. Visit
TLC's Gift
Planning website to learn more about making bequests through
a will or trust, gifts of life insurance, and gifts of real estate.
| 
