BEACON PLACE NEWS
Sharing Time and Talents: Meet Marian McNair

Marian leading Craft activities for the Monday Afterschool Homework Club.
Like so many other volunteers, Marian McNair came to Beacon Place out of a desire to share her unique talents and interests with kids and families in a nearby community. Marian first became connected to the Waukegan and North Chicago areas through an outreach program of her church, Union Church of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff.  With dual Masters Degrees in Fine Arts and K-12 Art Education, Marian knew that she wanted to share her education and professional experience as an art teacher with the kids in this community. Marian now leads the weekly craft programs for both the Beacon Green Summer Garden Program for 3-6th graders, as well as the weekly craft program for the AfterSchool Club for k-8th grade. 

Earlier this fall Marian noticed that some of the kids often refer to the big blue house as "BACON PLACE" so she decided to do a project with them to talk about what a "beacon" really is and what it does. She was amazed at their responses including ideas that the sun is a beacon, lighthouses are beacons, and even people can be beacons.
"One of the children said it perfectly..... 'A beacon is something that can guide you in and can send you out safely - just like Beacon Place does!' .... I am always so amazed at what these kids teach me every day that I am here! It is such a joy to see them come alive through art!"

Marian also has an extensive background in yoga, music and sound therapy. She leads a weekly yoga class on Tuesday's with women at Beacon Place and ends each session of stretching and strengthening with a meditative and restorative program where she uses her beautiful voice and crystal bowl chimes to provide a few minutes of mental and emotional relaxation. While the women recognize that they have physically gotten stronger through the physical components of yoga, they all agree that their favorite part is the meditation and healing they get from Marian's voice and sound therapy tools. 

"These women and families often have little chance to escape the daily pressure of life. Teaching them to take the time for themselves for quiet and meditation is a true blessing. I have been so embraced by this community - they have even said they have shared the techniques at home with their husbands and children!"

Thank you Marian, for sharing your beautiful gifts and talents with the families of Beacon Place
 
Marian, second from right, with some of the women in the Tuesday yoga class!


To learn more about Marian's sound therapy programs, visit  http://cellularharmonies.com.

Beacon Place Partners with Depaul University Masters of Nursing Program

This fall Beacon Place has partnered with the Depaul University Masters of Nursing Program/Rosalind Franklin Campus to connect with two student interns who will work with Beacon Place over the next two years!

These two wonderful young women will be initially involved in the Afterschool Homework Club as a chance to get to know the community, kids and families in the Beacon Place programs. As time progresses, they will be spearheading several special projects that will draw on their unique background and skills. Intern Kelsy Foat comes to Beacon Place as a native of Wisconsin who studied Cell Biology and Chemistry at UW Whitewater as an undergraduate. She has worked in a pharmacy over the last nine years and is now pursuing a Masters in Nursing with an interest in Pediatric Oncology. 

Depaul Masters Nursing Student  Intern Kelsy Foat works with Diamond on some math skills on the computer. 


" I am really interested in working with kids from a variety of backgrounds and cultures. This will help me engage more effectively with the patients I will work with in the future. I am already getting really connected to the kids at Beacon Place!", Kelsy Foat



    Depaul Masters Nursing Student Intern Paige Robbins 
    helping students with their homework






Intern Paige Robbins enters the program with an extensive background in emergency medicine as a trained paramedic and EMT. Paige received her undergraduate degree from Augustana College with degrees in Psychology and Speech Communications. Paige is particularly interested in developing her Spanish language skills as she works with the Beacon Place kids and families. A critical enhancement to her desire to work as an emergency room nurse who needs to communicate effectively with patients and families. 


"I really enjoy talking to the kids and learning more about them, their families and their backgrounds. It is such a great perspective on the local community." ,
Paige Robbins.

We look forward to the great addition the experiences of these two young women will bring to our programs, our families and our community.
 Welcome Paige and Kelsy!


Bringing Important Information to the Community

Beacon Place serves as a connector for many of our families to information and services available in the broader community. October is  Bully Prevention Awareness month and we partnered with  Mr.  Tim Kirschner, the Parent University Outreach Liaison for   Waukegan Public Schools Dist 60, to bring a program that th

      Melissa Hemzacek ,  LSW Internet Safety Specialist High 
     Tech Crimes Bureau Office of the Illinois Attorney 
     General's office addresses questions from the group. 
ey had designed to parents in our area. The presentation was led by Ms.  Melissa Hemzacek, LSW I nternet Safety Specialist  High Tech Crimes Bureau  Office of the Illinois Attorney General's office. MS. Hemzacek spoke with the women present about internet safety, gaming, social  media and cell phone use.  The women were very interested in tips that could help them navigate these challenges with their teens and pre-teens and were excited about the great information that they had received. Several more community classes are on schedule  for this fall and we anticipate a consistent schedule of speakers for the coming year. Beacon Place is being contact by many local organizations that recognize our trusted relationship with the community and our ability to assist in bringing valuable information to a broader group that is truly interested and receptive. 

If you have access to programs or resources that may be of interest to our families, please email admin@beacon-place.org for consideration. 

U PCOMING EVENTS:
Come Enjoy the Art of Kimberly Beck 



Please join us at Lake Forest Frame and Design on October 15th for a wonderful showing of the fine work of local artist, Kimberly  Beck. Ms. Beck is an oil painter specializing in wildlife, botanical and figurative imagery whose paintings have been juried in several museums and exhibits across the United States. At this even Ms. Beck will be showcasing a number of her original oil paintings and limited edition gliclees. Light appetizers and drinks will be served at the event and 20% of the proceeds of all sales on the 15th will be donated to Beacon Place!

To see more of Kimberly Beck's artwork visit www.kimberlybeck-art.com


Our special thanks to......



Mr. Brad Schneider for visiting Beacon Place to see the amazing  work being done by our kids and parents!







 
    AbbVie for inviting Beacon Place to participate in their Annual Employee Giving Campaign Kickoff!



Libertyville School District 70 for the generous donation of school supplies as a part of their Character Counts program in September






Snap On Tools for their donation of laptops for our Afterschool and Home Practice Tutoring Programs!


 
Volunteering is the 'heart' of Beacon Place - 
Get involved and join the fun ~ 
you might just change a life - maybe even your own!



     Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers for making all of our summer programs such a great success this year! Fall programming is underway and we need lots of help o nce again to make it   happen! So many of you have such amazing talents to share, here are a 
few of the areas where we need your help the most this fall! Please take a look and reach out to the contact noted for more information. Thank you for your continued support!

SPECIAL EVENT AND HOLIDAY HELP! 
We are gearing up for lots of fun with our kids and families this holiday season! Consider volunteering to help direct one of our special events such as the Holiday Party for Kids or Christmas Boutique for Parents. Each of these great events will take place on December 12 and we need lots of volunteer help and support! It is a great way to kick off a season of true giving! 
Email admin@beacon-place.org for more information. 

AFTERSCHOOL HOMEWORK AND TUTORING PROGRAMS

DATABASE SUPPORT
Do you have experience with CRM systems such as SALESFORCE or other database services?  We would like to improve our efficiency using these types of tools for our donor, volunteer and client tracking and reporting systems. Volunteers are needed to provide ongoing data entry and review, reporting for the Program Managers and Executive Director, and minor technical support. Email admin@beacon-place.org for more information. 
 
VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
As all of our programs continue to grow, we are seeking someone who could help us recruit, organize and schedule all of our volunteers for our activities year round.   Email a dmin@beacon-place.org for more information. 

FUNDRAISING SUPPORT
We are loo king for energetic individuals to help us create and execute exciting new opportunities for fundraising!  Please email admin@beacon-place.org for more information.


A MESSAGE FROM BARB,
 OUR  BEACON PLACE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.......

Fall is really here, as noted in the falling leaves and shorter days. As the darkness increases so do concerns for safety.  As the drawing of the light house by one of our students notes in this newsletter, we are a place that guides you in and sends you out safely. We have been very busy directing our energy towards the topic of safety. Our recent program offered in conjunction with the Waukegan Public School District was on Cyber bullying. As you may be aware, the month of October is bully awareness month. We will partner with our community members to address this issue and work towards stomping out this problem. It is also critical that our children to be safe when using technology and our families
 received great information to help them monitor their children's limited Internet activities. We have also offered a First Aid and CPR class to our program managers, key volunteers  and board members. I am happy to note that everyone passed! We will have  another class offered this month and are thankful to the Waukegan Fire Department for offering us this class.


Enjoy the blessings of this beautiful fall season! Thank you for your on-going generous support of our mission and programs as we continue to shine as a bright beacon in our community!

My best, 

Barb



Beacon Place
603 S. McAlister
Waukegan, IL 60085
224-572-9330