Dear Friends + Families of Mae House,
I hope this newsletter finds you healthy and safe. What an incredibly challenging year this has been for all of us in so many different ways. At Mae House, we have so much to be grateful for. Our Members have stayed healthy, are happy to be together, and are engaged in lots of fun activities every day. They spend their time going for walks + bike rides around the neighborhood, doing yoga + dance videos, playing games, cooking, having tea parties, arts + crafts, hiking, swimming at friends’ pools, and Duffy boat rides. Just recently, they have been able to venture out to visit Long Beach Aquarium, Newport Pier, Sherman Gardens, local parks, and to their therapeutic horseback riding lessons. Since their day programs have been closed since March with no set date of reopening, this creates the additional cost of funding our Assistants the extra hours each day. Our three wonderful girls have shown us their resilience and ability to keep living freely, overcoming the obstacles life has been throwing at them this year. I am so proud of our Members and our team for their incredible ability to turn this into a positive time. It is truly amazing what a difference Mae House is making in so many people’s lives.
We strive to be inspiring with the fundraising efforts this year. This Fall we have embarked on our first email campaign. Each campaign will highlight a special part of Mae House – Mary, our Nutritionist and Chef; our Assistants; each of our Members; our Healthy Meal Program. We are getting “creative” with our most recent fundraising project. Gina, Hannah, and Tanette love art projects and with Mary’s help, they have designed, drawn, and painted cards for Mae House to sell. A set of 10 cards is $20. Please see the information on Page 4 of this newsletter to place your orders. Of course, we were disappointed to not have our fun Mae House Yard Sale this past Spring, but we are planning for and look forward to the next one, scheduled for May 15, 2021. Last but not least, many of you may know about the renovation project of a 1963 Chevy Nova Super Sport Convertible. When completed, this car will be sold to the highest bidder with all proceeds going to Mae House. Our fundraising efforts also include raising money (or alternatively should we say “accepting donations”) for the parts and pieces of the project that will help to make it beautiful for the final reveal.
Special thanks to Steven Rude, who took it upon himself to run a collection campaign for Mae House. Due to Steven’s efforts, Mae House not only received numerous useful items, but more importantly, dozens of new supporters. Thanks to Steven, his family, and friends for being so inspirational to so many.
It is hard to believe that Mae House is almost four years old. We are so very grateful for all of your loving support from Day One. Your contributions touch the Mae House Members, their families, this home, and all those with connections to the girls. We rely on your support to provide us with enough capital to go over and above the funds that we receive from the State to ensure we can achieve the additional staffing needs, healthier food choices, and healthier activities. We are more than grateful and have created a comprehensive list of those that have contributed their support to Mae House as another way to say THANK YOU for truly making a difference and for being such an integral part in the lives of everyone involved with Mae House.
Blessings! Love, Liz
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