Annual Report 2011-2012 - Frazer Center

“
OUR VOLUNTEERS
Our volunteers are our heroes. We
could not accomplish our mission
without their contribution of time and
talent. Any day of the week, volunteers can be
found somewhere on our campus helping out –
weeding and planting in the garden, assisting
Grandma Catherine, one of the Frazer Center’s
foster grandparents, works with 4-year-old Julian
to construct a structure with LEGO toys. Grandma
Catherine has been assisting children and teachers at
the Frazer Center for more than 12 years.
with technology, building fences and walkways,
rocking babies, playing on the playground, taking
nature walks with the adults – the list is endless.
There’s a place and job for anyone who wants
to help and most will attest, it doesn’t take long
for our volunteers to feel like part of the family.
A common refrain that we hear from our volunteers
is, “The Frazer Center is a place that changes you.”
People often come here thinking they’re going
to give some time to make a difference in the
lives of the adults and children we serve, and
fi nd that they themselves are the ones who are
changed by the experience. One such volunteer
is Jeff Gleason, an IT professional who came to
the Frazer Center in July 2011 after experiencing
a job layoff. He ended up volunteering every day
for over a year assisting us with technology needs
around the Center.
When I was looking for a volunteer opportunity, I thought of the Frazer Center because I have a daughter with Down
syndrome who will need a place to go after she graduates from high school. I hoped I would fi nd a program that
would improve the quality of life for my daughter and others with special needs. What I found was that and much
more. I found a community of care that embraces our uniqueness and leverages our differences to enhance the
lives of everyone in the community. Whatever I have given to the Frazer Center has been returned to me ten-fold.
JEFFREY P GLEASON
VP Business Development, Mobile Website Gurus
8 F RAZER CENTER
”
In FY 2011-2012 over 720 volunteers gave over
4,150 hours (the equivalent of 418 work days)
of service to the Frazer Center.
Jeff Gleason with his daughter Caity Gleason,
a senior at Lakeside High School in Atlanta.
A NNUAL REPORT 2011–2012 9