LifeSPAN 11 Year Anniversary!!!
View the LifeSPAN 2011 Fundraiser Slide Show (PDF).
COMMUNITY, CONTRIBUTION, CONNECTION – were all in evidence as LifeSPAN celebrated at our annual awards brunch and fundraiser.
On the sparkling morning of September 24th with the panorama of Seattle as a backdrop, LifeSPAN and friends celebrated 11 years helping families plan safe and secure futures for their loved ones who have a disability.
This year, Elisa Hahn of King 5 TV presented a program that gave us an opportunity to honor three people who have given many years of service to improving the lives of people with disabilities. We were also pleased to honor one person whose network amply demonstrates that relationships truly are the key to a good life.
JERRY’S NETWORK. Perhaps the high point of the morning came when Jerry and his network facilitator Leslee and friend Shelly got up to present a slide show of highlights from the four years that Jerry’s network has been in existence.
Jerry’s was the first network that we sponsored as an organization. It is completely funded by LifeSPAN and LifeSPAN lifetime members. We came together to make the commitment of ensuring a good life to a special person who had grown up in foster care and did not have a family who could join LifeSPAN as a lifetime member.
It is a delight for our community to share and celebrate Jerry’s many unique gifts. We love him and we always will.
LARRY JONES’ path in life was affected when he became the parent of a child with intellectual disabilities. Larry’s daughter Wendy was the reason he became an attorney and he has used his law degree and knowledge of the law to work for inclusion and equality for people who have disabilities.
Larry has generously given time and expertise to inform and educate families about the law; he has been part of LifeSPAN’s Wills and Estates workshops and also traveled to Anacortes to meet with families that we were working with in the San Juan Islands. In addition, he has been part of many workshops presented for families by the Arc of King County. He recognized the strength of families and how knowledge enhances that strength exponentially.
Exactly a year ago, Larry published his book, Doing Disability Justice: 75 Years of Family Advocacy. The book is a history of family advocacy, not just about the Arc of Washington (where he has served as President), but also in other states and the movement to national advocacy.
Though Larry’s daughter passed away 20 years ago, Larry’s work on behalf of people with disabilities has continued – professionally, with the Law Offices of Larry A Jones, with mentoring young attorneys, and with helping families to create good lives for their relatives with disabilities, making our communities better places for all of us. LifeSPAN acknowledges his work with deep gratitude.
KATHY AND BILL SELLARS are extraordinary parent activists, and their energy and knowledge have helped not just their daughter Kari, who has a LifeSPAN network, but many families in our area and beyond.
Starting with the conviction that their daughter Kari deserved “just as good a shot at life as anyone else,” the Sellars set to work with other parents to make it happen.
As a strong mother, Kathy was always there to help everyone at the grassroots level – encouraging people to get involved, providing transportation for anyone who needed it to get to meetings, activities, whatever. Her positive attitude and energy has always inspired others to keep going and to do the work that needed to be done.
Bill contributed thousands of hours of his time over 20 years to serving on the boards of the Arc of King County and Arc of Washington State. Tirelessly pressing an ear to the ground in Olympia, he kept the Board and families abreast of legislative happenings. He helped to keep focus on the prize of equity, choice, self -direction, full inclusion and community for people with disabilities.
Here is a small list of groups and actions for which the Sellars provided leadership:
- Options Parent Group
- Advocacy for non-segregated education programs at Meany Middle School and Nathan Hale High School in Seattle (Kathy served as president of the PTSA at Nathan Hale, and received state recognition for activities there involving students with developmental disabilities in the school community.)
- The Arc of King County and Arc of Washington, where Bill served for some 20 years – sometimes in both at once. Bill served as Vice President, President, and Treasurer of the State organization.
- King County Parent Coalition
- Housing Unlimited – a groundbreaking non-profit they started so that people with disabilities could have shared housing
- They developed the innovative housing model Karistad, where Kari currently resides
- People First
- Mary Ellen’s Eagles for Special Olympics
- Skihawks
- Employment through Puget Sound Personnel services
- And a Cohousing model that includes adults with developmental disabilities
Then there is LifeSPAN, where, in addition to helping to create the organization, Kathy built into it both the dream and the expectation that LifeSPAN would strive to embrace individuals who do not have families to join for them, thus allowing us to build a network for an individual who grew up in the foster system.
Kathy and Bill demonstrate the power of being informed citizens and show us that in our relationships with others lie the keys to a good life.
Event Information
Join the LifeSPAN community in celebrating our 11th year supporting adults with disabilities and their families to have a safe, secure and quality future. LifeSPAN welcomes Elisa Hahn of King 5 TV as our MC. Please join us to honor:
- Bill and Kathy Sellars, parent team extraordinaire. Their lifetime commitment includes Bill’s tenure on the Board of the Washington State Arc, their help with founding Housing Unlimited, and tireless work to advocate for people with disabilities and their families.
- Larry Jones, parent, attorney specializing in disability law, and advocate. In 2010 Larry published ”Doing Disability Justice: 75 Years of Family Advocacy.”
This event is a fundraiser for LifeSPAN. Our guests will not only have a great time, but also support LifeSPAN’s work with families who have a relative with disabilities. We will feature a Silent Auction with unique and interesting items, and an opportunity for direct donations in support of LifeSPAN. We appreciate your generosity!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Salty’s Restaurant on Alki
1936 Harbor Avenue SW
Seattle, WA 98126
11:00 am Brunch * Tickets are $50.
Business Sponsors:
Bronze Level Sponsorship
