 Wife's Sudden Death Means New Role for Single Dad Family Spotlight: Haji, Arden and Chloe.
"My wife took her life in September, 2009," shared Haji, the father of Chloe, one of our Jill's House guests. "At the time Chloe was 11, and Arden, my other daughter, was 12. I was at work, so my daughters and their babysitter are the ones who found my wife. The girls and I never stepped foot in that condo again."
Haji said he shut down completely. A restaurateur, he lost all three of his businesses. "I didn't open the mail," Haji shared. "I wouldn't answer the phone. We moved to Fairfax, in a house across the street from my brother. The house soon went into foreclosure. It's not that I didn't have the money. I didn't have the will."
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Arden, Haji, and Chloe all look forward to Chloe's regular Wednesday visits to Jill's House.
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Coupled with this devastating loss was the sudden need for Haji to be the sole caregiver for Chloe, who has Down syndrome. "Caring for Chloe is a full time job," said Haji. "She's the sweetest little girl in the world, but she dictates our surroundings with her behaviors. She turns the TV volume up. She messes up Arden's bedroom. She tries to escape, so we deadbolt everything. And I get an average of three hours of sleep each night, because I am constantly worried." Read more.
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Thanks to You, God is Doing Great Things
Looking back on 2012, and forward to 2013.
Thanks to our generous donors, prayer partners and volunteers, Jill's House achieved significant milestones in 2012 including delivering more than 120,000 hours of respite (up 135% from 51,000 in 2011), serving more than 350 families, receiving 18,000 hours of volunteerism, and adding twenty new members to our team.
Most importantly, we have seen God bring rest to families that goes beyond the physical rest we provide. Children and families are asking, and getting answers to, big questions about God and about why He chose them to carry the burden and blessing of disability. Parents tell us that we've saved their marriages, or restored hope to their families. One child spoke for the very first time. His first words? "Jill's House."
While we stand in awe of all that God has accomplished, we believe that He has greater things in store for 2013. We plan to deepen family relationships and grow our Weeknight Program. We also expect to offer more than 8,400 nights of respite this year. Our goal is to bring renewal to as many families as possible, expanding our services from our location in Vienna to Washington, D.C., Maryland, and beyond.
Thank you for giving, praying, working, and sharing Jill's House with others. Through your diligence and commitment, God is doing great things.
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Jill's House Three-Day Mission Trips
Find life, give life, experience life. Together.
Jill's House now offers a wonderful opportunity for youth groups, Bible study groups, organizations or any group of people with a heart to help children with special needs.
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Become a Jill's House Missionary and share first-time experiences with your buddy, together.
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Our short-term mission trips give your team a chance to make a real impact, together, by serving children with intellectual disabilities under the guidance of our experienced professionals. Your group should include missionaries aged 16 and older, living within 200 miles of the various camps at which we will be serving children.
Your group will receive training, and the Jill's House team will lead you and your assigned children, or buddies, through a full slate of activities including canoeing, singing, learning about Jesus, having delicious camp meals, exploring a ropes course, or reading together. Your team gets to learn about God's heart for disability while serving together and making a real impact.
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Hope Triumphs over Heartbreak for Courageous Family
Update: Parents provide the best possible life experiences for their two precious children.
Radio Station WAMU has been closely tracking the inspiring story of the McNeils, a brave family with two children who are Jill's House guests. Waverly, nine, and Oliver, six, have both been diagnosed with mucopolysaccharidosis, or MPS III. This degenerative disease shows up in one of every 24,000 births. Those diagnosed live, on average, to be ten years old.
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Matt McNeil shares that Jill's House has been a Godsend for him and his wife, Shannon, providing them the rest they need.
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The series of radio interviews follow the McNeils on their journey to provide the best possible lives for their beautiful children.
In the December interview, which was recorded at Jill's House during one of the children's stays, their mother, Shannon, shared that "celebrating this Christmas felt especially hard. I am just starting to get that feeling of 'Is this my last Christmas with Waverly?' So I hung twinkling lights everywhere because she just loves to look at them! And our house looks a little crazy but that's what makes her happy. And I'm just trying to create as many moments and memories as we can."
Listen to this family's story and learn how Jill's House is playing a major part in their lives.
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Share the Jill's House Story With Your Company or Organization
Jill's House Ambassador Program is in full swing.
Do you have a group or organization that could benefit from learning more about Jill's House? We now have Ambassadors ready to visit to tell you more about our history, our mission, and the way Jill's House is changing lives.
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Jill's House Ambassadors are ready to share our story with your group or organization.
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On January 3, Jill's House was invited by Broad Run High School in Ashburn, Virginia, to present to their students who are members of DECA. This organization prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. We were honored to share the Jill's House mission and the impact of our work to this young group of future leaders.
To request a presentation, complete the form or contact Sheila Joy at 703.639.5673 or sheila.joy@jillshouse.org.
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| Thank You, ExxonMobil!
Jill's House is Recipient of ExxonMobil's "Favorite Charities" Campaign.
Jill's House was recently awarded a generous grant from the ExxonMobil Corporation to support our mission to serve even more special children and renew their families.
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ExxonMobil Employees' Favorite Charities Campaign 2013 Chairperson Alix Thompson presenting Jill's House's Denise Daffron with check.
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"Despite these challenging economic times, our employees have once again set a new giving record," said Judy Hubuka, Community Relations Advisor for ExxonMobil Corporation. "Our employees responded to calls for support of local health and services organizations in the Greater Washington area; supporting organizations where we live and work is a basic principal of community relations at ExxonMobil. It is important to all of our employees that we support the communities that have supported us."
"Not only have ExxonMobil employees generously donated to Jill's House," shared Denise Daffron, Vice President of Advancement for Jill's House, "but they have also provided volunteers. We are very grateful for ExxonMobil and our corporate partners for making such a positive impact in the lives of families and children with special needs."
To learn more about becoming an annual strategic partner with Jill's House, contact Sheila Joy at 703.639.5673 or sheila.joy@jillshouse.org.
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Accessibility Summit Coming in April
National Conference for Disability Community to be held at McLean Bible Church.
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Don't miss out on this great opportunity to discover, connect and grow.
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Plan to attend the 2013 Accessibility Summit on April 19-20 at McLean Bible Church Tysons.
Born with no legs, no left arm, and only a partial right arm, professional bass fisherman Clay Dyer will kick off the summit on Friday evening. Emily Colson, daughter of the late Chuck Colson of Prison Fellowship and single mother of a son with autism, will deliver the keynote address on Saturday morning.
There will be over 40 disability-related workshops during the two-day event. Visit www.AccessibilitySummit.org for more information or contact Rosie.Oakley@mcleanbible.org with questions.
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Volunteer Spotlight: Patrick Stapleton
Adult with special needs gives back.
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While volunteering at Jill's House, Patrick gave his time and talents.
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Patrick Stapleton, 42, was born typical. Sadly, at the hands of his own biological family, he suffered severe physical abuse. During one episode when Patrick was 15 years old, he was thrown out of a moving car and suffered a head injury, leading to his developmental intellectual disability (DID).
In spite of his tragic past, there appears to be nothing that can hold Patrick back. Over the Christmas holiday, Patrick traveled from Illinois to volunteer at Jill's House, providing excellent administrative support to our advancement team. While he has a disability, Patrick also has a vision. "I want to help other adults with DID become their own strong advocates," shared Patrick. "I want to bring more and more people with DID to know who God is. I want to work with them to find employment, housing, and support them with information about healthcare and Biblical counseling."
Patrick's determination to succeed and help others is awe-inspiring. We have faith that he will continue to make a huge impact in the lives of children and adults with disabilities as he brings his vision to life.
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Photo of The Month: Victoria
Jill's House guest Victoria loves to play pattycake with Michelle, one of our valued volunteers.
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January 24, 2013
Since opening in October, 2010, Jill's House has provided 175,577 hours of respite care. |
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Save the Date!
February 24, 2013: Join Kelly Huston for an LA Boxing Workout at 2:30 pm at LA Boxing in Fairfax -- 100% of the $25 fee will go to benefit Jill's House. Contact juliana.kwok@longandfoster.com for details.
April 13, 2013: Big Band Dance to Benefit Jill's House
April 19-20, 2013: Accessibility Summit, National Conference for the Disability Community
May 4, 2013: A Celebration of Special Children, an inaugural benefit for Jill's House, at The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner, featuring Amy Grant
June 15, 2013: Ride for Jill's House, a 100-mile motorcycle ride
October 14, 2013: Links for Little Ones Golf Tournament, 1757 Golf Club
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$ 183,353 Raised to Date!
A gracious donor has challenged all of us, together, to match a $1 million gift by March 31, 2013!
We are are so grateful for the money raised to date, but we still have a long way to go to meet the challenge by March 31. Will you help us match this generous gift and serve even more children and their families in Virginia, Maryland, Washington D.C. and beyond?
Donate now and indicate "20 by 2020 Matching Challenge" in the comment field. Together, we can help meet the need for respite. Thank you!
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Deadline for Jill's House Fellows Application is February 28
Do you know someone who is about to graduate college with a nursing, social work or special education degree? Encourage them to apply now to gain real-world experience as a Jill's House Fellow!
The paid, full-time fellow positions provide hands-on experience that will guide our fellows in their careers and strengthen their spiritual walk.
The one year program begins in June. Fellows live and work with other Godly people committed to serving children with special needs.
To apply mail cover letter and resume to resume@jillshouse.org. For more information visit jillshouse.org/fellows
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What Our Families Are Saying
"This has been an incredible experience for our family. Last Friday, our daughter took her sleep-over bag out of her closet and wanted to start packing. I explained to her that we had a few days until she was going to Jill's House and promised her we would get her all packed in time to go. It was so cute! You are angels that have entered our lives. We appreciate everything you do to provide respite for the families but also much needed opportunities for independence and socialization for the children. Thank you!"
"Thank you for giving us a break and also working on helping our boys develop more independent skills. We greatly appreciated the staff's embracing of the feedback sheet that I wrote for our son. Through the use of this form it helped him express his fears and concerns when he would not normally be courageous enough to do so. This really improved his experience in staying at Jill's House since he felt more comfortable sharing with the staff. We are very grateful for all the loving care you provide to our children. Thank you very much!!!"
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Be a Part of Our Team
As Jill's House serves more and more children, we continue to need great people.
We are currently hiring for the following positions:
-PT Childcare Specialist Fellows
-PT Custodian
-PT Contract CDL Bus Driver
-PT Childcare Specialists
-PT Water Safety Instructors
-PT & FT Registered Nurses (RNs)
-PT & FT Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs)
View complete listing and job descriptions here.
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