 Family Uses Respite to Schedule Chemotherapy for Typical SonFamily Spotlight: The Eissenstats
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Jacob has fun at Jill's House while his brother with cancer gets better.
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We are always interested in knowing more about how the families we serve use their time of respite while their children with special needs are at Jill's House. Janet Eissenstat recently shared how respite is used by her family.
Janet has two sons; Jacob, eight, has Down syndrome and autism and Alex, six, has leukemia. Janet explained that she schedules respite from Jill's House around the chemotherapy appointments for Alex, allowing her and her husband to focus 100% on him, without guilt, while Jacob enjoys new experiences at Jill's House.
"I don't know how we could have made it through this year without Jill's House," shared Janet.
Even the smallest gift to Jill's House can help maintain regular breaks and provide life-giving renewal to families like the Eissenstats. Please give your best gift today.
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Jill's House Achieves Major Milestone -- 250,000 Hours of Respite in Less Than Three Years!
Lives changed. Hope renewed.
 Jill's House has reached a major milestone in its mission to provide rest and renewal to families raising children with intellectual disabilities. Since October 2010, Jill's House has provided 254,139 hours of respite - or the equivalent of nearly 29 years - giving families the breaks they need to restore marriages, give time to their typical children, and better care for their children with special needs.
The families we serve experience more stress than the rest of us. That stress results in higher divorce rates, less sleep, lower median incomes, poor health, and isolation due to the frustrations of taking their children out in public. They come to us feeling alone and weary and many look to us as their last hope. No center in the world provides more overnight respite to these families than we do, and this milestone of a quarter of a million hours is a good cause for celebration.
"Jill's House has made a significant impact on our marriage," said Heather Tower, the mother of two children with special needs who regularly visit Jill's House. "Raising two children with intellectual disability is not easy. Our extended families live far away, and our boys are very high maintenance and very loud, so we truly need respite. With much responsibility comes much fatigue, and marriages like ours are fragile. I honestly don't know how we would put one foot in front of the other without the respite that Jill's House so lovingly provides."
Thank you to all of our partners and friends for your ongoing gifts to help us provide the rest these families so desperately need.
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Jill's House and Acuity, Inc. Featured on Executive Leaders Radio
Corporate partnership makes impact on Jill's House families and children.
Jill's House's corporate partner, Acuity, Inc., was recently nominated for the prestigious Jefferson Award for its philanthropic efforts and its ongoing support of Jill's House. This honor caught the attention of Executive Leaders Radio, which interviewed Rui Garcia, founder and CEO of Acuity, and Cameron Doolittle, president and CEO of Jill's House, on Thursday, August 8. Executive Leaders Radio is the number one business radio talk show from New Jersey to Virginia Beach, and reaches seven million listeners nationwide.
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Cameron Doolittle, left, and Rui Garcia shared with radio host Dana Theus how their common faith helps them serve more children, together. Listen to the broadcast (starting at 28:00).
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"Acuity is a true partner," said Doolittle. "The involvement of Rui and his team with Jill's House goes way beyond financial support. Rui has provided his business expertise, Acuity's employees have volunteered here, and an Acuity group even runs each year in the Marine Corps Marathon as part of Team Jill's House. They have become an integral part of our community, sharing their hearts for the children we serve and making a direct impact in the lives of children with intellectual disabilities and providing rest to the families who love them. They have been by our side since the beginning, and our gratitude to Acuity grows year after year."
Please read the press release in its entirety and listen to the broadcast (which begins at 28:00).
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Welcoming New Corporate Partners to the Jill's House Family
Gannett and Walmart join other loyal partners in supporting children with special needs.
August proved to be a great time to build new Jill's House relationships with corporate partners. Gannett Foundation coordinated contributions to Jill's House from their employees across all divisions. "The partnership between Gannett and Jill's House is a very complementary relationship for us both," said Victoria Harker, Gannett's CFO. "It reflects yet another way in which Gannett actively serves the communities we live in. As a long time volunteer at Jill's House, I have personally seen the benefits that Jill's House affords families with children in need of special support, and Gannett is proud to be a part of this."
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Marty Reighard, Tysons Corner Walmart store manager, presented Sheila Joy, director of advancement, with a gift to Jill's House.
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Jill's House is also grateful for its new and growing relationship with Walmart. Several foundation grants have been awarded to Jill's House from Walmart stores around the area, including the new Walmart in Tysons Corner, which presented Jill's House with a $1,000 gift during their VIP Grand Opening Ceremony on Tuesday, August 13.
Gannett and Walmart join other Jill's House corporate partners including Accenture, Acuity, Apprio, Cardinal Bank, ExxonMobil, Galleria Dental Aesthetics, IBM, Microstrategy and Wells Fargo. To learn how your company or organization can become a corporate partner with Jill's House, please contact Sheila Joy at sheila.joy@jillshouse.org or 703.639.5673.
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Volunteer Gives Time to His Brother and Other Children with Special Needs at Jill's House
Volunteer Spotlight: Daniel Kazmi
"When I was six years old my little brother, Rafeh, who was only two at the time, was diagnosed with autism," said Daniel Kazmi, Jill's House volunteer and brother of Rafeh, now 15. "Growing up with a sibling with special needs was a challenge for my family. Rafeh used to receive a lot of attention, and when I was younger that made me mad.
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Daniel, right, shares a special bond with his brother Rafeh, a Jill's House guest. |
When I entered my teens, Rafeh started to develop anxiety attacks and ended up in a special hospital where they watched over him 24/7.
We drove there every day to visit him, hoping we would see that he was making progress. When we visited Rafeh I would also see other children with a variety of special needs. Sometimes they would come up to me and ask me to play with them. Spending time with other children like Rafeh helped me realize they needed and wanted attention and care from me, and I was happy to give it to them.
This helped me overcome my feelings of not getting the same kind of attention that Rafeh did -- and it gave me a great sense of fulfillment and satisfaction because I could make a difference in the lives of other children. This is why I volunteer at Jill's House, not just for Rafeh, but for the other children and for me. As cliché as it sounds, when it comes to volunteering at Jill's House, it really is better to give than to receive. It has impacted my life immensely."
To learn more about volunteer opportunities at Jill's House, visit jillshouse.org/serve, contact sara.potter@jillshouse.org or call 703.639.5671.
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New Adventures at Jill's House Lake Arrowhead
Photo of the Month: Dayton
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Dayton zip lined through the trees during his recent stay at Jill's House Lake Arrowhead. Join us as Jill's House brings rest and renewal to more families across the country.
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Cameron Doolittle Appointed to MOPS Board of Directors
Jill's House president and CEO hopes position helps reach tens of thousands more families.
Jill's House President and CEO, Cameron Doolittle, has been appointed to the board of directors for Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) International. The two organizations envision that a deepened relationship between MOPS and Jill's House will enable them to better serve mothers of children with special needs nationwide.
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A father of four, Cameron appreciates the importance of preschool years in the life of a family. |
"Cameron first came to the attention of the MOPS board through his work on the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability's 2012 Governance Survey," said Rebekah Burch Basinger, immediate past chair of the MOPS Board of Directors. "As we checked further, we discovered his rich background in government, business and nonprofit leadership -- areas of expertise that represented gaps within our board membership. We also heard repeated references to his vibrant Christian faith and his commitment to families, especially those raising children with special needs."
Cameron's prayer is that God uses him to help MOPS reach tens of thousands more families by meeting their needs. Read the full press release to learn more.
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August 29, 2013
Since opening in October 2010, Jill's House has provided 254,139 hours of respite care.
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October 13, 2013: Fourth Annual Jill's House Open House, 12 noon-5 pm. All invited!
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What Our Families Are Saying
The following statements are from parents whose children attended Jill's House Chesapeake Bay in August:
"Thank you for offering a camp experience. It was our son's first time without us and he seemed to have a wonderful weekend. Experiences without mom and dad help him become more independent and self-sufficient."
"Next time, can you invite the family? Oh, yeah. I forgot. It's for our daughter, so we can't come and have fun too ... but someday we are going to crash the party! You guys are a hard act to follow. Our daughter loves coming and after each visit she wants to know when the next one is. Thank you for making this camp experience so special."
"While our son was at Jill's House Chesapeake Bay, my husband and I caught up on all the paperwork that had stacked up over the summer. We went out for sushi. We played Monopoly with our other son, and did all of the things our child with special needs can't participate in. Thank you so much for this gift of time!"
"We continue to be grateful beyond words that our son can have some independence and fun and we can catch a break. As much as we miss him when he's gone, there is a level of vigilance we must maintain when he's around and we can completely relax when we know he's in your good hands."
"We really appreciate Jill's House offering this opportunity. I love that our daughter participated in new activities. The camp offers different ways for her to be a part of all that life has to offer. Thank you!" |
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Be a Part of Our Team
As Jill's House serves more children, we continue to need great people.
We are currently hiring for the following positions:
-FT Nursing Director
-PT Custodian
-PT Childcare Specialists
-PT & FT Registered Nurses (RNs)
View complete listing and job descriptions here.
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