Toni Preckwinkle Presented with Youth Advocacy Award at 6th Annual Fall Fête

FOX 32’s Corey McPherrin headlines as emcee; Lawrence Hall’s Therapeutic Day School staff honored with Champion for Children Award

 
CHICAGO, IL – Lawrence Hall announced today it had raised over $264,000 at its annual Fall Fête fundraiser on Saturday, September 22, to support its overall mission and its Therapeutic Day School. For more than 150 years, Lawrence Hall has been delivering high quality care to youth and their families throughout the Chicago metropolitan area.

Lawrence Hall is a statewide leader in highly-effective, evidence-based, and innovative therapeutic treatment. The agency’s unique continuum of care, which promotes overall well-being led by an expert staff, has positioned Lawrence Hall to meet the changing and complex needs of youth and families by not only becoming more community-based but by developing more preventative programs that help curb violence in our communities.

In appreciation for her office’s leadership in the juvenile and criminal justice reform, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle was presented with the Lawrence Hall Youth Advocacy Award.

“I’d like to thank Lawrence Hall for its dedication to children, Chicago, and our greater community for more than 150 years. I’m a history teacher, and though it has been a while since I worked in the classroom, I know the value of education,” said Preckwinkle. “It is the education I received and the act of teaching others that informed much of what I have hoped to achieve with young people of this county: to ensure that they have a chance to grow and prosper.”

“The Cook County Board President’s Office knows that caring for and teaching the children who need it most should be our highest priority. Each year, Lawrence Hall serves 1,000 youth and families who have suffered severe trauma in their lives. We do what we do every day to support them and make sure they have a future,” said Kara Teeple, CEO, Lawrence Hall.

The evening also featured a video message from former US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who described his own experiences with Lawrence Hall and urged attendees to help promote their mission in individualized education.

This year, staff from Lawrence Hall’s Therapeutic Day School were honored with the Champion for Children Award, which included a stirring video featuring interviews with teachers and students.

Lawrence Hall’s Therapeutic Day School serves children ages 5-21 who have been identified with the following disabilities: emotional disability, specific learning disability, traumatic brain injury, intellectual disability and other health impairment. Over the last five years, Lawrence Hall’s Therapeutic Day School has had a graduation rate of above 90% and has been recognized as a School of Excellence by the National Association of Special Education Teachers for the past four years.

“Our educators are committed to promoting a culture that supports learning and student success. We are very proud to work with them every day and to present them with this award for their triumphs,” said Teeple.

Download our press release here.

See all event photos here.
 

(Cook County Board President, Toni Preckwinkle, received the Lawrence Hall Youth Advocacy Award )

(Lawrence Hall Therapeutic Day School Alum Listiner Martinez presents Victoria Hicks, Therapeutic Day School Principal, with the Champion for Children Award)

(Lawrence Hall Therapeutic Day School current student, Alex, speaks about how the school and it’s staff have helped him)

(The Therapeutic Day School Staff receive the Champion for Children Award)

(Lawrence Hall youth, Willieka helps Fête Event Emcee draw a raffle winner. )

(Lawrence Hall youth, Jeremiah and Patrick, sing a showstopping mashup of “Hallelujah/Powerful)

(Auctioneer Maura Koutoujian and Emcee Corey McPherrin)