Dear family and friends of Olivia,

In February of 2020, Katie and I reached out asking for your financial support in order to help Olivia gain priority enrollment status for future attendance at The Matthias Academy. At that time The Matthias Academy was still in its conceptual stage and therefore it was just a vision providing hope for Olivia’s future. Today, it is a reality that Olivia is attending The Matthias Academy day program 5 days per week and for the past year, she has also been living in an adult family home with three other girls located in Pleasant Prairie! This was The Matthias Academy’s first residential house Both of these opportunities have been a true blessing for Olivia and have provided her with a community of friends and a place to call home.

The Matthias Academy staff have worked tirelessly to take on every challenge and make this all possible. It is truly amazing the way and manner with which they are changing lives daily. Although it has been amazing, it has not always been easy. Olivia, like many other Matthias clients, requires a lot of extra assistance due to her extreme needs. Matthias continues to stay committed to Olivia and has gone above and beyond to do whatever it takes to help her be successful. Recently additional supports have been added including one on one staff specifically designated for Olivia, additional transportation to meet her need of movement, additional on-call staff, and staff to provide community outings. Meeting these additional needs has come at additional expense and in October Olivia required a daily rate increase. Despite a recent budget amendment to her state plan an overall budget shortfall continues to exist. Currently, The Matthias Academy has not passed the additional expenses over to Katie and I but rather are attempting to fill in such budget gaps with donations. In an effort to assist The Matthias Academy in meeting Olivia’s financial needs, we will once again be opening her fundraising page. Please do not feel obligated to contribute and if you do any amount is greatly appreciated! To learn more about The Matthias Academy and to see all the great things going on there, please click on the following link.

To learn more about The Matthias Academy and to see all the great things going on there, please click on the following link. Olivia is this video several times 😊

https://youtu.be/mKHNT1d9kHk