1945 was an incredible year! Peace returned to the world and, our fantastic brother, Jackie Sullivan, was born!! We celebrated Jackie’s 75th on July 3rd, and even though we had to socially distance - we were all reminded of how lucky we are to have Jackie in our lives.

75 years is a long, long time - and for 45 of those years we’ve been especially lucky because Jackie has had the good fortune to be living happily along with about 110 other special needs male residents at Good Shepherd Manor who benefit from the love and the incredible dedication of the Brothers and staff, and the wonderful people in the surrounding community of Momence, Illinois.

The long reach of the COVID crisis has impacted each of us, and “the Manor" is not immune. The adversities caused by the virus have added new challenges to our friends at GSM to help the residents stay safe and healthy. They are incredible and we can’t thank them enough for what they do every day.

COVID also means that GSM needs to adapt in the way it reaches out for support to its donors and friends, whose generosity has been so wonderful for so many years. And, although like many others, to stay safe, this year we will need, sadly, defer GSM's Annual Brunch, Golf Outing, and Annual Fall Festival, and "go virtual". But that doesn’t mean that the Manor’s needs are virtual - they are still very, very real.

So, like the amusement park in Japan who asked visitors earlier this week, to “scream in their hearts”, we would ask each of you to do the same and help us to make this year’s fund raiser - I Wanna Hold Your Hand - an enormous success.

In keeping with the theme – Please, Please, Please!

• Put on your bell bottom pants;

• Get some Boone’s Farm; and then

• Get our your phone or iPad or computer and click on:

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/GSMbrunchauction

AND JOIN OUR VIRTUAL PARTY…

And, of course, please donate as much as you can.

She/He Loves You (and so do we).

Thanks so much.

Darby & Joe Cusick

Jim & Jean Sullivan

Sheila & Dennis Smith

Mike & Annie Sullivan

Good Shepherd Manor has provided high quality and compassionate care for hundreds of men with intellectual and developmental disabilities since 1971. We offer well-maintained residential facilities paired with a comprehensive Health Care Program for all residents regardless of age. For almost 50 years, our mission has been to serve the needs of the men. This client-centered mission has allowed Good Shepherd Manor to develop services to meet the needs of our clients regardless of their age-related demands.