Independence Center Newsletter – November 2020

Season of Giving

As we approach the season of giving, we hope that you will keep Independence Center and the life-changing work we do for adults with severe and persistent mental illnesses in mind.

The need for our services is great and only continues to grow, exponentially as a result of the impacts of a global pandemic. We are dedicated to supporting as many people in need as we can, and your donations go a long way to helping in achieving that goal. In particular, please consider supporting us on December 1st, Giving Tuesday, as we take part in a virtual day of charitable giving. We are so grateful for all that we’ve achieved in the past year, especially in the face of the challenges that 2020 provided. And we could not have done it without the generosity of our community of supporters!

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Seeking Thanksgiving Volunteers

We are excited to announce that our Clubhouse community has devised a plan that will allow our members to have Thanksgiving at home while connecting with the IC community via our virtual Clubhouse.

Our Members and staff are planning to prepare, package, and pickup delivery meals for members to enjoy at home.

Each year, we rely on volunteers to help make this day special and this year is no different. We are seeking volunteers who are willing to make deliveries directly to our members. Typically, we serve about 200 meals on Thanksgiving. Please let us know if you are able and willing to volunteer on Thanksgiving morning from 8:30am-10:30am. We anticipate that each “delivery driver” will be responsible for making 5-10 stops to drop off Thanksgiving meals. If you are interested, please click the button below to send us an email with your information.


Dancing with the St. Louis Stars

Preparation for Independence Center’s signature fundraising event, Dancing with the St. Louis Stars 2021 continues, and you won’t want to miss it!

Even a global pandemic can’t stop our largest, most exciting fundraising event! In the interest of protecting our dancers’ health, we weren’t able to train a new class of dancers to compete in 2021’s Dancing with the St. Louis Stars, so we turned to our amazing group of past dancers.

Their response was incredible and we are honored that nearly 30 dancers from across our 12-year history are supporting us by competing again this year for the highly coveted title of Champion of Champions on January 23, 2021!

In an all new virtual and interactive approach, past dancing performances will be shared online starting in November leading up to a night-of virtual event. Donations made as online votes determine the ultimate champ!

This year’s virtual event will offer a variety of access tickets options including everything from viewing and voting to party packages for Watch Party events. Look out for additional details to be announced later this month at www.dancingwiththestlouisstars.org.


Our Impact Report is Here

EACH YEAR WE REFLECT AND REPORT ON OUR ACHIEVEMENTS

The end of Fiscal Year 2020 has been incredibly challenging for Independence Center. The pandemic has had a significant impact on mental health worldwide, especially on vulnerable populations like those we serve. Right now, the mental health care and socialization services we offer are more important to our members than ever, but they have been severely restricted and impossible to deliver as normal since March.

However, we are proud to reflect on the many achievements we have made this year, from improving accessibility and coordination of care for our members to participating in life-saving training sessions with our team, and ensuring all of our members have a way to stay socially connected virtually.

Of course, we would not have been able to accomplish all that we have, especially during such a challenging time, without the support of our team, volunteers, donors and everyone else who has generously extended their assistance this year. Thank you!

Read Our Impact Report Here

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