# 14 Ha! NEW WEBSITE And they said we wouldn't get it done!

I'm quite certain that our new web site is finally up and running!!! I worked on it for months last fall, and finally turned it over to Pat Stoiber after the holidays. So Pat tells me that it's finally ready to roll! Yea!!!!!! If you get a home page with the red barn, it's the old one... If it's bright green and looks all shiney and new; that's it!!! CHECK US OUT!!!! :)
Also, from time to time we get visitors at the farm who want to write stories about our work... Sometimes this process goes well, and other times we've been greatly misquoted and/or misrepresented. So I just thought I'd take a minute to send kudos & thanks to Becky Monroe for her efforts in capturing the true essence of the Light Center in her recent article. You can click the link below to preview the posted article, or you can wait for a coffee break and catch it reprinted in our upcoming newsletter.
http://network.bestfriends.org/illinois/news/25438.html
Becky Monroe is a news writer for the Best Friends Network - "Connecting people through kindness to animals." You can visit the Best Friends site @ http://www.bestfriends.org/
And thanks also to TLC instructor, Susan Taney, for hooking us up!

And talking about the essence of TLC, I got a call this week regarding a 6 year old with low self-esteem. Now you have to ask yourself... "what goes on in a kid's life that causes him or her to dislike themselves when they're barely old enough to know their own name??" I got another call from a social worker with a 12 yr. old who's parents "literally" hate him. And another 12 year old who's mastered the "mom" role while her mother's been in-and-out of rehab her entire life. Now, the mom (clean and sober) wants to be the real mom.... See any problems with that relationship??? It's all in a day's work here on the farm~

On happier thoughts, I also want to send a special thank you to one of our board members, Shawn Stahmer, who is spearheading our strategic planning committee. Strategic planning is an exciting process and we are so lucky to have Shawn's expertise to guide us. At our recent meeting, the committee was picking my brain (a scarey place, indeed!) to figure out the thought processes that brought about the Light Center. I can't tell you how much fun I had answering their questions; they asked great stuff that no one else had ever asked! Things like, "...what kind of picture was in your mind's eye when you first incorporated??" Of course, they were totally at my mercy when I actually started telling them what goes on inside my head!! :)

Anyway, we're also finishing up the newsletter which should wrap up by Monday. Remember, if you're on our mailing list and want to help us save a few bucks, just ask to have your name moved to the email list and get your "Highlights from the Light Center" newsletter via the internet. Also, if you opt for snail mail your copy comes "Black Tie," and if you bring it up online, you get the full color version!

Last, but not least, we're searching for one great, wonderful, truly dedicated volunteer who is Ebay savy, currently has an Ebay sales account, and has the time to sell a couple of items for TLC from time to time. We already have a number of items on-hand that are potential money makers. What we lack is someone with the time and talent to photograph them, list them, track them, package them, and mail them. To be honest, I love Ebay and wish I had the time to tackle this myself! I was the Queen Mother of Ebay this past Xmas; shopping for American Girl doll clothes and accessories for my grandaughters. However, since the gals in my office seem to have some issue with the Queen Mother image, I guess I'd best hang on to my day job!!

Until we meet again~ sign me TLC Queenie, look'n to pass the Ebay torch!

#13 Yes, We're Still Here!!!

I can't tell you how many people have asked when the next blog will post! And keep in mind while you're reading that our dedication to serving challenged and at-risk youth never wavers... EVER. I say that because I'm about to sound very whiny about the ups and downs we've had for the past 3 months! :) And for those of you who understand Light Center lingo, we'll be the first to admit that we've done our share of "corrective thinking" to keep our wits about us!!
So here it is, the complete explanation for why there's been no posts since Xmas~

Right before the holidays we had some unanticipated personnel changes... So Jan returned with a big recruitment agenda on her "to do" list. Well, no big deal... change is a good thing and we've been blessed to pick up some really great "newbees"! Danielle, Karen, & Pat all joined on, volunteer Dee Oliver became an instructor, and we're thrilled to announce the return of Susan Taney to our ranks!! Adding the continuation of Jill, Irene, Brooke, Juan, and Jan to the mix; we've really rounded out the team.

In the mean time, Jan & Irene have been busy with year end reports, the annual audit, the United Way request application, and the development of an entirely new case management system. Not to mention that there's always kids to see and animals to feed and it was 40 below; forever!!! (ok that's a slight exaggeration, but almost true!)

Now wouldn't you just know... in the midst of all that, we were already one computer short, the printer was dieing, Google locked us out of Blogger somehow, we're in the middle of updating our website, and Jan's computer decides to corrupt every single file in the Light Center section!!! Yes, oh woe are we, and feeling pretty far down in the manure!!!!

Well, as good fortune would have it, (as it always does around here) a couple of donations arrived in the nick of time, we found computer equipment in our price range, a great guy (Dave from Harmony Computers- plug! plug!) offered to finish our previously unfinished network setup, a great new pony was donated, and a whole lot of calls started coming in for spring programming. And (here's the really good part,) right in the middle of all that, we discovered that we'd just enrolled our 1000th participant!!!!!!!! Yee Ha!!! Talk about a shot in the arm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So there you have it! We weren't blogging because we've been working our horsey tails off! And the way I look at it, that should make all our supporters really happy! :)

And PS... There's another blog coming out just around the corner so keep your E-eyes open~ The spring newsletter is also coming together nicely and we've got a 3 day workshop out here this week, but we're on our game and you'll hear from us soon. So blog, blog, blog, we're still here!

Like a soap opera, you can sign us: "As The Manure Piles" ...but still smiling!"