Tuesday, 16 September 2014

Jeff Lakes Lives In Chandler Arizona

Jeff Lakes lives in Chandler, Arizona, and owns and runs a direct marketing company in the area. Jeff Lakes has also previously served on the Board of Directors for The Sunshine School. This is an early intervention school in Rogers, Arkansas, for children with various disabilities. The Sunshine School isn't just another academy, they embraced their mission and saw impressive growth during the period when Jeff Lakes served as the capital campaign chairman, which was about a five year stretch. Jeff Lakes' presence on the Board allowed for the school to flourish in a way it previously had not. Jeff Lakes and his wife Lori saw the value in being involved with non-profit organizations involved in helping disability-afflicted children and joined the Board of Directors for Gaitway in 2014.

Since 1999, Gaitway has provided support programs for various children in Arizona and other nearby states. Gaitway recently added Dr. Marc Tischler, Ph.D. at the University of Arizona, to their Board of Directors as well. The non-profit also expects to soon be able to open a Phoenix Chapter of Gaitway with help from the Schulz Foundation. In 2010, Gaitway instituted adult programs for the first time in order to give their former participants a way to continue in the program even once they have aged out of the children's programs.

Gaitway recently finished its sixteenth summer program for children in Tuscon, Arizona, and it's fourth summer program for children in Phoenix, Arizona. Additionally, the after-school program they host in Tucson has continued to grow since that time. Gaitway is aiming to start an after-school program in the Phoenix area within the next two years. In October, Gaitway is going to host a “Casino Night for Gaitway”, which has been the source of a good deal of excitement amongst the Board and other supporters of Gaitway.

At Gaitway, they do not offer services to “disabled” people, but to differently-abled people. People are people, regardless of their abilities, and at Gaitway they are treated as such. Children and adults who participate in their programs are able to take part in activities that would otherwise never be available to them.