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Chileda Happenings > Inside Chileda
Special Events
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Chileda on the Move
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Inside Chileda
There’s always something happening at Chileda! From an activity in the classroom
to a visit with a special visitor, this page is dedicated to the everyday things
that make Chileda more than just a school and treatment center...they make it a
home. All content on this page is submitted and maintained by Chileda staff and
students.
Chileda Receives Grant from Mary Grace Sieber Fund
Erica Cherney, a staff at Chileda, had a class at UW-La Crosse that found
her needing to do a needs assessment and write a “mock” grant for a local charity.
Of course, working at Chileda she knew of lots of kids who could use some new therapeutic
recreational equipment so that part of her assignment was easy for her to complete.
What she did next was to submit her grant to the La Crosse Community Foundation’s
Mary Grace Sieber Fund for consideration for ACTUAL funding.
Thanks to Erica’s hard work, Chileda received a grant for $3,000.00 to purchase
new three-wheeled bikes and safety equipment. She also sparked the interest of the
La Crosse Community Foundation and her professor in that her actions have created
a template program for student’s to come! Why write a pretend grant when you can
do actual, practical work for charities in our area? In the future, one or two assignments
from that UW-La Crosse class will be submitted for real funding each year.
Great job, Erica! Thank you for going that extra mile. Special thanks to the Mary
Grace Sieber Fund and the La Crosse Community Foundation for recognizing the need
and for the support of the special work that is being accomplished at Chileda.
Inside Our New Home
We are full of gratitude to so many people and organizations for helping
to make 2006 one of the most exciting years in Chileda history. To our many partnering
agencies, for sharing our commitment to quality of life for children with disabilities.
To the corporations and foundations that support our mission in so many ways. To
TCI Architects and Engineers and all of the sub-contractors for our new home. And
finally, to all of the individuals who participated in our special events or donated
in support of the Chileda programs this year.
"My Internship Experience"
submitted by: Nicole Baumgartner
When I first started my internship at Chileda, I had no idea what to
expect. I was pretty frightened, because I’d never even seen the inside of the building.
All I’d ever seen was the occasional glimpse of the students playing outside on
the equipment from a classroom at Viterbo University, where I am majoring in English
with a writing emphasis.
On the day I was interviewed for the position, I was at first concerned that someone
might find out about my disability. You see, I have Asperger’s Syndrome, a mild
form of autism which causes me to have deficits in the ability to read body language,
to have trouble with changes in schedule, and the inability to distinguish sarcasm
or joking from sincerity. All my life I’ve had to rigidly monitor my behavior so
as to appear “normal”. I learned early on that acting in my own quirky way often
earned me nothing but name-calling and shunning at worst, and at best, a raised
eyebrow. This was definitely not the case here at Chileda.
After only a short time, my office mate and supervisor Shari Demet made me feel
right at home, allowing me to bring in CDs to play on the computer while we worked.
She also took the time to ask me if any special accommodations were necessary in
order for me to be able to function comfortably. All I asked was that I be made
aware of any schedule changes in advance, as the unexpected tends to throw me off
track and upsets me.
My work days at Chileda consisted of various duties, ranging from data entry to
mailing letters to assembling packets for the runners of the LCC. The variety kept
things interesting, while the repetitive nature of some of the tasks were a comfort
to me.
Over time, I began to feel that I had become friends with Shari and also with Scott
Mell, aka Mellsie, who had an office nearby. On breaks I would bring copies of my
favorite magazine, Gothic Beauty, to share. We would talk about many different things,
from the mundane to the philosophical.
At Chileda I felt that I found a place where I could be accepted for who I am and
that I needn’t try to hide my handicap. I once wrote a poem when I was younger that
contained the line, “I’m a little lost puzzle piece looking for my puzzle.” I think
that Chileda is definitely one of the puzzles I fit into.
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