Participant Stor y - Emilie
Emilie has grown up with Have Dreams as a longtime member of our program, and we have grown with Emilie. In 1996, at age three, Emilie began attending her first social skills class at our Have Dreams Park Ridge site, at that time located on Northwest Highway. Classmates Genny, Liam, Maddie and Zach from Emilie’s earliest days at Have Dreams are still a part of Emilie’s life and friend group today, as they are all members of our Life SCILS program. This close group of students have grown up together at Have Dreams, developing strong friendships built on years of shared experiences and time spent playing structured board games and sharing snacks with one another in Have Dreams’ after-school social skills classes. As members of our Friday Night Teen Club they shopped and cooked dinner together, or enjoyed an evening of pizza, dessert and a trip to the movie theater, in addition to the much anticipated annual "Friendsgiving" Thanksgiving feast and celebration. These bonds of friendships were strengthened through unique shared experiences such as learning pre-vocational skills working and running a summer car wash, along with a variety of community and leisure outings when Have Dreams offered its Summer Transition Program in 2011, a precursor to our now established Have Dreams Academy and Life SCILS programs. While fostering friendships, social and communication skills, Have Dreams also offered opportunities for Emilie to use her artistic talents and gifts. Emilie, a true expert on everything Disney, has always been creative, sharing her singing and drawing talents with our Have Dreams community at fundraisers, as well as sharing her wonderful artistic talents by designing Have Dreams holiday cards and merchandise. In a 2017 video about Have Dreams, Emilie enthusiastically shared “My dream is to design merchandise!” and in 2019, she had that chance. Have Dreams was especially proud to feature a beautifully designed tote that Emilie created for Have Dreams (featured as a backdrop on this page), which was offered as a silent auction item at our 2019 Dreaming Big fundraiser. Emilie has shared her talents with Have Dreams, singing for, and with her friends, at our fundraisers, as well as creating a spectacular and colorful painting that is displayed along with other paintings created by Have Dreams students which are proudly displayed throughout the Abt Electronics Inspiration Studio showroom. Have Dreams has truly been a family affair for Emilie. Emilie's parents have been actively involved, serving on the committees for our Dream Makers benefits, speaking at events, and volunteering for our Night of Dreams and Dreaming Big spring fundraisers. Emilie’s grandparents and aunt have also been supportive through the years, participating in Have Dreams videos, emceeing at one of our fundraisers and securing valuable in-kind donations for our benefits.
We look forward to seeing how Emilie continues to grow and use her talents and gifts to keep realizing her Dreams.
"We feel so blessed to be a part of the Have Dreams community. Have Dreams was there for us 23 years ago, supporting us through a new autism diagnosis and creating a group of lifelong friends for Emilie. Through Emilie’s school years Have Dreams helped us to navigate the school system to give her the best education possible. Today, Have Dreams continues to make a huge impact on her adult life through her participation in the Life SCILS program. Emilie enjoys training and working at Walgreens and learning valuable life skills, such as cooking and exercising. She also looks forward to going into the community with her peers and having the opportunity to spend time socializing with some of the same kids she became friends with 23 years ago!” - Kim Reese-Lindberg, mother of Emilie
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