A Message from the Executive Director

The extraordinary relationship between our residents and the staff bears repeating. (I do tend to mention it from time to time.) Even though our employees always maintain a high level of professionalism, the bond they have with the residents is undeniable. Case in point: in 2006 a group of residents wanted to come up with another way to thank the staff for the exceptional services they provided. The result was the Laurelmead Employee Education Fund (LEEF), a non-profit that awards employees and their children money toward pursuing a higher education. For the last 15 years (and counting) LEEF has awarded over 250 scholarships to over 100 recipients, but there’s one success story in particular I want to share with you. In 1999, John G. joined the dining staff of Laurelmead as a young man. Through the years John worked his way up to being the Assistant Dining Room Manager while simultaneously pursuing his undergrad degree, graduate degree, and becoming a licensed social worker, all under the auspices of LEEF. A couple of weeks ago, the community bid John a tearful but joyful farewell. After 22 years of devoted service, he is pursuing his dream of being a full-time social worker with a local hospice organization. John’s other accomplishments include aiding the homeless at Crossroads Rhode Island and re-building neighborhoods in storm-ravaged Puerto Rico. As you can imagine, there are many success stories among our employees thanks to the generous appreciation demonstrated by the residents through LEEF and so many other ways.

John (right) in the Laurelmead pub with some of his colleagues.

A bright future behind and a brighter future ahead.