SEDOL kicks off 60th Anniversary with Day of Service

You are never too young (or too old) to give back to your community. Such was the experience of more than 320 students from The Special Education District of Lake County (SEDOL) programs, who engaged in service projects this past Valentine’s Day. Students, as young as age three through 21, spent a portion of their school day making fleece blankets, dog biscuits, artwork for seniors and writing thank you notes to Veterans.

“When we came up with the idea of giving back to our community, the response was overwhelmingly positive,” said Superintendent Valerie Donnan. “Every school (Cyd Lash Academy High School, Gages Lake School, John Powers Center, South School, and Laremont School) and Program (Transition, Sector and Itinerant) had participants.”

In total, more than 170 thank you cards were written to Veterans, 216 fleece blankets were made for social service and animal rescue organizations, 140 dog biscuits were baked and 12 pieces of art for seniors were created. The project would not have been possible without the generous support of the Rotary Club of Gurnee, whose donation helped supply materials for the project. The Lake County recipients of the projects include A Safe Place, House of Peace, Staben House, Fat Cat Rescue, North Chicago Animal Control and Save a Pet.

The response from both students and teachers was exceedingly positive. All involved recognized the positive and lasting impact community service has not only on those in need, but those engaged in the actual activities. SEDOL’s Day of Service proved a rewarding experience for all while also giving teachers an opportunity to talk to students about veterans, domestic violence and animals in shelters. One classroom had a 21-year Navy Veteran share her experiences prior to their project of writing thank you cards to veterans.

The Special Education District of Lake County (SEDOL), founded in 1920, is the largest special education cooperative in Illinois and this year celebrates 60 years of providing ‘Exceptional Services for Exceptional Students.’ SEDOL is a partnership of 31 member school districts from Lake County, Illinois to serve more than 1200 students with disabilities by providing a full continuum of educational service options tailored to meet the unique needs of individual children and their families. SEDOL employs over 650 staff that provide a wide variety of support including teachers, audiologists, nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, vocational coordinators, psychologists, social workers, speech and language pathologists and numerous support staff.