Chicago Club Managers Foundation donates $250,000 to Little City

The Chicago Club Managers Foundation presented Little City with a $250,000 donation Monday during the 2019 Foundation Golf Outing at Butterfield Country Club in Oak Brook.

The generous donation will help establish a community employment training center for people with developmental disabilities in DuPage County. The center will provide training in life skills, experiences such as job shadowing and volunteering and practice in job interviews to prepare people with developmental disabilities for a job in the community.

The center will be similar to Little City’s Countryside Center in Schaumburg which has successfully placed people in community jobs at places such as Lou Malnati’s, Culver’s, Wyndham Hotels and Twin Orchard Country Club among other employers.

Gavin Speirs, president of the Chicago Club Managers Foundation and manager at Twin Orchard Country Club, said Little City provides an essential service to the community and he has seen firsthand the value employees trained at Little City can bring to a business through his experience with Howard B., who he hired through Little City's employment placement program.

“Howard is one of the best workers I have at the club,” Speirs said. “We are proud to support Little City and help give people with developmental disabilities the employment opportunities they deserve.”

The donation is the latest in a history of support for Little City from the Foundation. The Foundation has also provided a 10-week culinary class for Little City participants to teach them the skills to work in the food service industry and it has previously donated to renovate Little City’s Center for Employment & Business Opportunities.

Shawn Jeffers, executive director of Little City, said the partnership with the Foundation has made life-changing differences for people with developmental disabilities and the new center in DuPage County will reach even more underserved job seekers.

“We are so thankful for the Foundation’s generous donation tonight and know it will help the many people with developmental disabilities who are willing and able to work in DuPage County find meaningful employment,” Jeffers said. “Gavin and the entire Foundation truly lead by example and show the potential and rewards of creating employment opportunities for those who need it most.”