Taking Time to Care at Seagull Industries

In the midst of all o f the end-of-the-year and holiday hustle and bustle, December is also a time for reflection.  It is a time to look back on the good times, things that you have done of which you are proud, the moments that warmed your heart, and those times when you had to stop and “put it all into perspective.”  I am blessed to have had several of these moments this year with my new friends at Seagull Industries.

I am relatively new in town and am just starting to learn through my law firm and its employees about all of the wonderful charitable organizations in the Palm Beach area.  Earlier this year, our firm participated in a national program through Injury Board where trial lawyers from around the country donated Wii gaming systems to children’s homes, rehab facilities, and other charities.  Seagull Industries was recommended as an appropriate charity for this program by Bob Pitcher, one of our Paralegals who serves on the Board of Directors.   I was privileged to meet with several clients of the facility at that time and wanted to find additional ways to help these developmentally-challenged adults.

Since then, my husband and I have been helping out with Friday “Café” days at Seagull’s facility in Riviera Beach.  We help clients with their lunches, serve drinks, and basically “hang out” for a few hours at lunch time on a few Fridays each month.  Each time I visit, Patricia compliments me on my jewelry and asks me to bring her some the next time I visit Venice or Disney World. “Jamaica” is always waiting with a hug.  Michelle is working hard to serve the other clients.  I enjoy joking with my “trouble maker” table in the second shift who have far more fun at lunch than I have ever experienced at any of our firm attorney/paralegal luncheons! And then there is the lady who is bound and determined that she is going to marry my husband.   I haven’t quite decided whether to take her up on that offer yet.

I feel guilty because I do so very little for the clients during these visits, yet they give me so much each time I visit.  We were privileged recently to have our thirteen year old daughter join us for Café, and now she begs to skip school so that she too can spend some time with this incredibly loving, happy group of people.

I just received Seagull’s newsletter and was saddened to see that their wonderful programs are suffering due to the poor economy and lack of funding.  This is an organization that has served so many over the past 45 years in our community, and one that deserves our support.    There are a number of ways that you can help to support this wonderful organization.  They run a thrift store in Greenacres and have a hydroponic farming operation.  More than 100 of their clients work for businesses through a sheltered workshop program.   They are also selling beautiful holiday cards.  You can learn more about their fundraising efforts and the work that they are doing in our community at Seagull Industries.