Created in 2012, GivingTuesday is a day designated for people to do good by supporting causes they care about. If Life Styles inspires you to do good this November 30, we'd be honored to use your financial donation to help keep our exceptional programs available and growing for the deserving and independent-minded people who rely on them. We promise your contribution will help house, employ, transport, feed, enrich, and connect our clients. They will be cared for and loved.

Don't feel like waiting? ANY donations made between now and December 15 will count towards a generous $10,000 matching grant!

In return for your generous contribution to Life Styles, we guarantee you will make a real difference in the lives of others, and in the soul of our community.

Word on the street is that Justin is a mean cook. Like he makes pies from scratch. Grills steak and cooks lobster. Whips up all types of gourmet cuisine. So as a special newsletter bonus, we thought we’d ask Justin to share one of his favorite recipes with us (which you can also access by clicking the button above).

Thirty-year-old Justin whips up these delicacies in his very own, very immaculate, Fayetteville apartment—that is, when he’s not working hard at the Fayetteville Town Center (FTC), a premier NWA event venue located on the Fayetteville square. Justin’s worked at FTC for six years, taking Razorback Transit to and from work and (we hear) “doing an awesome job there.”

Given all these indicators, you can probably tell that Justin is crushing bachelor life. Mom Debbie concurs, explaining that Justin “has lived more independently than we ever thought he would be able to. And not only is he living independently but he’s happy—he works, he provides for himself, he has friends, and he has the life every young man wants to have.”

Justin came to Life Styles nine years ago—in 2012—as a student in our Launch program, in which young adults with developmental disabilities have the opportunity to experience college life alongside thousands of other students their age on the University of Arkansas campus. In those years, Lindsay Broshears, Adult Development Director, remembers him as “a great student and a great guy; he always had wonderful manners and was very caring and compassionate toward everyone.”

This great guy has a great love for the outdoors: Fishing, biking, and going on walks rank high on his list of outdoor activities, and are just some of the things you might catch Justin enjoying in the company of his Life Styles staff, who are there to support him in his independent lifestyle twenty hours a week.

Debbie believes Life Styles staff play a crucial role in the life of her son, and of their entire family: "The staff at Life Styles not only considers Justin important, but consider that his feelings and the things he wants in life are important. They’re there for him. And they’re there for us by letting us know when something might be just a little bit off or by letting us know that he’s happy and doing the things he wants to do in a safe way—living the life he wants to live, just like his siblings. And that is beyond measure."

Katrina Osborne wears many hats: Mom. Sister. Advocate. School Board Member. Event promoter. Just to name a few.

Arguably, Life Styles knows Katrina best as big sister (and sometime-staff member) to our big-hearted, ever-smiling Brian Olsen. But she’s also infamous for her tireless work promoting and organizing Life Styles fundraising events, which are frequently attended and supported by Katrina and her husband Lance, a practicing Fayetteville dentist. “Katrina was positively fundamental in the success of Polo In The Ozarks the past few years,” says executive director John Newman.

In 2020, just before a global pandemic turned the school system upside down, Katrina was elected to the Fayetteville Public Schools school board representing Zone 4. Her motivation for this challenge was informed in part by her desire to champion the needs and perspectives of the special education student population, of which one of her three children is a member.   

Katrina is a tireless, passionate advocate for the important causes she cares so deeply about. We are so humbled to be included on her list.

https://www.lanceosbornedentistry.com/

Washington Regional Medical Center (WRMC) has earned its place as a progressive leader in healthcare in Northwest Arkansas. From its beginnings as the 50-bed Washington County Hospital in 1950, the Medical Center has evolved into a comprehensive health care system with 55 clinic locations, 425+ beds, and 3,200+ team members providing compassionate, high quality care to area communities.

For example, Washington Regional just recently opened its new Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinic, which assesses, diagnoses, and manages high-risk pregnancies—including problems associated with physical and genetic fetal abnormalities. Underscoring the Clinic's ties to developmental disabilities, we're thrilled to announce that artwork decorating the Clinic walls was created by Life Styles artists (more on that in a future newsletter)!

And in yet another testament to its commitment to compassionate care, Washington Regional partners with Life Styles in providing the innovative Project SEARCH internship program for adults with developmental disabilities. The program, which provides skills training through three rotations at the Medical Center, has achieved tremendous success: In fact, 93% of Project SEARCH graduates have been placed in competitive employment in our community.
 
Mutually beneficial partnerships like these are central to the Life Styles vision of integrated community life and self-directed independence for our clients. And we look forward to further strengthening this important partnership with the recent addition of Lincoln Keck, director of Specialty Clinics and Clinic Integrations, to the Life Styles board of directors and its supporting Finance Committee.
 
Thank you, Washington Regional, for making important investments in the health of our organization—and in the lives of our clients.
https://www.wregional.com