June 2021 THE CHARBONNEAU VILLAGER 19
Seeking committee members
Open invitation from the Charbonneau Asset Management Committee
By ANNE SHEVLIN
Are you a Charbonneau resident who is interested in how things run around here ? Do you have an interest in our developing community and how we manage our assets ? Well then , the Asset Management Committee is just right for you !
If you would like to find out a little more about how the committee works , please consider attending a meeting as a guest , no obligation . The committee meets once a month and oversees Charbonneau ’ s assets .
Assets include the tennis club , marina , RV lot , the clubhouse and Pavilion , and soon the new Activity Center , as well as the reserve budget for each asset . Currently , there is a vacancy for two new members . Please contact Anne Shevlin , committee chair , for more information at a . shevlin @ charbonneaucountryclub . com .
Boys & Girls Aid
By MARGIE WIESENTHAL
Boys & GIrls Aid helps transform lives
Our lives changed a lot in the Chicago suburbs when Bob and I decided to adopt . I quit my teaching
WIESENTHAL job , we moved from an apartment to a town house . We sold our sports car and bought one that would take a baby seat . Then , we waited for the day that we knew would come when we were to pick up our seven-day-old son at the hospital .
On that day , when the nurse put him into my arms , he opened
his big , blue eyes and Bob and I fell in love with him . We drove home very carefully , put the baby carrier with its precious cargo on the coffee table . Then we sat down on the sofa , looked at him and at each other and wondered , “ Now what do we do ?” All that planning and waiting , all that reading about being good parents , we didn ’ t have a clue ! What exactly will come next ? And then , after a few days , how do we deal with a baby crying an awful lot ? We didn ’ t know that he was allergic to the formula . Who is there to help us now ?
If we had adopted a baby from Boys & Girls Aid we would have known what to expect and what to do because the staff of this wonderful organization has people trained in working with the adoptive families . The new mom and dad have been carefully chosen and have been counseled ahead of the adoption . After the child is home with the new parents all this wonderful help doesn ’ t end . The staff of Boys &
Girls continue to meet with them , talk to them , advise them for as long as is needed and good medical help is provided . It is not only babies but often older children who are adopted and sometimes by families with other children . This great help is there for them also .
Of course it takes a lot to do the job correctly and that is why we at the Cypress Branch of Boys & Girls Aid provide our time , energy and resources so that many other families will have the great experience they need . These adoptive , or in some cases foster families , will know what to do and what to expect .
In a few weeks we will be having our celebration , called the “ Crab and Rib Dinner .” We don ’ t know if it will be crab or salmon . We don ’ t know if it will be in person , drive-thru , or virtual . But we do know that this is the opportunity we all have to assist Boys & Girls Aid in their wonder-
The Charbonneau Fitness Center is only $ 60 for a six-month membership .
Contact the CCC office to sign up .
See AID / Page 20
FITNESS CENTER