Chatham Savannah Citizen Advocacy
Celebrates 30 Years of
“Keeping the ‘Social‘ in Social Change”

May 8 “Home Grown Good News” Event Features
Covered Dish Supper, Two Bands at Annual Meeting

     (Savannah) Chatham Savannah Citizen Advocacy will celebrate its thirtieth anniversary on Thursday, May 8 from 6:00 – 10:00 p.m. This year’s “Home Grown Good News,” Citizen Advocacy’s annual meeting and covered dish supper, will be held at the Hellenic Center, 14 West Anderson Street.
     The festivities will begin with a pre-supper hors d’oeuvres reception featuring a photography exhibit by Lyn Bonham, and music by local band SOAP. Post supper activities will include a short program of citizen advocacy stories and induction of new board members, followed by dancing to music by The 8 Tracks. Arts activities will be offered for children to enjoy.
     The public is invited. Admission is free with a covered dish, or $3 per person without a covered dish. RSVP’s are encouraged. Call (912) 236-5798 or visit www.savannahcitizenadvocacy.org/rsvp.
     “Over the years the supper has become less formal,” said Tom Kohler, coordinator for Citizen Advocacy. “When we first started we had a head table and speakers. We realized it’s about less formality, more fellowship and really great food--about keeping the ‘social’ in ‘social change.’ “
     The annual “Home Grown Good News” supper was first held in 1988 to celebrate Citizen Advocacy’s tenth anniversary. To accommodate the expanded program and the anticipated hundreds of guests, the event is moving this year to the Hellenic Center from its historic host venue in Ardsley Park. Event set up is donated by Host South, with decorating, flower arranging, food preparation and clean up provided by dozens of volunteers.
The goal of citizen advocacy is to integrate people with developmental disabilities into ordinary community life, through one-to-one, freely given personal relationships between a person with a developmental disability and a person living in the mainstream of the community (an advocate.)
     Chatham Savannah Citizen Advocacy’s mission is to recruit, train and offer support to citizen advocates in Savannah and Chatham County. Since 1978, the non-profit organization has facilitated over 800 matches, with many resulting in long-term mutually beneficial advocacy relationships.
     In three decades, Citizen Advocacy has grown from a one-person satellite of the Georgia Advocacy Office to a locally-based, independent non-profit with a 12-member board, three staff, and a majority of its financial support from local grassroots sources.     
     Many advocacy relationships last for decades, and several now spread across generations of families of the advocate and the “protégé.” Currently, approximately 100 matches exist in the greater Chatham-Savannah area, with Citizen Advocacy facilitating approximately fifteen new matches each year.
     “People with disabilities have suffered so much exclusion in our culture that many people think that’s the way it is supposed to be. One person at a time, we are changing that reality and that perception,” said Hon. Louisa Abbot, a longtime citizen advocate and incoming board chairman.
     Sean Brandon represents a member of the newest generation of advocates and organization volunteers. The 29-year-old city administrator has been an advocate for nearly five years to “Sherman,” a man in his mid-20’s.      
     “After years of people telling Sherman what he couldn't do, we're both discovering all of the great things that he can do,” said Brandon. “Together, we checked out potential employment, and soon enough, Sherman got a job. Lately we’ve spent time just seeing what’s available for young people to do in the historic district.”
     “‘Home Grown Good News’ is for all of us,” said Kohler. “This year especially, we’re planning the supper as a homecoming for friends who were involved in our early days, and a get-acquainted party for relatively new advocates. It’s for folks who have been part of the citizen advocacy family for generations, and for people wondering what this is all about.
     “The supper reveals a Savannah that is for everyone, which is the point of citizen advocacy—bringing everyone to the table.”

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“Home Grown Good News”
Chatham Savannah Citizen Advocacy’s 30th Anniversary Celebration
Thursday, May 8, 2008
The Hellenic Center, St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church
14 West Anderson Street
Admission free with a covered dish, or $3 per person.
To RSVP, call (912) 236-5798 or visit www.savannahcitizenadvocacy.org/rsvp.

Event Schedule:

6:00 – 7:00 p.m.     
Hors d’oeuvres reception and photography exhibit by Lyn Bonham, music by SOAP.

7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Covered dish supper

8:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Stories from citizen advocates, board and staff remarks, sing traditional Lean on Me.

8:30 – 10:00 p.m.
Dance to music by The 8 Tracks.

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