Sunshine Communities celebrate 75 years With Girl Named Tom band
MAUMEE – A little background: Sunshine Communities is a community that has an agenda of supporting people with developmental disabilities. In 1950, Roy and Georgette Engler founded Sunshine Homes due to the dissatisfaction of the poor living conditions in the in-state institutions. Aiming for better living environments for children, the Englers used donated material and labor to build a structure next to their home that included a medical staff and care.
By 1978, Sunshine had expanded enough to include family care and vocational services that helped adults with disabilities who were working. As of today, Sunshine supports 250 individuals everyday with 430 employees, 50 nurses, 28 residual homes, and 60 vehicles that provide transportation.
75 years later, the community still thrives. A coffee shop in downtown Maumee named Georgette’s allows some of the community members to work in the public. The community itself holds jobs for their members, such as helping raise and take care of farm animals and horses. With a strong tie to the Mennonites, Sunshine is sponsored by the Mennonite Health Services, sharing core values and beliefs, like empathy, integrity, mutuality and a shared faith-centered mission.
On Sept. 7, Sunshine will throw their grand finale celebration in downtown Maumee, near Georgette’s, as it “aligns perfectly with our sunshine footprint and strengthens our connection with the community,” stated Sunshine Communities’ CEO Jason Abodeely.
To celebrate, Girl Named Tom, winners of the hit NBC TV show, The Voice, will perform.
Girl Named Tom, based out of Pettisville, Ohio have strong ties to the Mennonite community, a community that also has strong ties to Sunshine.
In a statement from Abodeely, he shared why Girl Named Tom was a good fit for the event:
We approached Girl Named Tom due to their strong ties to the Mennonite faith, from which we built our core values in the 1960s. Mennonite congregations supported Sunshine Children’s Home, now Sunshine Communities, through quilt-making and other philanthropic efforts. Those relationships, and our mission, have stood the test of time, as we continue to create community through Anabaptist values. It’s come full circle, and we’re incredibly proud to remain deeply connected to our roots in Northwest Ohio 75 years later.
Abodeely wrote that “we wanted to bridge our past with the present. We host summer concerts each year on our campus, and bringing Girl Named Tom to Uptown Maumee alongside our friends, neighbors, and retail locations marks a new chapter in this tradition”
Beginning at 5 p.m., the event is free to the public and will be standing room only, but chairs are permitted with no umbrellas. Port-a-potties will also be on site, food trucks will be available.
Opening for Girl Named Tom at 5:30 p.m. is local band Chloe and the Steel Strings. Girl Named Tom will perform at 7:15 p.m.
Here are a few more details to know before you go:
- First aid will be located at Sunshine Studios
- Guests are asked to bring chairs
- Food trucks will be present
- This is not a ticketed event
- Jacky’s Depot will be offering signature Sunshine partnership ice cream flavors
Below is a map of the event:
