Honoring Our Assistants at L’Arche Jacksonville
Relationships are at the heart of our life together. We believe authentic, welcoming relationships are transformative and can change individual lives and ultimately, the world.
Our assistants come from various backgrounds and offer diverse gifts. They share a common commitment to the mission and values of L’Arche by offering compassionate care and companionship to those with intellectual /developmental disabilities in our community.
We know that the experience of being a L’Arche assistant fundamentally changes you and impacts how you view disability, inclusion, community, and relationships. Only a portion of the compensation provided to an assistant is covered by government funds.
L’Arche is committed to much more than a minimum level of care.
Rooted in Relationships
“Uncle Jeff!!! Pay attention to me!!” I yell to Jeff as he sits right next to me at the kitchen table, working on a word search. Completely ignoring my plea for attention, he goes about looking for a word, looks up at me, and says, “Please help me. Please.”
He then points to the word he’s looking for.
“Okay, I’ll look for it, are you going to help me?”
I ask, now looking up and down rows, checking diagonals, looking for words backwards. “Yeah,” Jeff responds ever so gently but firm, so you know he’s on a mission.
We continue to look for the words in the puzzle, some of them reminding me of the memories shared in Peace House, making me chuckle here and there.
You can see the letters Jeff adds into the puzzle to form his own words: his last name, his friend Jack, other friends’ names, and many other words. I admire the ways he finds his own joy even in a word search. Creating space for his own attentiveness to the letters that make up names of friends, family, and things he loves.
He continues to add the letters in the tiny spaces between, and he circles around others to connect, finally finding the name he is searching for. He smiles, clearly proud of his find. As he’s circling a word sometimes you hear, “right there it is” or “that’s my name” with the biggest grin.
I hope I can live a little more like Jeff, adding more letters to the word searches, making room, and finding connections.
-Mallory Koch, assistant and friend since 2017
Honoring Our Assistants at L’Arche Jacksonville
Your investment in the Assistants Fund honors the commitment made to the core members by these dedicated men and women. We set the bar high because the needs of our community always come first!
Compensation for assistants (small salary, room, board, and health insurance) is the single biggest expense in our budget- more than $580,000 a year.
Gift Suggestions:
Sponsor One Month: $2, 750
Sponsor One Week: $635
Sponsor One Day: $90
