New flag brings man's support full circle
Otto Liebich of Prospect Heights knew time was running out. Never mind the fact that he is 95 years old. He wanted to get in on a matching gift program to help one of his favorite charities, Little City Foundation in Palatine.
Supporters learned that if they made a donation before the end of February, their gift would be matched -- up to $25,000 -- by a parent of a resident and board member, Verne Carson of Deerfield.
"I've known about Little City for nearly 50 years, and I try to help them whenever I can," Liebich says of the agency which has served persons with disabilities since 1959.
Apparently, the matching gift stirred others to donate as well. According to Little City officials, the campaign far surpassed the original $25,000 matching donation pledge, and wound up reaching $100,000.
That number rose again last week, when Liebich arrived, with two checks, and an American flag to present to Little City directors.
Liebich came with Philip Fanselow, a representative of Woodmen of the World, located in Schiller Park, and part of a fraternal insurance organization started in 1890, that now is one of the largest in the United States.
Some 45 years ago, Liebich had made a similar trip out to the Little City campus with other Woodmen of the World representatives.
Back then, he traveled on a bus, direct from the organization's state convention, held at a Chicago hotel. They came to carry out one of their service projects, which was to plant a flagpole on the campus, and present leaders with its first flag.
"We used to present flags and flag poles to various organizations," Liebich says. "Little City was pretty new at the time, and they needed one."
That same flag pole remains at the entry of the campus, today, visible to motorists who pass by along busy Algonquin Road. It also bears a plaque crediting the Woodmen of the World with its placement.
Now, it has a new flag.
On hand to meet with Liebich was Little City's executive director, Shawn Jeffers. He commended the Woodmen for their longstanding support, and for believing in the agency's mission.
"We are very grateful to Otto and the Woodmen of the World lodge for not only their financial help, but also for their thoughtful and caring gesture to provide us with a new American flag," Jeffers said later.
"Forty years ago, they were here getting their hands dirty, putting up a pole that could proudly display the American flag in front of Little City," he added. "Amazingly, they are still thinking about how they can help our organization. They are truly reflective of our family spirit."
Little City has come a long way since the group first visited its campus, but its directors still follow an original mission of empowering children and adults with developmental disabilities.
Today the agency offers a variety of residential options for children and adults, as well as vocational and employment opportunities. Its programs include a special needs foster care and adoption program, in-home support for families raising a child with developmental disabilities, and an award-winning Center for the Arts program that features visual, performance, media and fabric arts.