Names in the News: Family of Lemont Native Jamee Fiedler Plans Benefit for Garden Center Services

The family of 21-year-old Lemont native Jamee Fiedler is holding a fundraiser next month to purchase a new home for women with disabilities.

"Celebrate Me Home" will take place Sept. 8 at 115 Bourbon Street in Merrionette Park. The event will benefit Garden Center Services, an agency that supports more than 150 adults with disabilities by providing group living environments, vocational day programs and employment opportunities.

Fiedler—who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, multiple physical disabilities and an intellectual disability at age 2—is currently living with 15 other men and women at a group home in Burbank.

In hopes of providing better care for Jamee, her aunt, Sharon Duncan, suggested that the family organize a fundraiser to help Garden Center Services purchase a new home. The goal is for Jamee to live with just four or five other women, giving them more personalized care and better quality of life.

“I didn't think twice about taking on the project because I know how important this house is for these women," said Duncan, a special education professor at Purdue Calumet who holds a doctorate in disabilities and equity of education. 

Celebrate Me Home is being organized by Duncan's Lemont-based nonprofit “Abide in Me,” a group that helps individuals with disabilities lead active and engaging lives.

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