The Mission of Wichita’s Littlest Heroes is to encourage and support our medically fragile children who are battling different life threatening medical conditions or diseases.
They strive to be present for the whole family physically and emotionally while connecting them with as many free assistive resources as possible to make their journey a little easier and their load a little lighter.
Patterson Legal Group was more than happy to donate to this wonderful organization. We love what they do and can’t thank them enough for everything they do for our community!
The Patterson Legal Group was honored to have Voices of Courage as this month’s Non-Profit Hero in the St. Joseph area!
Voices of Courage offers educational programs on a variety of child related issues. Prevention and awareness programs are available to local school districts for elementary age children. Voices of Courage also offers informative programs on child abuse to service clubs, local churches, parent groups, etc. To learn more about this wonderful organization, visit their website at www.voicescac.org.
Do you have a favorite non-profit hero that you think should be recognized? Nominate them today! Selected heroes will be featured on a News-Press NOW News Story and receive a $1,000 check.
The slight chill in the air didn’t stop the team at Patterson Legal Group from volunteering their time to setup for the Golf Fore Vision tournament, supporting Envision! There were lots of laughs, lots of coffee & lots of hope that those winter gloves were still in the glove box!
The mission of Envision is to improve the quality of life and provide inspiration and opportunity for people who are blind or visually impaired through employment, outreach, rehabilitation, education and research. Since 1933, Envision has become one of the nation’s most trusted service and employment providers for people who are blind or low vision. To learn more about Envision, visit https://www.envisionus.com.
A few members at Patterson Legal Group were not letting a little rain stop them from delivering hot, nutritious noon meals through Meals on Wheels.
Supported by the Senior Services of Wichita, Meals on Wheels delivers hot meals to homebound people age 60+ each weekday. More than just a meal, the program provides a friendly, familiar face at the doors of home-bound people every day. Family members and friends are rest assured when they cannot check up on their loved ones, the Meals on Wheels volunteer will be there for them. Meals on Wheels is a valuable lifeline for many people who have difficulty advocating for themselves.
Gary and Tyler participated in the 3rd annual 100 Men Who Cook Fundraiser this past weekend supporting The Pando Initiative.
Every great chef has a signature dish. The dessert of mini butterscotch pies continues to be the perfect choice for the Patterson’s to showcase their skills.
Patterson Legal Group raised over $1,600 for this wonderful organization! The Pando Initiative has been successfully connecting with more than 200,000 students in area schools since 1990. Their core model focuses on individual students who are struggling with school and life.
During the month of April, Patterson Legal Group focused their efforts on raising money for Heartspring’s Austism Care Walk through the Puzzle Pal program. Individuals could purchase a Puzzle Pal for $1 and show their support as an autism awareness advocate.
The 2019 Care Walk event raised over $100,000 for Heartspring Autism Services to provide much needed services to local children impacted by autism. To learn more, visit http://www.autismcarewalk.org/.
Patterson Legal Group has been working to help charitable organizations in our community for more than 20 years and we now have officially mobilized our employees into organizing our help. Our entire staff worked to form a new committee, Patterson Legal Group Give, to give back to our city. At Patterson Legal Group, we take pride in our Patterson Legal Group reputation and lead by example to uphold it. Actions speak louder than words…and our newly formed committee is determined to do just that!
Each Thursday, the staff at Patterson Legal Group voluntarily pay to wear jeans. Not only are we comfortable as we fight for our clients, but the money saved is put to good use. In 2017, our team created the Patterson Legal Group Give, a committee formed to find ways we can help, whether it be time or treasure, in our wonderful community. Thursday’s staff jeans donations along with money from Patterson Legal Group helps fund Patterson Legal Group Give. Each staff member took turns monthly in choosing a local organization to which our money or volunteer time would be donated.
One organization Patterson Legal Group’s team helped with was AVID, a program designed to prepare middle schoolers and high schoolers for collegiate futures. Gary and Tyler participated in mock interviews to prepare the middle schoolers for a brighter future. We were able to donate school supplies for two new teachers and spent time organizing mountains of supplies at the Salvation Army. The Patterson Legal Group were able to financially help three high school students by providing college scholarships to them.
Education and the future of our youth is extremely important to our firm. The Patterson Legal Group reached out to Bridges, a program through the Wichita Children’s Home benefiting young adults who have aged out of the foster care system. Many of them have no support system and are living independently while still in school and starting jobs. Our team adopted all members and their children, donating Christmas presents to each one so as to be certain no one was forgotten.
Other organizations the Patterson Legal Group gave to benefit local children and families were Wichita Crisis Center and the Ronald McDonald House, where we volunteered and cooked dinner. Our time spent at the Ronald McDonald House provided for families to spend more of their own time with loved ones at the hospital.
Did we mention the Patterson Legal Group love animals? Our team spent time helping set up Woofstock and also provided water and cookies to Wheel of Fortune Ranch, which enables children and disabled adults to have the ability to interact with animals including horses. Another fun event we contributed to was Pando Initiative’s 100 Men Who Cook, a benefit for the charity who works to connect students and help them thrive in the community. Gary helped cook and even won the award for best dessert!
With the end of the year comes the holidays, which can be a less than joyous time for those in need. Patterson Legal Group heard that Bread of Life, a food pantry, had lost a big supporter and used our team’s Patterson Legal Group Give funds to enable their work to continue. We happily provided monetary support to Bread of Life during Thanksgiving as well as giving warm meals for individual needy families, which were nominated and chosen by our staff. Our team also volunteered to sort food at the local food bank to help the hungry during Thanksgiving.
During the 12 days leading up to Christmas, the Patterson Legal Group practiced random acts of kindness by handing out gift cards to unsuspecting people. These acts included gas cards to people fueling up, rolls of coins to patrons at a laundromat or giving gift cards to people with full shopping carts at both Aldi and Walmart. Their reactions were the best gifts in our opinion!
At Christmas, our firm partnered with local Mary Kay ladies who had the idea of remembering the lonely in area nursing homes. We provided some funds and helped stuff over 600 stockings. We proudly acted on their vision to bring a ray of sunshine to those who would otherwise be forgotten in nursing homes.
Finally, the Patterson Legal Group gave by taking our Hats Off to Heroes, a program very special to us. Our firm has partnered with KWCH to recognize and honor local heroes. During home Wichita State University Shocker basketball games, attendees in the stadium remove their hats to recognize deserving chosen nominees that have been submitted by the public.
The Patterson Legal Group was honored and thrilled to help reach out to such a wide variety of deserving organizations in our community and encourage others to give time or financial help if possible. The feeling of giving is one of great reward and we are blessed to have this opportunity. We consider our first year of Patterson Legal Group Give to be a great success. Thank you for an amazing 2017, Wichita. We look forward for what’s to come in 2018!
Gary gets schooled at shuffleboard by Kody (yellow shirt) and Donovan
Attorney Gary Patterson is a die-hard Wichita State Shocker fan. He likes to hear the roar of the crowd at Koch Arena and watch the game with hundreds of yellow-clad fans. This season Patterson Legal Group has provided tickets for dozens of lucky Facebook winners, but this past weekend, Gary enjoyed the company of a very brave and special guest.
Seated in the private room at a local restaurant reserved for PLG’s contest winners Gary met 10-year-old Kody, his older brother, Donovan and his dad, Mike. For Kody and his mini entourage, having the chance to attend the game was another milestone on his road to recovery.
Mike, Donovan, Kody, Gary Patterson and Kelsey Shackelford
Patterson says that the best part of the event was being able to provide basketball packages to people in the community who might never be able to afford such an event. For the February 7 game, they offered tickets to the Make-A-Wish foundation. Ten-year-old Kody, a super Shocker fan who has been battling Leukemia since he was three years old, was excited to receive the invitation. Make-A-Wish of Kansasgrants wishes for children ages 2.5 to 18 who are battling life-threatening conditions.
Before the winners filed into a Hummer Limo to go watch the Shockers take on Missouri State, Kody munched on pizza, nibbled on his dad’s Fish-n-Chips and even schooled Gary at the shuffleboard table. During the game, Kody’s dad said he enjoyed the noise of the crowd and the activities at halftime like the jugglers and free-throw demonstrations. Kody’s favorite part of the game, “The Shockers beating the other team.” Dad was quick to point out, “He really enjoyed that.”
Today, although Kody is in remission, he continues to have his blood drawn every week and routine checkups with his oncologist. “He’s a tough little kid, but he’s always been really happy,” said Mike (Dad). “We hope the worst is behind us and now he’ll be okay.” Gary had a great night spending time with this young man and his family. We wish them all the best.
Under a blue sky that threatened rain by the afternoon, the women of Patterson Legal Group shucked their corporate outfits for sneakers and jeans as they gathered for the All Women Build hosted by Wichita’s Habitat for Humanity.
For several hours on Tuesday the women (and a few male supervisors) met in an inner city neighborhood to nail plywood, cut support beams and contribute to a project very near and dear to Ann Patterson’s heart. In the area of 12th and Poplar, the Habitat for Humanity group is not only building homes, they’re building hope and giving deserving families a shot at affordable home ownership.
As President of the Board of Directors for Wichita’s Habitat for Humanity for two years, Ann has seen the process go through several changes but the goal is always the same, “be a good neighbor.” Over the last decade, Habitat Wichita has gone from seeking out large plots of land to build subdivisions, and instead, focused their resources on neighborhoods within the city that already have a working infrastructure.
Located on the same block as the new construction site, you’ll find three lots waiting patiently for their turn to host a new building and three completed homes. Careful consideration was given to this location and ultimately it was deemed to be desirable because of the close proximity to community resources. A full service grocery store is within walking distance, as well as the new 64,000 square foot Spaght Elementary school.
Next door to the home that the group was working on today, Ann was excited to point out a residence that will be the first “owner-occupied” rehab project. Jutting out from the front door is a wheelchair ramp used by the current occupant whose grandmother originally owned the property. In the yard sits a wishing well that was rescued from the overgrowth in the backyard.
Over the years, both Ann and Gary have held positions on the Habitat Board of Directors. They continue to remain actively involved with the group because with each new roof that goes on and each new appliance (provided by Whirlpool) that slides into place, they see tangible proof of a life-changing moment for one hard working family.
Volunteering your time for a day or even a few hours is as easy as visiting the Habitat for Humanity site and following the links to the volunteer page. And remember each time you shop at a Habitat for Humanity ReStore, a portion of your proceeds goes directly toward Habitat Wichita.
