Annual Report - Rainbows

Annual Report H

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Letter from the Executive Director and CEO……………………………………..Page 3

Letters from the Governing Board and Trustees Board Chairmen…….Page 4

The Board of Directors…………………………………………………………………......Page 5

Donor Recognition………………………………………………………………….......Pages 6-7

Remembering Rainbows’ Founder Suzy Yehl Marta………………………....Page 8

Events and Fundraisers……………………………………………………………………..Page 9

Rainbows on the Horizon……………………………………………………………….Page 10

Featured Stories and Highlights………………………………………………Pages 11-12

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Annual Report Table of Contents

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I am familiar with loss. Almost 10 years ago my wife and mother of our three sons died after suffering from

brain cancer. During a short amount of time we also suffered the deaths of six other family members. I

wish my sons and I had found Rainbows then.

I was drawn to Rainbows because of its mission and my own personal experiences. I wanted to help others

and utilize my years of professional experience in a new way by giving back. I am proud to be associated

with Rainbows and humbled by the task ahead of us.

This past year Rainbows celebrated our 30th Anniversary and honored Suzy. We also continued to grow

our mission helping our youth grieve from their life altering events. This is truly a wonderful organization,

which has done so much helping over 3 million youth-but there is more to do.

These tragic events will always be with us. But Rainbows helps them understand with compassionate care

and love, how to deal with these events through our programs implemented by our trained facilitators

who volunteer their time to help our youth.

To all of YOU volunteer facilitators and coordinators of Rainbows programs, thank you!

There are over 40 million children in the USA alone who will experience in one year the pain from a family

death or divorce. Rainbows wants to help more of our youth. Rainbows is adapting and growing to be

here now, and in years to come, to help families and our youth. Rainbows is doing this by refreshing itself,

its materials, and its programs- all in the efforts to allow us to reach more children.

• We want to reach our youth where they are…

• Reach them how they learn…

• Using modalities they use…

Please join Rainbows and me in keeping our mission alive, prospering and growing, as we work to

minimize the pain and hardship our youth are experiencing!

Regards,

Bob Thomas

Executive Director and CEO

Rainbows For All Children

Dear Friends of Rainbows,

My name is Bob Thomas. I joined Rainbows For All Children in February of

2013 as its new Executive Director and C.E.O. Our founder, Suzy Yehl Marta,

after passionately founding and leading this wonderful organization for

almost 30 years developed a succession plan to replace herself. Suzy was

ready to pass the baton and retire. Sadly, Suzy and I did not get to meet,

and she did not get to retire—Suzy passed away last January after a short

illness.

Rainbows, which helps our youth and families around the world heal after

suffering a life altering event, such as the death of a

parent/grandparent/sibling or a parental divorce, now needed to grieve and

heal after its own loss. 2013 was a difficult year.

Annual Report A Letter from the Executive Director and CEO

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Annual Report Letters from the Rainbows Boards Chairmen

Rainbows honored me by asking that I serve as Chair of its Governing Board during

its 30th year – the last year, it turned out, in which our beloved founder, Suzy Yehl

Marta, led the organization and the first year of a new generation of leaders,

volunteers, and donors helping youth grieve major life losses such as divorce or the

death of a parent. This transition posed all sorts of challenges. At the same time,

our pride in surviving the greatest financial crisis of our lifetimes, followed by the

unexpected passing of our founder, through formulation of a new management

team and strategy for the future knows no bounds. You should share that pride

because Rainbows and the relief it provides to grieving children does not exist

without your generous spirit and active support.

As we look forward, I can promise each of our supporters and the children we serve

the following:

• Our finances are stronger than ever.

• Our Governing Board and management team are proactive, thoughtful,

and committed.

• And we look to thrive as an organization helping youth grieve for a long

time to come.

Most of us experience at some point the kinds of major life loss with which tens of millions of U.S. children struggle

every day. Rainbows cannot cure the tragedy of a child losing a parent, but we owe it to each grieving child to

provide a safe environment where skilled facilitators can help children grieve with the aid of peers experiencing

similar losses. Every time I meet an adult who experienced Rainbows as a child, the first thing I hear is how

important Rainbows was to who they have become. Every time I meet an adult who learns about Rainbows but

faced a childhood loss without its help, I hear how much that person wished Rainbows had been there for her.

Rainbows makes a difference every day in thousands of lives. The good we do for struggling children alone justifies

your commitment to Rainbows. But when we consider a child’s improvement at school, stronger families and

communities, and the next generation of children who will have today’s Rainbows children as parents, the truly great

value of Rainbows shows itself. So in this year of great transition for Rainbows, please redouble your support of our

grieving youth. Thank you, and God bless you.

I met Suzy Marta, for the first time, in June of 1991 at the Rainbows golf outing.

Little did I know the effect that our initial introduction would have on my life. At the

time, I was a recently separated father of two, Blake 13 and Brooke 11. My marriage

of over 20 years was ending. As I grieved my own failure, I watched my children

grieve the loss of a two parent/united family. For those of you that knew Suzy, you

know what came next. Suzy saw a grieving father, knew exactly where I was mentally

and wasted no time with “small talk”. Her ability to “go deep” with unlimited feeling

was uncanny. That afternoon, Suzy and I began a journey and friendship that would

last until her sudden death in January 2013. The result, for nearly twenty two years,

Rainbows and its mission have been my passion. Clearly “the hurt doesn’t have to

last forever”. Bravo to all the Rainbows facilitators, donors, employees, volunteers,

past and present Trustees and Governing Board members, and friends. Know that for

over 30 years, you’ve made a difference to so many grieving children.

Knowing Suzy was a gift. Sharing the passion has been a privilege. Carrying on the

mission is simply “what Suzy would want us to do”. The leadership has changed, but

the passion remains and the importance of the mission is greater than ever. Know

that your Trustee Board is engaged and energized. We look forward to easing the

pain for even more grieving children. Thank you for your ongoing support of this

most important cause.

David Christian II

Governing Board

Chairman

Breck Hanson

Trustees Board

Chairman

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Governing BoardDavid Christian II

David Christian Attorneys, LLC

Ted Evans

Rod Hart

Computer Sciences Corporation

Tom Manzardo

Manzardo and Associates

Lauri Mitchell

Mitchell Motivation

Frank Nardi

Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP

Liz Poplin

Merrill Lynch

Zack Shah

Lazard Middle Market

Anthony Taglia

Golan & Christie, LLP

Michael Yehl

Lifespace Communities

Trustees BoardJohn Edwardson

Retired from CDW

Breck Hanson

Associated Bank

Randy Kurtz

Cristo Rey Network

Deborah Liverett

Northern Trust Bank

Bill Lynch

Liam Holdings

Marty Marta

Law Offices of Martin Marta

Brogan Ptacin

First Bank and Trust

John Rau

Miami Corporation

Len Tobiaski

LT Asset Advisors, LLC

Jeff Wright

Urban Ministries, Inc.

Rainbows BoardsAnnual Report

$20,000 and Above

Associated Bank Corporation

CDW, LLC

Chicago Title and Trust Company

Foundation

Hanson Family

McGraw Foundation

Northern Trust Company Charitable Trust

Origer Family

$10,000 to $20,000

Elizabeth Canning Dynasty Trust

Edwardson Family Foundation Trust

Jacob J. Fink Charitable Foundation

William and Kathleen Lynch

Suzy and Marty Marta

Middleby Cooking Systems Group

Brogan and Ann Ptacin

Sage Foundation

$5,000 to $10,000

American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers

Foundation

Mary Ceas

Celebrity Seating, Inc.

First Bank and Trust of Evanston

Christopher J. Graff

Randy Kurtz

Randy and Lauri Mitchell

Dr. Scholl Foundation

Zach and Nadia Shah

Anthony Taglia

Taxman Family Foundation

The Farny R. Wurlitzer Foundation

TJX Foundation, Inc.

Len and Cindy Tobiaski

Thomas and Loretta Volini

Walmart

$1,000 to $5,000

@properties

Abbell Associates

Gemma Allen

The Alter Group

Ameriprise Financial Matching Gift Program

Aileen S. Andrew Foundation

Anonymous

Marijane Anton

Association of Global Automakers, Inc.

Avgeris & Associates, Inc.

BDP Services, LLC

Kelley Bergstrom Family Foundation

The John Buck Company

Katie Burke

CEVAAL Insurance Agency, Inc.

David and Kathy Chameli

Chicago Extruded Metals

David and Jill Christian

Arthur and Wanda Clausen

Clayco, Inc.

ClubCorp Charities, Inc.

Clune Construction Company

Conor Commercial Real Estate

CSC Global Health Solutions

Draper & Kramer

Richard H. Driehaus

Duane Morris

Dykema Gossett

Ecolab Foundation

Robert and Stephanie Engelman

James K. Ferguson Foundation

Fifth Third Bank

First Hospitality Group

FirstMerit Bank, N.A.

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Annual Report Donor Recognition

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$1,000 to $5,000 (cont.)

Five K. Family Fund

Friedman Properties, Ltd.

Jeanne Gannon

GE United Way Campaign

General Iron Industries Charitable

Foundation

Elizabeth Gisch

GKN Foundation

Bill and Susan Haave

Blake Hanson

Harp Krug Venture LLC

Rod and Barbara Hart

Hart Health Strategies

Health Care Service Corporation

Heartland Recycling LLC

Jack Hogan Charitable Foundation

IBM Employee Charitable Contribution

Campaign

Steve and Mary Jo Herseth

Mark and Tracey Johnson

John E. Jones

The Kara Foundation

Trish Kelly

Hans and Janis Kief

Kluth Family Foundation

Alvin and Cynthia Kruse

Gordon and Kathleen LaBounty

Ladden & Allen, Chartered

Greg and Kristin Leos

Lynch Family Foundation

Magellan Development Group LLC

Andrew R. Magliochetti

Tom and Lisa Manzardo

David Marta

Mullins Food Products

Frank and Marisa Nardi

Gregg and Dianne Novosad

Kelly O’Keefe

Dave and Catherine Olbrisch

Rick and Barbara Parsons

Polsinelli PC

Timothy and Elizabeth Poplin

Daniel Proft

Brian J. Redding

Related Midwest

Dave and Patricia Riddle

George Rourke

Randall Rowe

Salajka Family Foundation

Regina Scannicchio

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Jack Shaffer

Mabel and Ellsworth Simmons Charitable

Foundation Inc.

Correen Smith

Amy Soudan

St Joseph Catholic Church

Staffing Network LLC

Turner Construction Company

Twin Orchards Country Club

Van Heuvelen Strategies

Vanee Foods

Jeffrey Vogelsang

Tom and Amy Volini

Wahlert Foundation

Brenda Warkow

Eric and Ann Wasowicz

Herbert C. Wenske Foundation

Randy and Peggy Zahora

Donors Up To $1,000

Thank you to more than 700 additional

companies and individuals who donated

over $115,000 to Rainbows during this fiscal

year!

Annual Report Donor Recognition

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Thank you for continuing her

dream to heal grieving hearts

and for helping move her

legacy of Rainbows For All

Children into the next decade!

It is with heavy hearts and a deep sense of loss Rainbows

For All Children shares the sudden passing of our

President and Founder, Suzy Yehl Marta, who lost her

short battle against pancreatic cancer on Sunday, January

13, 2013. Suzy founded Rainbows in 1983, beginning her

quest to assist children experiencing death, divorce, or

loss which spanned more than 30 years to help aid 2.7

million all around the world.

Suzy was loved by thousands of volunteers who continue

to work as trained Rainbows Coordinators and Facilitators

around the world following her guidance and insights to

help heal children.

Annual Report Remembering Suzy Yehl Marta

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Rainbows special events collectively raised more than $268,000 in FY 2013. The

event schedule included our 6th Annual Canvases and Corks Gala Benefit, Power of

the Purse, Rainbows’ 30th Birthday Party and Tribute to Suzy Marta, Rainbows’ 25th

Annual Golf Classic, and the 5K/10K Summer Run.

Lauri and Randy Mitchell take a minute to snap a

picture with Suzy and Marty Marta at our 6th

Annual Canvases and Corks Gala Benefit in

November 2012.

Guests excited to support

Rainbows during our Bid for

Kids at the Canvases and

Corks Gala Benefit.

Rainbows’ new Executive

Director and CEO Bob

Thomas with ABC7’s

Kathy Brock and Miss

Chicago 2013, Savannah

Teegarden at Rainbows’

30th Birthday Party and

Tribute to Suzy Yehl

Marta.

Annual Report Events and Fundraisers

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With the celebration of Rainbows’ 30th Birthday year concluding, we are pleased

to announce some exciting changes on the horizon for Rainbows For All

Children!

Annual Report Rainbows on the Horizon

Rainbows For All Children is

excited to roll out our

colorful new logo. We

opened our doors in 1983.

The Rainbows team decided

a fresh and exciting logo

would be a great way to kick

off our next thirty years of

helping heal grieving hearts

as we link our past with our

exciting future.

Another exciting change is that

Rainbows For All Children has

relocated our offices to Evanston,

Illinois. We are thrilled to make

this move to expand our footprint

in the Chicagoland area!

Our new office address is:

Rainbows For All Children

1007 Church Street, Suite 408

Evanston, IL 60201

847-952-1770

www.rainbows.org

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“When I was trained to be the Coordinator of our Spectrum

Program (Rainbows on the high school level), I thought it

would be something we would offer our students for a few

years. I find it hard to believe that this is our 25th year

offering Rainbows/Spectrum to our students!

“After a few years, students who had been in the program

came to me and asked if they could give the presentations

in the classrooms because they wanted to tell other

students what they had gotten out of it and encourage

others to join. That was pretty amazing to me knowing how

difficult it can be for students to stand in front of their

peers in a classroom to give a presentation. To this day,

students still give the presentations to invite other students

to join.” – Pamela Ryan, Director of Guidance at

Providence Catholic High School

“Because of Spectrum, I am no longer mad at myself and know that I am not alone.”

Annual Report Featured Stories and Highlights

“I realized that I am not

the only one who has

gone through losses in

my family.”

“I learned that talking

eases the pain and

that there are people to

listen.”

“I changed my mind

about the way I feel

about people different

from me now that I see

everyone has a story.”

Quotes from participants in the Spectrum program at

Providence Catholic High School

In the Fall of 2009, Rainbows Online Facilitator Training debuted and provided trainees the

convenience of working online at their own pace to become trained Rainbows Facilitators.

Since it’s inception in 2009, more than 1,400 counselors, social workers, faith leaders, and

educators have completed the online Rainbows training. In FY2013 alone, 315 facilitators

and coordinators joined the Rainbows family!

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“I wanted to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Rainbows program

and all of the individuals involved in it. I lost my father from

laryngeal cancer in 1993 when I was just 9 years old. I was in the next

Rainbows group at my elementary school and continued to attend a

grief group through 12th grade. It was in Rainbows I learned the

power of having a safe and healthy support system for grief looked

like. My siblings were not as successful in finding a grief group

available to them and they have continued to suffer for it. I, on the

other hand, graduated with a master’s degree from Harvard in 2011

and, at 29, serve as a hospital chaplain so that I too might provide

crucial grief and trauma support to patients and families in need.

Without Rainbows and Mrs. Byrd (the counselor who organized

Rainbows meetings for us), I am certain my life would never have

been as successful as it is now. I hope, even on your darkest days,

you know you have changed the life of a sad, lonely, and grieving

little girl for the better.” - Charlotte Arsenault, former Rainbows

participant

Annual Report Featured Stories and Highlights