Title
Special recognition honoring Gale Graves for her hard work, dedication, and commitment to the Lake County community.
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SPECIAL RECOGNITION
WHEREAS, a brilliant and emotionally intelligent leader, Gale Graves, has had an immeasurable impact on our Lake County Community for over two decades; and
WHEREAS, after working in the healthcare industry for ten years, Gale turned her attention to teaching and managing adult and family literacy and education programs for the Waukegan Public Library as their Education and Literacy Services Manager, where she identified service gaps and secured critical grant funding, which enabled her to develop and deliver responsive services that aligned with the community's needs and mitigated educational inequities; and
WHEREAS, Gale also coordinated with several service organizations to create a pipeline of over a hundred volunteers to serve hundreds of families; and
WHEREAS, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gale co-founded and co-chaired the African American Community Partnership Group of Lake County, facilitating county-wide collaborative efforts with community-based organizations to enhance outreach and engagement among Lake County's communities of color, with Gale providing financial and strategic leadership, and administering a $1.2 million CARES ACT grant to deliver community-based public health services to reach African American and Latino communities in Lake County; and
WHEREAS, as the current Vice President of Community Impact for the United Way of Lake County, Gale has led the Community Impact Division in developing and delivering educational programming, as well as the 211 health and human services referral line, to achieve measurable outcomes and solutions for children, youth, adults, and families across Lake County; and
WHEREAS, Gale has expanded the scope and reach of 2-1-1 to respond to the growing health and human services needs of Lake County's community members, from basic needs to collaboratively worki...
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