The 46th Annual Blarney Breakfast To Go, a benefit for Rainbows United, Inc., kicked off St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Wichita at Old Chicago East during a wet morning with a SOLD OUT drive thru event.
More than 600 meals were delivered through a COVID-friendly drive thru concept, raising $44,000 in net proceeds to benefit children birth – 21 with special needs served through Rainbows’ Targeted Case Management Program.
Read more about how Keegan and his family benefit from these important services.
Five-year-old Keegan is happiest outdoors, riding his motorized mini-bicycle with his Dad or jumping on the trampoline with his Mom. He loves wrestling with his Dad and cuddling with his Mom.
Keegan has an autism diagnosis and Rainbows has been there to provide support and answers for parents Lindy and Philip. A recommendation from a co-worker led Lindy, Keegan’s mother, to reach out to Rainbows when her son was 2 years old. Rainbows’ Infant/Toddler Services (ITS) Program came to their home, performed an evaluation and recommended Keegan for ITS services.
Keegan is now 5 years old and began receiving Targeted Case Management Services in June 2020. Keegan’s Case Manager, Kerri, helped the family get Keegan on the autism services’ waiting list in Sedgwick County, and has found resources for pull-ups, a compression vest and chewies for Keegan.
During the pandemic, Kerri and the family have met over Zoom meetings and by phone. “Kerri is super awesome at listening and she supports our family by connecting us to available resources for Keegan,” said Lindy.
“Lindy and Phillip are dedicated parents to Keegan and go above and beyond to ensure that his needs are met,” said Kerri. “They don’t hesitate to reach out to me when they have questions about resources to meet Keegan’s needs. I enjoy working as part of their team.”
Keegan will be going to kindergarten in August and Lindy is preparing. “We’re excited and nervous,” she said. “With Keegan, there will be extra things we need to do to make sure school is a success for him. I called Kerri and she explained how and when together we would get everything ready for Keegan to go to school.”
Keegan is non-verbal, but he is very good at expressing himself. One of the family’s goals is to work on increasing his forms of communication. Keegan does really well pointing to pictures and images and working with an iPad to communicate what he wants or needs.
Through facial expressions and his own sounds, he lets you know how he is feeling. “We get on the trampoline and jump together,” said Lindy. “He loves it and is never ready for the jumping to end. He makes sure we know it.”
