NEW DATE!!Due to the impact of Hurricane Sandy & the power outages affecting much of the state, the Gala that was scheduled for November 3rd, 2012 was rescheduled to January 12th, 2013. We  hope you can all make the new date! Cocktails by Cask 'N KegHors d'oeuvres by Go Fish/Steak LoftMusic by Rock & Soul RevueLive & Silent Auction Please join us in support of a local organization that offers support and therepeutic care to adolescent youth in our area.  Thanks to the overwhelming support at our first annual "Roots and Wings Gala" last year, we raised $18,000 and were able to launch Transitions to Adulthood, a comprehensive and practical program to prepare our resident adolescents for independent living. In collaboration with the New London Housing Authority, we have secured a local apartment which is to be used to simulate independent living which we will use to impart the necessary skills and knowledge to significantly improve the adolescents’ first independent living experience.  With the involvement of the nonprofit group OIC of New London County and other local businesses and individuals, the young women will learn to manage the expenses and responsibilities that come along with living independently, including the costs of renting and maintaining an apartment, roommate selection, family planning and how to manage the emotional transition of living alone versus in a family or group setting.The difficult economic times continue to threaten our nonprofit agency’s ability to provide specialized therapeutic care and the guidance into adulthood that our residents require. To celebrate our forty years of continuing service and in an effort to raise funds to convert underutilized space in our Ledyard home into a multi-purpose training and activity room that will benefit the entire agency, we will be holding our second annual "Roots and Wings" Gala on January 12th, 2013. As we celebrate our 40th anniversary, we are kicking off our “40 for 40” campaign and with your support this year, we hope to raise $40,000 towards this campaign. The funds that we raise will ensure that Noank Group Homes will continue to offer our residents support and care which has a lasting impact on their lives. Please read on to hear how some of our former residents have benefited from their experience with the organization: "I was a hard nut to crack when I lived at High Street House in the 1980’s.  I trusted no one and no one had a reason to trust me.  I wasn’t easy to live with or to like. I didn’t like myself.  But no one on the staff gave up on me.  They saw something good in me that I couldn’t see.  After a while, I smiled a little more and started to believe that maybe I was good enough to love and be loved.  I don’t know how my life would have turned out if I didn’t live in a group home like High Street House."   JLB   “I lived at High Street House” many years ago and I often thought it should have been called High Street Home because that’s what it was to me.  I had parents but I never felt like I was living in a family until I went to live at High Street House in Mystic.  I felt loved and cared for by people that weren’t even related to me.  When my two children were much younger, they would ask me where I lived when I was their age - - I told them I lived in Mystic with my “family” in a home where there was fun, laughter, discipline, and love.  That’s how I tried to raise my kids, too. "   M.B. "When I lived with my Mom and Dad, we never celebrated birthdays and Christmas was just a day to watch holiday movies. Santa Claus never found our apartment I guess.  I was taken from Mom and Dad because of neglect.  I went to live in one of Noank (Baptist) Group Homes.   It was there that I learned how birthdays and Christmas holidays were celebrated in happy families.  I also learned how to cook and bake, how to save money, and clip coupons for grocery shopping.  I really appreciate what the group home taught me and how they saved my life.  Thank you!"   Sue Visit EventBrite.com for pricing.