August 27, 2008

Dear Participants, Friends & Staff of The Homestead Group,

I am writing to tell you of THG’s intent to establish a formal affiliation with the Seven Hills Foundation of Worcester, Mass.

The members of the Board of Directors of THG voted unanimously to affiliate at their board meeting of August 21, 2008. Board members from Seven Hills Foundation had voted previously to endorse the affiliation.

This is a major initiative for THG in many ways, because we are affiliating with a very successful organization. They will bring many substantive improvements to build our capacity, especially in the areas of training, program development and financial management.

On the other hand, we will retain our name, our 501C-3 status, and will proudly continue to operate programs to support people with disabilities. Our capital assets and resources will remain in Rhode Island, fully dedicated to the support of people with disabilities from Rhode Island. The primary change is one of governance, with the Seven Hills Foundation board assuming responsibility for THG.

We expect the result will be strengthened programming, more efficient operations, lower overhead, and appropriate investments in the future for new program development. We look forward to a bright future together.

To learn more about the Seven Hills Foundation, visit them online at www.sevenhills.org.

For more information regarding our intention to affiliate with Seven Hills, please phone Felicia Lesnett, Marketing Communications Manager, at 401-597-6700, ext. 120 or by e-mail at flesnett@thgri.org.

Sincerely,

Robert L. Carl Jr., Ph. D.,
CEO