{"id":66542,"date":"2026-05-16T17:21:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T17:21:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/66542\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T17:21:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T17:21:08","slug":"geneva-library-staffer-receives-inclusivity-award-shaw-local","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/66542\/","title":{"rendered":"Geneva library staffer receives inclusivity award \u2013 Shaw Local"},"content":{"rendered":"

Geneva<\/a> Public Library District Outreach Coordinator Lexy Rodriguez received an Inclusivity Impact Award at the annual Rising Lights Project Gala May 9, officials announced in a news release.<\/p>\n

Rising Lights is a nonprofit in St. Charles<\/a> that serves adults with disabilities with opportunities for socialization and education.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez was one of two recipients of this year\u2019s Inclusivity Impact Award. The other was Mike Outlaw of Outlaw Strength Inc., also in St. Charles.<\/p>\n

\"Mike<\/p>\n

Mike Outlaw of Outlaw Strength Inc., receiving an Inclusivity Impact Award at the annual Rising Lights Project Gala on Saturday, May 9, 2026. Outlaw was recognized for providing adaptive strength training for Rising Lights participants. (Photo provided by Mike Outlaw)<\/p>\n

Rodriguez was recognized for designing accessible, creative opportunities like robot lessons and book clubs. Outlaw was recognized for providing tailored, adaptive monthly strength training for Rising Lights participants.<\/p>\n

Rising Lights held the gala at the Q Center in St. Charles, as both a fundraiser and a celebration of its participants, programs and community partnerships.<\/p>\n

Rising Lights recognized Rodriguez for \u201cbringing accessible, creative, and engaging opportunities to our participants.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom hands-on robot lessons to our current book club, she designs every visit with intention, accessibility, and deep respect for our community,\u201d according to Rodriguez\u2019s recognition.<\/p>\n

As coordinator of the library\u2019s outreach team, Illinois Library Association, Association for Individual Development and Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois has previously recognized Rodriguez for her work in community engagement and accessibility, according to the release.<\/p>\n

In her acceptance speech, Rodriguez reflected on her longstanding partnership with Rising Lights Project, noting that she has worked with the organization since its founding five years ago. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just keep finding ways to come back and hang out with you,\u201d she said, \u201cbecause Rising Lights days are always a highlight of my week.\u201d<\/p>\n

The library\u2019s outreach team partners with the Association for Individual Development, Ampersand Community Services, Joshua Tree, Marklund and the Mid-Valley Special Education Cooperative.<\/p>\n

More information about the library\u2019s outreach services and accessible resources is available online at gpld.org\/accessibility<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Geneva Public Library District Outreach Coordinator Lexy Rodriguez received an Inclusivity Impact Award at the annual Rising Lights…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":66543,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[65,898,899],"class_list":{"0":"post-66542","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-geneva","8":"tag-geneva","9":"tag-kane-county","10":"tag-local-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116585410917367262","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66542\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}