Curate a list of community leaders who molded Greenville’s heart for philanthropy, and the name Barbara Stone is sure to sit near the top. The long-time advocate dedicated her life to establishing services, some state-wide, for those with disabilities. The Greenville High graduate started 43 programs that included group homes, apartments, adult workshops, schools, and recreation opportunities—many through the foundation that bears her name. Barbara passed away in 2013, and today, Cubs-loving Chicago native Lara Ceisel ensures the legacy continues to grow and serve more families than ever before. Lara sat down to share her thoughts on marking one year as the executive director of the Barbara Stone Foundation.
Lara Ceisel
You’ve stepped into some pretty important high heels.
Yes. I met Barbara a couple of times when she came to Camp Spearhead.
She was a force. She was our hero.
We all wanted to work in her footsteps. Her legacy has been my anchor this year. I was fairly new in my position at camp when I first met her and her son, and to be honest, had no way of knowing this is where I’d be today.
I remember her as warm, and strong, and incredibly persistent.
When was that?
About 2010. I was a supervisor at Camp Spearhead. Basically, I trained staff to be great counselors with our campers, both children and adults with special needs. Simultaneously, I was the Therapeutic Recreation Coordinator with Greenville County Rec and Area Director for the Special Olympics. That was 75 percent of my job.
Did you always have a passion for helping those with disabilities, growing up in the suburbs of Chicago?
It was always really important for me to be someone who supported people in their efforts, whatever those were.
My whole philosophy, even in high school, was how can we work with people based on their strengths versus their limitations. The disability community is targeted the most when it comes to having limitations placed upon them.
Did you go to college with this as your career ambition?
No (laughing). I went to Arizona State as a performance art and dance education major. After my freshman year, I took a gap year off back in Chicago with my family. A dear friend of my grandmother’s, at the local elementary, suggested I apply as a teacher’s assistant in a special-ed class.
When I started working there, I thought, ‘I could do this for the rest of my life.’
How did you land in Greenville?
I first came to the area to work at YMCA Camp Greenville in 2008. I drove from Arizona in my Jeep Cherokee, turned onto Solomon Jones Road, and my cell phone lost service. I thought, ‘This is where I’ll be for the next little bit.’ I came from city living to actually living on a mountain top.
How has your first year as executive director of the Barbara Stone Foundation gone?
Stepping into this role is a dream come true.
We want to be the leading resource for folks looking for services related to disabilities. There’s room for continued improvement in the area of inclusion, housing, transportation, transition, recreation, accessibility, employment, and healthcare and benefits.
The disabled don’t just want the opportunity for all of that; they deserve it. I think Greenville is the perfect place for that to continue to blossom.
BSF has supported at least 35 groups and given $270,000 in grant money since 2018. What big projects are you working on now?
Immediately, we have the Bingo Bash in May. In terms of next big steps, we are looking forward to announcing the UP Employment Initiative, a partnership with the Windsor Aughtry group, and hope to see expansion within the foundation itself over the next couple of years. It will be a strong start to 2022, with a new addition to the BSF team and getting our signature initiative, Greenville CAN, more active than ever. I hope to be able to walk in Barbara Stone’s footsteps, and if I have half as much determination as she had, I’ll have a decent amount of success.
For more on the far-reaching work of the Barbara Stone Foundation, visit BarbaraStoneFoundation.org.
Photograph by Will Crooks
