Justin Kolb, Pianist Extraordinaire Visits Delarc

Justin Kolb, pianist extraordinaire, visited several of Delarc’s facilities on Wednesday 3/14. Justin made his concert debut at age 10 in solo performances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Gary Symphony. He is an extremely talented performer who travels 4 months each year during his concert tours throughout Eastern Europe, Canada, and the United States. However his home base is in Delaware County, NY which he says is the most rewarding place to play. He states that people in the Catskill’s area don’t take great music for granted.

Justin has been associated with The Arc of Delaware County(Delarc) for almost a decade. His long relationship with Delarc began when George Suess, Exec. Director requested that he give a recital at a Christmas event at one of Delarc’s facilities. While performing, he noticed the effect that the music had on his audience. “When I played softly the people became very quiet and when I was playing loudly they also became louder. I found it fascinating that they instinctively tracked along with the music. I stopped playing and there was silence. I asked if there was anyone that would like to play. All but 2 (people) came forward to express themselves musically. It’s my personal judgment that for both the audience and myself, it was an empowering and powerful experience.” Since then, he has been delighting people at Delarc each year, providing entertainment, instruction, and encouragement to individuals and groups of people. Justin shared that he feels that artists have an obligation to share their talent with others. After Justin’s visits you can see the huge impact that he has on the people of Delarc by the excitement and smiles on everyone’s faces. He shared that this program has been a very rewarding experience for him as well.

"All Trees Have Souls" Exhibition of Work by James Mould

Come and enjoy a visit to the Main View Gallery in Oneonta, NY beginning with the opening reception of the "Viewpoints" exhibit on March 9th 5 pm-7 pm. James Mould will be a featured guest artist and have several of his drawings on display. James discovered his artistic talent 3 years ago when he retired from farm work, moved to Stamford, NY and had more time to try other things. People at Resources For Industry (RFI) began noticing his artistic talent in the pen doodles he would make on his note papers. “When I first came here (RFI), I was so shy” said James. But people continued to encourage him to keep drawing and James further developed his newly discovered talent. James has explored several art mediums at the Catskill Mountain Artisan Guild in Margaretville as well his Art Expressions class at RFI. However, his theme of choice is trees and his favorite medium is colored pencils.

Fellow artists have recognized his work and invited him to display at the Longyear Gallery, Margaretville, NY this past January. As a result of connections made at that show, the curator of the Main View Galley collaborated with James to present his works at her gallery.

James finds he is inspired by nature and finds his artwork not only continues to provide him with endless satisfaction, but has connected him with others in a way he had not experienced before. He no longer feels shy, but enjoys sharing his love of art and nature with others.

The Main View Gallery is located at 73 Main St., Oneonta, NY, tel. no. 607.432.189. To view some of James' artwork click on the following Flicker link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/delarc/sets/72157628046722546/

"Spread the Word...Just Don't Say It"

The Norwich Free Academy located in Connecticut conducted a “Spread the Word…Just Don’t Say It” Campaign and in the process created an awesome video that we would like to share with you. As stated on their website, the school related: “The campaign was conceived by students and faculty members with a desire to engage the NFA community to take a stand against bullying and the use of … demeaning words. The campaign intended to promote inclusion amongst people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, people of color and people of all sexual orientation."

The video, “Norwich FreeAcademy R-word Campaign” was directed, edited, and produced by students. It tells about the impact of the “R” word from the perspective of few special education students at NFA. It has received over 33,000 views on YouTube and had a tremendous impact on the NFA community last week. View it and let it have an impact on you! Click the link: http://youtu.be/FZ5oIdSduh4

Help us spread the message!

Another Kind of Love Story- Self Advocacy Group Continues to Give to Flood Victims

The meaning of the word “love” has been described several ways. One definition states that love
is: "the unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another". The Self Advocacy Group from the Arc of Delaware County’s THRIVE program has been demonstrating this kind of love since the beginning of the flooding in August of 2011.

Pam Moody, Life Coach shared that the idea of assisting flood victims came about immediately after the 2011 flooding in the states of Alabama and Mississippi. However, as the Self Advocacy group was preparing their first fund raiser, Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee devastated our local communities. The Self Advocates then turned their efforts to benefit those close to home and have been helping communities in the Margaretville area ever since.

Each month the entire Self Advocate group of 23 decides what type of fund raiser they will have. Then volunteers are chosen to serve on a flood relief subcommittee for that particular fundraiser, providing opportunities for everyone to be involved. The fundraisers are well planned, with the current season or holiday in mind which adds to the success of their efforts. During the summer, 2 Ice Cream Fundraisers were held, they had a bake sale during the Christmas holidays, and they recently made and sold chocolate candies for Valentine’s Day, which alone raised over $70 dollars.

The THRIVE Self Advocates plan to continue raising funds for flood recovery. Many of the Self Advocates expressed how badly they felt for those people whose homes were flooded. Brenda Scott, Chairperson of the fundraising committee shared, “I feel sorry for the people, they have no homes, no bedding, and no food.” Brenda related that she had several brothers and sisters impacted by the flood. Some of them lost their homes and moved in with their siblings. After doing these fundraisers she shared “I feel more confident in my ability to help people.
I feel proud to help.” Brenda delivered a check in the amount of $366 from the Ice Cream Fund raisers held in the fall to Rev. Dykstra who serves as the Treasurer of the Margaretville
Interfaith Council. In a letter to the Self Advocacy Group expressing appreciation for their generosity and support, he explained that the money was used to help people with their personal needs, cleaning supplies, discretionary expenses, and other ways that benefit those in
the comunity. To learn more about The Arc of Delaware County or see photos of the Self Advocacy Group in action, visit our website at:www.delarc.org and click on the Flicker button.

Self Advocacy Group Creates Christmas Memories

Self Advocacy means “ speaking up for yourself” according to this tight knit group of women that have been meeting weekly for the past several years at Community Living Skills- Arkville (CLS-A). Originally, a Self-Advocacy group had been formed for those interested in having a say in the events held at CLS-A. However this core group of women has continued to meet on a weekly basis to plan activities and projects together. Catherine Ippolito, Maria Villacorta, Roseanna Starkweather, and Kelly Piskacek have enjoyed raising money for trips to the movies, a pizza party, birthday parties, and a Christmas party for their group. However, this year they felt empowered by the skills they acquired while working as a team and they wanted to take on a bigger project. They chose a Christmas party for the entire CLS-A facility - one that utilized their various skills and talents and that would be enjoyed by many. They knew that some of their friends didn’t have opportunities for holiday celebrations outside of CLS-A, so they wanted to give them this gift.

Professional event planners couldn’t have done a better job. They took into account the dietary needs of everyone in planning the menu and incorporated sugarless cookies and jello. Roseanna and Maria planned the music and provided a short dance lesson for party participants. In addition, Roseanna spent 3 weeks learning to use a Smartboard that she used to provide music and games at the celebration. Cathy participated in reading a Christmas classic, “T’was the Night Before Christmas”, while Kelly took photos of the event. Other activities they arranged included a personalized ornament making activity, a tree lighting ceremony, and singing Christmas carols accompanied by a friend from CLS-A who played the piano.

When asked to share how they felt after the party they said, “ It was hard work but everyone had fun”, “I feel happy and good about it”, ”It was a nice thing to do”, and “ I am a kind lady.” They shared that one individual who is not usually outgoing nor typically shares positive comments, came over and said “I wanted to thank you for the party and it was lovely.” One person was overcome with emotion, but his tears were of happiness he assured them. The entire party was paid for by the Self Advocacy group who collected bottles and cans throughout the year to help defray the cost.

Heidi Friedman, Life Coach 7 explained that some of the goals of the Self Advocacy group are to help individuals know that their voice and opinions count, they will be listened to, and they have the power to make their own decisions. They have also learned to trust. “Relationship building had to be there along with the trust factor.” She said, “They learned they had a voice but that also included stepping up to the plate and being involved.” The CLS-A Self Advocacy group is planning again- this time they are making their circle of influence wider and planning to incorporate something that will include their local community. As Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. “

"Garage Team" Nominated for Blesher Award

Dave Hotaling, Steve White, and John Wilber were nominated by Kelly Gardepe for going “above and beyond” in making the internships of Fred and Francis successful. Kelly wrote that these men deserved this recognition by demonstrating the 6 Unifying Principles of The Arc of Delaware County:

Those We Serve Come First: They would stop what they were doing to help Fred or to answer questions. They always made his training their top priority.

Commit to Excellence: They would change their work days to accommodate their (Fred and Francis’s) appointments and changed their own schedules to accommodate their training.

Be Dedicated: They would always shuffle work around to make sure there was always something for them to do and learn.

Employee Satisfaction: They treated Fred and Francis as equals and made them a part of the garage team.

Communicate Effectively: They communicated effectively by repeating things or adjusting terminology to ensure they were getting the best training.

Be Innovative: They had a big part in setting up both internships. They would help with the scheduling and creating the internship as a whole.


Congratulations to Dave, John, and Steve!

A Toy Story

Tina Osadca spearheaded efforts at Community Living Skills- Walton (CLS-W) to gather toys for children. The toys were delivered Dec. 15 to Community Bank in Walton, NY. Donna Bundy, Branch Manager of Community Bank, formerly Wilber National Bank in Walton, explained that the bank has been accepting toys for children of the Walton Central School District for over 20 years. They typically are able to provide toys for approximately 300 children and so they greatly appreciated the donation from Tina and CLS-Walton.

Anna Conway, Life Coach at CLS-W, related that Tina is a very caring person. While discussing their plans for Christmas, Anna had shared her plans for buying gifts for her children. Tina asked, “What about the kids that don’t have moms or dads? We need to get them some (gifts).”

So they discussed ways to help children that may not be fortunate enough to receive gifts this year and decided on participating in the local “Walton Toy Bank” program. Within a week Tina had made collection boxes for the toys, advertised the toy drive with posters and announcements throughout the CLS-W facility, and successfully concluded the effort with 2 full boxes of toys.

Tina said, “Every kid needs a present for Christmas!” When she delivered the toys to Community Bank Tina said they were surprised and thanked her. It made her feel “Great!” she shared.

Tina lives in Franklin and loves to sew and write to friends and family. When asked what she wanted for Christmas she related,” A new purple notebook!”