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| L to R: Maria Villacorta, Roseanna Starkweather, and Kelly Piskacek |
On April 17th, an active group of 4 self advocates from Community Living Skills in Arkville brought joy and happiness to several residents of the Kirkside Home for Adults in Roxbury and Mountain Laurel Gardens in Arkville Using Easter baskets donated to them by Dollar General, Kelly Piskacek, Roseanna Starkweather, Cathy Ippolito, and Maria Villacorta, filled them with candy and messages of friendship.
“These ladies like to celebrate holidays and always look for ways to brighten the holidays for others.” shared Heidi Friedman, Life Coach and mentor to the group. “Because we had the baskets the idea just naturally grew into this splendid event.”
The idea was “hatched” at a meeting in January. In making the decision to take on this project, Roseanna shared that she thought that the adult home residents would enjoy the candy and Maria said that it would make her happy to deliver the candy to the people.
For over 5 years these ladies have enjoyed a close connection with residents of Kirkside. They regularly participate in many activities together including bible study, bingo, attend sing-a-longs and luncheons. And with the ladies also attending bingo at Laurel Gardens, Kelly felt that their idea of making and delivering the baskets was “A great way to make new friends”.
After a full day of delivering over 35 baskets, the women happily reflected on their day. Cathy summed it by saying, “I’m sure that the folks we give the candy to will be happy to be remembered.”
To view more photos of these ladies making deliveries: Baskets of Cheer
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| Cathy Ippolito |
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| L to R: Janet Stoop, Lisa Nichols, Amanda Green, Kayla Constable |
“Third Time’s a Charm!” This is an old familiar saying but
most people misinterpret it’s meaning to
believe that if you repeat an action to
achieve desired results, odds will be
that whatever you were trying to do or achieve will magically happen on at least
the 3rd try. But what this quote is trying to convey is that by practice,
perseverance, and never giving up you will achieve your goal- eventually! Don’t
give up, keep on-keeping on!
A young lady, Amanda Green is a living example of success
after perseverance. One of her longstanding goals was to obtain her General
Education Diploma (GED). In the past 2 years she has really focused on her goal
by attending Tuesday night classes held at Townsend Elementary School library
and then by working 4 hours each day during the week with Kayla Constable, her
primary Life Coach at The Arc of Delaware County. Twice she did not pass the
exam. She was very disappointed and shared, “When I said I wanted to quit, Lisa
Nichols (a lead Life Coach at The Arc) said “We don’t give up here, I don’t let
my kids give up and I’m not letting you give up.” That was that, she turned her
back and walked away and I started studying again.”
When asked what her hardest subjects were, “Quadratic
equations!” she exclaimed. “But now I have them down pat. Also, writing countless essays was hard too.
I had thought I could write about whatever I wanted to and it was hard to write
about something I was told to write about (a topic not of her choice).”
After taking the GED exam for the 3rd time, Amanda would
occasionally log on to their website to see if the grades were posted. When she
logged on Feb. 20th she saw a message that indicated “diploma sent”. Stunned and unsure what the message really
meant, she ran down the hall to show Janet Stoop, the Life Coach who had taken
her to her Tuesday night GED Classes.
Janet confirmed to her that it was true, she passed! Amanda shared that she burst into tears of
happiness as did her mother when Amanda shared the good news with her.
When asked what she would say to others thinking about or
currently working on their GED, she replied,” The hardest part is doing it every
day, trying to schedule time to fit it in. It’s hard, but don’t give up! It is
WORTH IT!”
With GED in hand, Amanda has
her sights set on accomplishing her dream of becoming a Teacher’s Aide. With her determination and discipline there
is no doubt that her dreams will become reality.
March is
National Developmental Disability Awareness Month. There is no time more fitting to celebrate
all that local students have learned about developmental and other disabilities
as a result of their participation in the “Everybody Can” contest hosted by The
Arc of Delaware County and Delta Kappa
Gamma.
“The goal of this contest is to raise
awareness and understanding of intellectual and developmental disabilities and
to instill acceptance of differences at a young age, very similar to the goals
of National Developmental Disability Awareness Month but on a smaller scale”,
“states Catherine Tweedie, Director of Community Relations at The Arc of
Delaware County, “From the entries submitted, it was apparent that students had
fun while learning about people and how they didn’t let disabilities stand in
the way of their accomplishments!”
This year’s
contest had a bit of twist, challenging students to research famous people who
had disabilities and, through their project,
demonstrate their knowledge of the disability and the accomplishments of
the famous person(s) they selected. A
variety of very creative submissions were received from Delaware County
students in grades K-8 in the categories of art, media, and literature.
The Arc of
Delaware County and Delta Kappa Gamma enjoyed reviewing all the entries, are
pleased to announce the following winners of the 4th annual “Everybody Can”
contest.
Countywide
winners:
Art: Alexis Redden, Michaela Valkavich, 7th Graders from
Andes Central School for their mobile that portrayed famous people who had a
variety of disabilities including Down’s syndrome, being blind, deaf, or loss
of the use of their limbs. The artistic
elements of the project included photos and short biographies which were
incorporated into a mobile with an overall film/movie star motif.
Media: Haley Kosier, 5th Grader from South
Kortright Central School for her PowerPoint, “Never Say Never” which
highlighted the accomplishments of former president Franklin D. Roosevelt,
Stevie Wonder, and Helen Keller.
Literature: Nancy Gavett’s 5th grade class from Townsend
Elementary School in Walton compiled a book with photos and stories, which was
illustrated with pictures of their artistic character interpretations
portraying 21 famous people who through their researched, they learned each had
some type of disability, including Einstein, David Beckham, Tom Cruise, Whoopi
Goldberg and many others.
Honorable Mention:
Art: Joanna Grommeek,
Jordan Finch, and Morgan Hungerford, from South Kortright Central School created a life-size poster about Bella
Thorne and dyslexia.
Media: George
Haynes and Gavyn Bryant from South
Kortright Central School created a PowerPoint entitled “Never Give Up”.
A
Teachers Choice Award selected for a uniquely creative
book about baseball player James Anthony Abbott; this project was designed and
produced by Joey Shafer, Joe
Ploutz, Aydyn Tweedie from South Kortright Central School.
Participating schools are
to be commended for their support of this contest and in creating “Ambassadors
of Change” – students who appreciate the abilities of all people and embrace
the belief that when given the opportunity, everybody can!
To view the winning
entries, visit www.delarc.org and click on
the news story, “Everybody Can- Goes Famous”.
SUNY Delhi has teamed once again with The Arc of
Delaware County to provide wonderful programs linking people from The Arc with
college students. 5 adventurous classes revolving around the themes of ecology
and nature are being held February 12th through May 7th. Participants will
learn many survival skills including those focused on winter which include building
shelters and fires, and having fun snowshoeing. To view photos of this first
adventure visit our Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/delarc/sets/72157641306559345/
Future classes will include learning
how to make cordage (rope) from forest vegetation, tapping maple trees and
collecting sap, making maple syrup, preparing the Butterfly Garden at the SUNY
EDU Center for spring and working on survival skills involving food and water.
At the last class to be held on May 7th they will have a survival activity day
to test the skills they learned.
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| Kevin (seated) is surrounded by Andes Central School PreK-1 students and Coach Adam VanValkenburgh and his assistant Janice Armstrong (standing behind Kevin). |
For 3 years Kevin Allen, has enjoyed being a Volunteer Assistant
Coach for the Pre-K through Kindergarten gym class at Andes Central School. “I love the kids!” he shared
and is using this opportunity to develop his independence and become skilled at
using praise to encourage others, both are personal goals of his.
At the beginning of each class Kevin places markers for where
children should stand. Then the children, ready for “warm up”, follow Kevin’s
lead as he guides them through a series of exercises that he has selected and
practiced at home. Kevin enthusiastically encourages the children if they have
difficulty with an activity exclaiming, “You can do it!”
“Kevin is just phenomenal. He is always up for new challenges,
willing to try new things and be involved” stated Coach VanValkenburgh. “This
class is focused on what you can do instead of what you can’t.”
Several individuals jumped at the
opportunity to participate in a photography class taught by professional photographer
and community partner, Joe Damone. Joe is a graduate of New York Institute of
Photography who hails from NYC and is also a resident of Andes, NY. He shared his
love of the art of photography with others by providing 2 sessions of 6 workshops
each at The Arc of Delaware County.
Photo “rookies” as well as more
experienced photographers whom have exhibited works in local galleries and
other venues gained knowledge about the art of photography during the
workshops. They learned the basics
of digital photography, including picture composition, lighting, cropping,
taking portrait photos, and many other techniques. The class visited several
locations to experience taking photos in natural settings such as a farm and a
covered bridge in Hamden, NY.
The photography program is so successful that a third
workshop program is scheduled to begin on January 6th. With the colder weather,
this class will be having indoor opportunities for photo shoots including a
church in Delhi, the Delaware County Historical Association and the Heart of
the Catskills Humane Society.
Photography can provide a lifelong conduit for creative
expression and offers personal satisfaction and appreciation for the beauty
that surrounds us. Bring some sunshine into your winter day by viewing photos taken during the summer/fall session
of the photography class: Gems from Photography Class
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George Suess, CEO from The Arc of Delaware County, continues
to captivate audiences across the nation, including those at a recent conference
hosted by The Arc of California.
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“It has been a life-changing experience and process!”
enthusiastically shared Lori Ramirez, CEO of The Arc of Fresno and Madera
Counties, CA, when speaking of the training they have received from The Arc of
Delaware County, NY. This training,
known as Shift Happens, has helped
organizations across the nation shift from traditional reactive approaches to
positive, proactive approaches in supporting people with disabilities, and
guided them in making comprehensive, culture strengthening improvements.
With proven success in increasing the positives, such things
as learning and growth, self-esteem, and productivity, and reducing the negatives, such as incidents of
abuse, neglect, assaults, and violence, The
Arc of Delaware County, NY, was engaged by The Arc of California to bring the
Shift Happens training to organizations throughout the Sacramento, Los Angeles,
and Oakland areas. “We’ve taken our
message how through caring and positivity you can improve productivity and
performance to staffs as diverse as Alaska, Georgia, California, and of course
New York among others, and have found our message resonates whether the setting
is urban or rural, institutional or community based.” reflects George Suess,
CEO of The Arc of Delaware County.
Embraced with firsthand knowledge gained from their roles
and experiences at The Arc of Delaware County, Life Coaches Heidi Friedman,
Valarie Stafford, and Katie Backus, together with George Suess, traveled to
California to teach Boards of Directors, leaders, and direct support staff
about this positive, proactive approach they use every day.
The first day, the training they provided began with a focus
on the importance of caring, and how even people who have devoted their entire
careers to caring for others can take caring to an even deeper level by
following the principles in the person-centered, positive, and proactive Shift
Happens approach. The second day walked
people through building such an approach through specific HR practices, beginning
with hiring the right people and then providing them with proper training,
coaching, and ongoing support. “It seems
that everywhere we go, organizations are experiencing budget cuts or
underfunding. Simply telling people to
do more with less doesn’t work. They
feel they have been doing more with less for years and there is no more room
for their budget to accommodate cuts.
Part of the solution, we believe, is by increasing individual and team
productivity through proactive strategies to improve accountability,
cooperation, and teamwork. We show organizations
how to do this, and with a smile.” shared George Suess.
To learn more about The Arc of Delaware County’s unique
approach, go to www.delarc.org, or call
607-865-7126 and arrange for a consultation or visit.
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