Community Action Newsletter DECEMBER 2018 EDITION

Our mission:

To provide services, with dignity and respect, that help people become self-sufficient

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S UPDATE:

The Salvation Army bell ringing campaign is upon us. In Orleans County, the funds raised play a huge role in us being able to meet client needs. I ask that staff considerer helping out by signing up for a time slot of bell ringing at Wal-Mart in Albion. Unfortunately, bell ringers must stand outside to ring the bell (WalMart policy), therefore it’s more difficult to get volunteers. If you are able to ring, plan for the weather conditions! Tops in Medina is also an option. As an agency, we will again this year allow staff up to 4 hours of paid time to ring bells during work time as long as it’s approved by your supervisor and director and can be scheduled within you normal scheduled hours with minimal disruption to agency operations/services. Please contact Annette Finch for further information. Thank you to all who have already committed to volunteering!

Thank you to everyone who planned and/or participated in the office celebration of my completion of cancer treatments! I’m happy to be out of treatments and into monitoring and VERY happy that the first post treat-ment scans are clear! Thank you for all the prayers and support throughout this past year!

Thank you to all who participated in the Staff Focus Groups; your thoughtful input in very appreciated! One of the areas discussed is potential for improvements in agency communications. This, along with other topics, will be reviewed with the agency leadership staff for further discussion on how we can implement changes that will help the agency better serve our community. One of our best tools for communication of agency information is this newsletter. In order for this to be an effective tool, we need to be sure it’s distributed to all staff and that staff take/find the time to read it. We’ll look at improved methods to ensure full distribution and expect that staff will make use of the newsletter. While some of the information is simply “nice to know”, some of it is “important to know”.

Save the date: We have tentatively set March 29, 2019 as the date for our Spring In-Service. Please keep the date open on your calendars.

I wish everyone a very healthy and happy holiday season!

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Employee recognition/news...page 2 News from Annette……….……..page 7 News from Carly ……..…..…… page 3 News from Donna…………….....page 8 News from Bonnie ………………pg 4 & 5 Main Street Store sales ..…....page 9 Head Start volunteer info…… page 6 December events ………………..page 10

Our website, www.caoginc.org, has various links that are useful to employees under “Staff Resources” including: Links to ADP, the agency newsletter, training resources, employee handbook, direct deposit form, mileage forms and tax forms (Federal and NYS ), as well as other beneficial information. Check it out!

JANUARY NEWSLETTER

DEADLINE: FRI, DECEMBER 21ST

PERFECT ATTENDANCE (October) ANNIVERSARIES (December) JanAlbanese Karyn Giltner Sherry McMillan Tami Slingerland

Julie Bailey Stacie Gronski Larry Montello Pam Wadhams

Cheryl Bartz Mary Guzik Ashley Pahura Evelyn Warren

Lisa Boyle Carissa Helsdon Karyn Papponetti Jame s Willis Sr.

Marcqui Brown Mike Jessmer Rion Pawlak Donna Wojdat

Kelly Cassady Susan Jessmer Shelcy Plueckhahn Donna Woodworth

Donna Caton Barb Kiefer Halee Potter Sharon Wright

Lisa Church Cassandra Kinne Kari Powers Heidi Wyant

Sheila Colf Amy Lester Deb Renner Danielle Wyder

Margie Davies Teri Lester Maria Rowcliffe Mary Yockel

Ann Dhanda Alisha Love Lorraine Ruiz Joann Zajaczkowski

Willie Drisdom Bonnie Malakie Christine Schuster

Michele George Linda Malaniak Tami Slingerland

E m p l o y e e n e w s . . .

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Craig Platter 12/4/2013

Annette Finch 12/5/1977

Sally Kidney 12/5/2011

Sheila Colf 12/6/2012

Ruth Bell 12/8/2008

James Willis Sr. 12/8/2008

Jeanne Taggert 12/11/2017

Virgie Brooks 12/15/2015

Ann Dhanda 12/17/2012

If you have any employee news you would like to share in the newsletter, please email: alester@caoginc.org

2019 OPEN ENROLLMENT IS APPROACHING

Open Enrollment for Employees will end Friday, December 7. Please have all forms to Susan Jessmer, HR and

Payroll Administrator, by the end of the day on the 7th. If you have any questions, please contact her at 589-5605

ext 104.

Agency Apparel

will be delivered

shortly! Apparel

will need to be

paid upon

receipt of your

order!

Holiday payroll items

Paydays will be Friday Dec 21st and Friday, Jan 4th.

Mileage reminder- As the fiscal year end (Jan 2019) winds down, please make sure your reimbursements are caught up.

Payroll- Please review your timesheets and verify vacation balances to be used with your supervisor.

Payroll- please contact Susan Jessmer if you will be out of the office on a payroll Monday and will need a final reviewer / approver for your staff.

Check processing- please make sure to allow sufficient time for payment requests. Off-cycle check signers are more difficult to obtain due to holiday and vacation schedules (the absolute cut off for vouchers to be in fiscal office for regular check cycles are: Mondays- Dec 3 , Dec 17 & Dec 31st).

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THE

DIRECTORS'

CORNER

Annette Finch, Director of Community Services

Bonnie Malakie, Director of Children and Youth Services

Carly Ward, Director of Planning and Operations

Donna Wojdat, Director of Finance and Administration

News from Carly:

We are all looking for ways to save some money, especially around the holidays. Here are some tips you may find helpful:

Turn your thermostat down 5 degrees.

Each degree saves about 2% on your heating bill. Five degrees would save about $100 on a $1,000 annual heating bill. Install a programmable thermostat, and it will do the work for you.

If you’re purchasing a new heating system, look for an ENERGY-STAR certified system.

These are the most energy-efficient models on the market and will save energy and money.

Make sure heat can get into the room.

Keep furniture and drapes from blocking radiators, heat registers, and return vents.

Have a professional tune-up and inspect your furnace.

An oil-burning furnace should be checked once a year, and gas-burning furnaces should be checked every two or three years. This can save up to 10% on your heating costs.

Place space heater in an open area.

They should be placed on a level, hard, non-flammable surface so air can circulate around them. Keep them at least 3 feet away from flammable materials.

Use drapes.

Where windows face the sun, keep drapes open during the day. Close all drapes at night. This lets the sun heat your home during the day and reduces drafts at night.

Repair cracks in windows and caulk and weather strip leaky frames.

Even a small crack drives up fuel bills. Got a loose window? Install weather stripping. It helps to keep cold air out of the house. If your window frames have gaps, they are probably leaking cold air into your home.

TIPS TO HELP

YOU SAVE ON

YOUR MONTHLY

HEATING BILL

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News from Bonnie: HAPPY DECEMBER….. It is hard to believe that we are in the last month of 2018! For many years I have heard people say “time seems to go faster as you age” and I definitely believe it !!!!! This is an especially busy time of the year for most people. On top or our regular routines there are many

extra responsibilities and activities. Along with that goes high expectations of ourselves and sometimes

others. Emotions are often at their “highest” or “lowest” at this time and sometimes the wide swing of

emotions comes in the same day or even hour! November-January (the holiday season) can be an

especially difficult time for many people and one where loneliness, difficult relationships, illness, etc .

contribute to people having difficulty coping and feeling isolated. There are many good resources in our

communities to assure that people are not alone. If you or someone you know is struggling, reach out to:

Care and Crisis HELPLINE of Genesee and Orleans Counties Call: 585-283-5200 or Text Line:741741

The above is important information for all of us to have!

Also, the Head Start website ECLKC has a Vlog and Video on Planning for the Holidays in Head Start

at: https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/blog/planning-holidays-head-start. Information found in this vlog will

help individuals and also families we serve. Remember that not everyone celebrates in the same way, or

even at all. Ask others about their traditions, and be open to learning about other cultures. It also lifts our

spirits to help others, so remember to sign-up to ring the bells (Orleans County), serve a meal, help at a

food pantry, etc. Please take good care of yourselves too, we are each/all special !

The Head Start (birth-5) fiscal year ends on January 31, 2019. Even with the wonderful work many have

been doing as far as in-kind, we are still behind for this time of year! Please use volunteers whenever

possible, make sure donations that we can use in the program are all counted and most importantly, make

sure that everything is recorded, documented and handed in! We need every bit of in-kind (volunteer time

and donations) for Head Start and also for the Early Head Start Partnership Program. If you have any

questions ask one of the Head Start Managers or Coordinators or call Melinda Cotter, Jennifer Colton or

Judi DeJohn. Thank you for your help on this!! Together we can do so much more!

On November 28, we had the Head Start Policy Council Annual Recognition and Induction Meeting. This

meeting/dinner is a combination of recognizing those who served in the past year and inducting those who

agree to serve for the next year. Every year the Head Start Parent Groups (now including EHSCCP) elect

Parent Representatives and then these representatives vote in Community Representatives. This group,

called Policy Council, helps make decisions and govern the Head Start programs for the next year. I really

enjoy this part of my job as it is where I have a chance to work directly with parents and help make a

difference! See photo of new Policy Council representatives.

I hope you all have a healthy, blessed time with family and friends this holiday season! Thank you to each

of you for the work you do and helping people in our communities become self-sufficient!

Bonnie

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2018-2019 Head Start Policy Council Representatives

Front Row (L-R): Katelyn Ryan, Lindsay Wilston, Katie Ecker, Sara Friesema

Back Row (L-R): Charity Greenwood, Betty Sue Miller, Ashli Zajaczkowski, Nichole Ryan, Bonnie Malakie, Melissa DeRose

Reps missing from photo: Angel George, Lorelei Roll, Heidi Shaffer, Danielle Weilert, Christine Belongia, Jamie Salisbury

Jan and Bonnie

getting ready for the

holidays by making

wreaths with Cornell’s

Master Gardeners

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News from Annette:

I want to thank everyone for their well wishes after my thyroid surgery. I’m back to work just in time for the fun with Salvation Army bell ringing and Holiday Baskets. We will still accept families for the Holidays, call Michelle at 589-5605 for more info. I want to thank Michelle at the Main Office for holding down the fort while I was out as well as Mike Jessmer and the rest of the staff who pitched in to keep Emergency Services running smoothly.

The Boy Scout food drive was held November 10th. Albion Boy Scout Troops 164 and 175 and Barre Boy Scout Troop 174 collect-ed over 850 boxed and canned food items that were donated to help stock our food pantry as well as help to fill our holiday baskets.

The FFA food drive will be December 15th at 9:00am here at the Community Action Albion admin office. This is a huge delivery of food sponsored and staffed by the Albion FFA. Last year over 30,000 pounds of food was donated. Anyone wishing to assist that day please contact me ay 589-5605.

The Main Street Store is and will be under renovations. The store is still open during the renovations being done on the roof, heating/air conditioning, laundry room, new doors and plumbing. We are all very excited to finally get these renovations under way.

We are looking for drivers for CATS-a CDL license is required. Anyone knowing of possible drivers, please contact Heidi or Mary at CATS 589-7700.

I wish everyone a Happy and safe holiday!

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Michelle Figueroa and Lisa Wittmeyer

attended the annual Niagara Regional

Porsche Club dinner. They received

personal care items, food, hats, and

mittens that were donated to help

out those less fortunate.

Photo provided by: Tom Rivers

Pictured (L-R): Sherry Touhey (coordinator of MAAC’s Christmas Box Program, Annette,

Michelle, Roni Barhite (Community Action Board Chair), Andrew Szatkowski (Toy Drive

chairman), Shawn Ramsey (owner of Canalside Tattoo).

Annette and Michelle were happy to pick up $800 and 8 bags of toys that were donated to

the Community Action Angel Holiday program as part of Medina’s Old Tyme Christmas and

Parade of Lights event that was held on November 24th.

Thank yous go out to : Andrew, who organized the toy drive; Shawn, for housing the toys at

his shop, and all who generously donated toys that will help brighten the holiday season for

children in the Holiday program.

GOOD DRIVING!

As measured by Azuga units, based on driver’s Braking, Speeding, Acceleration and Idling habits.

The Safest Agency Drivers for Month of:

OCTOBER score

#1 Maint Van (Mike Jessmer) 88

#2 HS #44 (Donna Caton) 85

#3 HS Maint van (James Willis) 84

81% of Agency drivers attained “safe rating” for the month

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News from Donna:

JOB DESCRIPTIONS

A job description should outline the ‘essential job requirements’ (primary responsibilities, tasks and relationships) and the necessary skills (education, training, experience, and technical skills) that are required to perform a certain role within the Agency. Job Descriptions shouldn’t account for every task that might be done as part of your job, but are instead intended to provide a general summary of a particular position’s overall duties and responsibilities. In contrast, other documents are more useful in supporting job training and performance (including- job instructions, desk manuals, checklists, etc.) by providing more specific details and instructions regarding the how, what, why, and when you perform specific tasks related to your position and location.

Is your job description current?

Within the Agency, jobs that are more frequently posted tend to have more current job descriptions. Why? Supervisors usually review and update job descriptions whenever a job is posted. However, CSBG standards require that we review all job descriptions on an annual basis. Even job descriptions do not change significantly year-to-year (or at all), should still be reviewed. In most cases, this should be done as part of your annual performance review / evaluation. When this occurs, it can open a dialogue between you and your supervisor regarding your current role and responsibilities. During this process, you can discuss with your supervisor any elements that you think should be added to or deleted from your job description.

If you’d like a copy of your job description, you can obtain it from your supervisor. Or contact HR (Susan Jessmer) or myself (Donna Wojdat) and we will provide the latest document that is on file within HR. You can also ask to see any job description within the Agency- including those positions for which you are considering applying to or those that you perhaps aspire to as part of your future career path. Doing this can help you take the proactive steps to gain necessary experience and training in order to work towards your long term goals.

2019 BENEFIT ENROLLMENT DEADLINE

A friendly reminder that open enrollment ends on Friday, December 7th. Please have all forms to the Fiscal office by the dead- line. If you have any questions as you make your final selections and complete any remaining forms, please contact Susan Jessmer for assistance.

FACEBOOK

Please don’t forget to check out new posts on Community Action Agency Facebook page! Especially during the holiday season. We are encouraging groups and staff who participate in Salvation Army bell ringing campaign to forward / post / link their pictures participating in this important holiday tradition. Please share your pictures or videos. Contact Rachel Kiefer at rkiefer@caoginc.org if you have questions or content to share.

Health & Wellness

December 2-8

National Influenza Vaccination Week is

a national awareness week focused on

highlighting the importance of the

influenza vaccine.

More info: www.cdc.gov

STORE HOURS: Mon-Sat 10:30 am - 5 pm

*Sale excludes Consignment Tags and Merchandise with scheduled markdown tags. Not eligible for combining discounts

EMAIL DISCOUNT CLUB CODE ‘Santa is Coming to Town’

STAFF DISCOUNTS:

15% off regular priced

Household items

and 30% off clothing

Check us out on Facebook for additional sales throughout the month.

Mainstreetthriftstore.albion

Clothing ‘Tag Color’ Sale

50% off

Monday-Red

Tuesday- Yellow

Wednesday-Orange

Thursday- Green

Friday- Pink

Saturday- Grey

Week of: BOGO Sale

Dec 3rd-8th Glassware

Dec 10th-15th Place settings

Dec 17th-22nd Lighting

Dec 26th-29th Pillows/Linen

Dec 31st-Jan 5th Games, Puzzles, Toys

Big Events

December 4th Woody and Friends music

December 6th Winter Blast~ STOREWIDE 50% OFF SALE

CLOSED December 24th & 25th for Christmas

CLOSED December 31st & January 1st for New Years

Every Thursday: Seniors 60+ and Veterans 5% discount

December 2018 Specials

“1st and 3rd Tuesdays” 11 am-2pm

50% OFF Storewide Sale*

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Volunteers are welcome at the Main Street Store!

For more info on the above, contact Deb Rothmund at 638-6395.

DECEMBER EVENTS:

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EASTERN ORLEANS COMMUNITY CENTER (HOLLEY) EVENTS:

Festival of Lights SATURDAY, December 1st, 4pm-8pm

We will be selling chili, $1.00 for a large cup

Breakfast with Santa SATURDAY, December 15th, 10am-12pm

Join us for pancakes, sausage, juice, and milk

Event sponsored by the Clarendon Lions Club

Christmas Lunch FRIDAY, December 21st

Entertainment by Rick and Friends

SALVATION ARMY RED KETTLE CAMPAIGN

Bell Ringers Are Still Needed!!!!!

Please help us spread our message of hope to less fortunate families.

Contact Michelle Figueroa @ 589-5605

All money collected in Orleans County stays in Orleans County.

Families, businesses, high school and college teams & clubs, church

groups, scouts, civic groups are welcome to sign up as bell ringers.

Community Action employees will be allowed up to 4 hours paid

worktime to ring bells as long as it is approved by your supervisor

and director and can be scheduled within normal scheduled hours

with minimal disruption to agency operations and services.

Doing the Most Good®

FREE computer classes are held at the local libraries. Please call the library for more info or to register.

Lee-Whedon Library (Medina) Richmond Library (Batavia)

(585) 798-3430 (585) 343-9550

Wed, Dec 5th Learn the Essentials of Microsoft Word 10am-1pm Tue, December 11th Word Basics 10am-1pm

Learn the Essentials of Microsoft Excel 1pm-4pm Excel Basics 1pm-4pm