The Arc National Convention Washington D.C.

October 11—14, 2019

November 2019 Fall Issue, Quarterly Newsletter

The newsletter is also available online at www.brocktonareaarc.org Check us out on Facebook (www.facebook.com/Brocktonarc) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/Brocktonarc).

The Brockton Area Arc was very well represented at The Arc National Convention October 11—14. Our contingent consisted of one Board member, Smith Vil, and six staff members. Two staff members were from our Day Habilitation Program, Dianna and Tina. Three staff were from our Employment and CBDS program, Jamaicia, Jean, and Medgine. The Family Support Center was represented by our Recreation Coordinator, Christina Grande.

The Arc Convention was held at the Grand Hyatt. Our group met many people from other Arc chapters from across the country including New Mexico, Colorado, New Jersey, and of course the D.C. area.

They took full advantage of all the breakout sessions on Saturday and Sunday. They attended the General Session with guest speaker, Vincenzo Piscopo. He spoke about “Opening Opportunities to Employment: Corporate America’s Awakening to Diversifying Its Workforce.” Vincenzo is a the Director of Community and Stakeholder Relations at The Coca-Cola Company. Our group gave rave reviews to Vincenzo’s compelling presentation.

Our delegation was honored to join colleagues from the other Massachusetts Arc chapters for a special dinner together. People enjoyed The Arc

Improv featuring Maysoon Zayid, a disability advocate, comedian, and writer. Then it was time to dance with old and new friends featuring DJ Beauty and the Beatz!

The closing General Session: “Inclusion from the Start: The Creation and Impact of Sesame Street’s Julia character”, was impactful and very well done.

Fortunately, there was some time before and after the convention for our colleagues to see some of the sights while in Washington D.C.

Our delegation has returned with many new ideas to share and with renewed energy. We thank each person for representing themselves and the Brockton Area Arc so well at The Arc National Convention.

Next year, The Arc Convention will be in New Orleans, October 25—28, 2020! Several staff members have already expressed interest.

1250 West Chestnut Street

Brockton, MA 02301

Phone: 508-583-8030

Fax: 508-583-1739

E-mail: baarc@brocktonarc.net

In this Issue

The Arc National

Convention 1

Day Hab Happenings 2

Adventures with CBDS 3

Job Development News 4

News from the Family

Support Center 5-6

Member Recognition 6

Kudos 7

All Abaord The Arc!

$10,000 Drawing

Event, April 24, 2020

Serving people with intellectual

and developmental disabilities and their families.

Achieve with us.

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DAY HAB HAPPENINGS

Dianna Landenberger has been instrumental in forming a partnership with Walmart over the past few years. They have been quite generous providing gift cards for Halloween supplies and activities as well as donating left over items following the holiday.

Day Hab has enjoyed participating in a wide variety of activities this past fall.

Staff have been very creative ensuring that participants have the opportunity to enjoy what the season offers.

Activities included apple picking, the sheep pasture, nature walks and theme focused activities at the Bridgewater library.

We look forward to the upcoming Holiday season and festivities. We will update you in the next newsletter.

Halloween 2019

CBDS and Day Hab individuals had loads of fun wearing costumes, playing games, and having a special snack.

No pictures of the winners, but Jomo, as Dracula, and Dawn, as a witch, tied for first. Stephan, as the yodeler, was runner up.

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ADVENTURES WITH CBDS

A CBDS group visited the Arnold

Arboretum of Harvard University in Jamaica

Plain. The Arnold Arboretum occupies 281

acres of land which has numerous large

number of trees and plants and offers a

family friendly environment for a brisk or

long walk. The main building had a lot

educational information/history of the

plants, trees, flowers and the wild life

that live there.

Annual planting of the mums at Holster Memorial Park honoring Bronze Star Recipient Timothy Holster. We also dressed up the sign and flagpole outside of the Brockton Area Arc.

Two CBDS individuals took a 1 1/2 hour sewing class. It was a great experience. They made a pillow which they could bring home with them.

First day of Autumn at the Brockton Audubon Preserve.

CBDS visit to Abbey Road without John, Paul, George and Ringo.

Three CBDS individuals signed up for 5 swimming lessons. By the end, they were able to swim, build confidence, and feel safe in the water. They enjoyed every minute of it

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Job Development News

• Job development welcomed two new participants; Jah’Quiah B. and Siana M!

• John P. has begun his internship at the Salvation Army Church packing food bags in the pantry and doing cleaning jobs around the building. Great job John!

• Joanni P. and Maria L. have begun their internship at the Charity Guild in the thrift shop gaining meaningful retail work experience. Awesome job Joanni and Maria!

• Danny R. has taken over the duties of cleaning the day habilitation floors for job development.

• Latheria G. has begun her internship with Connemara Assisted Living doing housekeeping work. Great job Latheria!

• Albert M. was asked to speak at an event to celebrate the success of employment collaborative groups around the state for his success working for Sodexo at Stonehill College. Fantastic job Albert!

• Elvis S., Nicole D., and Joanni P. have started working as the floor cleaning team at the Brockton Area Arc on rotating weekends.

• Kiabely G., John P., and Latheria G. have all entered the Fast Track to Employment program and are doing great so far!

Moving On

On January 3rd 2020, I will be retiring from my position as a Job Developer with the Brockton Area Arc after 5 challenging, productive, and rewarding years.

Although it is time for me to start a new chapter in my life, I will miss my coworkers and the individuals with whom I have worked.

My best wishes to The Arc and thanks to all who contributed to making it a place to grow, learn, and attain independence.

Linda Ford, Job Developer

Albert Milne standing with his supervisor from Stonehill College

and the upper level management of Sodexo. Sodexo received an

award in recognition of their achievement working with the state

wide employment collaborative groups to hire people with

disabilities to their many cafeterias across the state. Albert was

asked to speak on his experience of successfully gaining

employment through supports he received from Sodexo, Brockton

Area Arc, and the South Shore Collaborative on Employment.

Retirement

Linda Ford has informed us about her plans to retire on January 3, 2020. Linda joined the BAArc staff as an Employment specialist on December 8, 2014. Linda was promoted to her current Job Developer position on September 4, 2017. Linda’s time with BAArc has been focused on assisting individuals determine and achieve their employment goals.

Linda has used her years of experience in the human services field, her job knowledge, and her many personal and professional skills to help people succeed. She is an excellent team member.

Please, join us in wishing her happiness in retirement over the next two months. Thank you Linda for all of your hard work on behalf of others. We will miss you.

United Way Partnership Packs 18,518 Meals for Local Neighbors

Fighting Hunger, the United Way

On the morning of October 23rd, 60 volunteers gathered for a community meal packing event to "Fight Hunger the United Way" at the Abington American Legion Post 112. The volunteers packed 18,518 heathy meals which were distributed to 11 local food pantries. Thank you to BAArc staff members Elizabeth and Deb, and three individuals, Michael B., Joan C., and Joyce M. who helped pack these meals. It was a great opportunity to give back to the community.

For more information about items listed below, unless otherwise specified,

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508-583-8030, ext. 241 (Jessica); ext. 224 (Kathy) or 219 (Danielle)

or 222 (Cathy); ext. 223 (Maria, Cape Verdean)

ext 311 (Eleonor, Haitian); 508-583-8030, ext. 209 (recreation)

Let’s Talk Transition

In collaboration with the Advocacy Alliance and the Arc of MA, BAArc offered “Let’s Talk Transition“, a 6-week support group for parents and family members of people with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) between the ages of 14 and 26. The format of this group allowed for sharing & learning in a safe & non-judgmental environment. Participants learned about resources, supports & services as well as techniques to problem solve & plan.

The six-week group covered topics such as self-advocacy, guardianship, supported decision-making, transition laws and creating a vision.

Plan are underway to offer this program again in the spring 2020.

Personal Best Charity Turkey Brigade 2019

Brockton Area Arc has been fortunate and thankful this Thanksgiving Season for our 8th year partnership with Personal Best Charity to help feed families in our organization and many other agencies across southeastern MA for Thanksgiving. The Thanksgiving food baskets, include everything for a wonderful dinner (including a turkey), are delivered to families’ homes annually by many volunteers and staff. Furthermore, we want to thank all of the participants and sponsors who contributed to the fundraiser to raise money for the Turkey Trot 5K. The Turkey Trot 5K fundraiser contributes money raised to the Turkey Brigade. This year we were able to serve and accommodate 102 families within the Brockton Area Arc Family Support Center. This holiday season 3,500 Thanksgiving food baskets are planned to be given to families. Thank you to all the volunteers and staff again for your time and efforts on November 23rd and 24th for packaging and delivering a Thanksgiving Feast to all of our families. You were able to alleviate the many stressors that the holiday season may bring to many families who are trying to make ends meet. Caring is Sharing! Many Blessings from all of us at Brockton Area Arc.

Sibshops, a sibling support group for children ages 8 to 12 who have brothers and sisters with special needs.

This field trip was to Daddy’s Dairy for ice cream!

Next Sibshops is February 18, 24, and March 3 and 10. Come join us and see what it’s all about.

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Upcoming Recreation Activities

The Winter 2019-2020 recreation calendar was recently released with many happenings from December through February for Adults, Teens, and Children.

For the latest information on all the activities, check out the Events tab on our website.

Please contact Christina Grande at recreation@brocktonarc.net to register for these events You can also sign up to receive the calendar electronically. Let Christina know.

Marie Baker Dana Boardman

Paula Cocchi Mary Damon

Meghan Furtado Lisa Johnson

Virginia Johnson Evelyn Kashgagian

Denise Lee Joanne Jordan

Richard McKenna Diane Perry

Jose Santos Nancy Smith

Linda Spiegel Daniel Tracey

Tom Taranto Diane McCormack

Margaret Utka Maureen Viscardi

Funky Friday: Halloween Dance 10/25

Funky Friday: December 20th

Holiday Theme 6:00—8:00 p.m. $10 per person

Sign up early; limited spots available. Contact Christina Grande to register

or more information.

• To Melissa Winchell for planning and hosting a screening of the award winning documentary, “Intelligent Lives” for the Bridgewater State University Community, local SEPAC’s, and the public. The screening was held at BSU on September 16. Following the film a panel of self-advocates with I/DD spoke about their own lives and experiences. The screening was well attended and well received. Having a panel was a great idea. Thank you for initiating this screening. Thank you for including the Brockton Area Arc. It was a great idea!

• To Cathy Hickey, Nikko Tolman, Christopher DiNicola, Gretchen Wronski, and Adam Belmore, all with ties to BAArc, who willingly collaborated with Melissa as recruiter/coordinator, panelists, and moderator. Your excellent efforts resulted in a successful event. Well done to all.

• To Luke Grande for helping his sister, our Recreation Coordinator Christina, out of a tight spot by being a chaperone at a much-anticipated Young Ladies Linking Arms field trip on October 4. Without hesitation, he agreed to accompany the group even though he had to leave work early that day and finish the job on Saturday. One of the young ladies from the group, Caitlin Mansfield who is very fond of Luke, got to go on the field trip and see one of her favorite staff members. Thanks Luke!

• To Helen Zade. Your hard work on the “Savers Fundraiser” resulted in a check to BAArc in the amount of $896.00! Helen collected soft items, clothing, bedding, blankets, hats, gloves, shoes, etc. Savers pay $.25 per pound for used items. 3,584 pounds of donated items were received. Well done to Helen and everybody who donated. Thank you, ALL!

By the way, Helen has begun another “Savers Fundraiser” to help defray costs for our All Aboard The Arc! $10,000 Drawing Event on April 24, 2020.

If you have soft items that you are cleaning out, please consider bringing them to BAArc to be added to Helen’s new “Savers Fundraiser”.

• To Kathleen and Dana Boardman. Thank you both very much for your generous donation of $100.00. Your continued support is much appreciated. We will put your gift to good use.

• To Geremais DaVeiga and Patrick McDonald for being the most recent “Caught in the Act” staff recognition recipients. Thank you both for doing nice things for others. Your efforts are appreciated.

• To Maria Unda and the Goodard Health Foundation Grant Committee for again finding merit in the request submitted by Job Developer, Adam Belmore, to provide funding for paid internship opportunities at community locations for people receiving our employment support services.

This year’s $10,000.00 grant will help us expand the development of paid internship opportunities for those we serve. Many sincere thanks!

• To ALL the STAFF from the Family Support Center, the Day Habilitation program, and the Employment and CBDS program for making Halloween such great FUN!

• The FSC “Funky Friday” Halloween Dance on October 25 was “Spooktacular”!

• The in-house party on October 31 was fabulous offering games, music, snacks, lunch, and prizes.

Thank you all very much!

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