I N S I D E

T H I S I S S U E :

MHA 2nd Annual

Bowl-A-Thon

1

Agency on Aging

Announcement

2

Clear Captions 3

Update on Vista Program

3

TEEN Volun-

teers

3

RSC Events 4

MHA New Hires & Promo-tions Quick Reminders

4 4

MUTUAL HOUSING ASSOCIATION

OF SOUTHWESTERN CT F A L L 2 0 1 7 N E W S L E T T E R

S P E C I A L

P O I N T S O F I N -

T E R E S T :

2nd Annual

Bowl-A-Thon

Promotions at

MHA

Thank you

TEEN Volun-

teers

Because of your support and generous donations we exceeded last year’s total by raising $24,663. We want to thank all of our sponsors, donors, and volunteers for making Mutual Housing As-sociation of Southwestern Connecticut’s Bowl-A-Thon a success! We wanted to share the pictures from the

ing, please email fundrais-ing@mhaswct.org.

event with our supporters. Everyone had a great time bowling and participating in the teacup auction. This is MHA’s annual fundraising event, so for those of you who could not attend this year, there is always next year! If you are interested in helping plan the event or volunteer-

MHA 2nd Annual Bowl-A-Thon

P A G E

On Monday, June 12th, 2017 Webster Bank con-

mental stages. For a $30 donations, people re-ceived a piggy bank and tickets for a teacup auc-tion. The teacup auction was held at the Bowl-A-thon event.

Bowl-A-Thon continued...

Congratulations to our Resident Services Coordinator Congratulations to our Resident Services Coordinator, Melody Gonzalez, for being elected as a Council Member to the Southwestern CT Agency on Aging. As a member of this Advisory Council, Melody, will be volun-

teering her time at SWCAA to help serve the aging commu-nity. Her commitment to the senior community is admira-ble, and this union will un-doubtedly open up network-ing channels and the services that we can bring to our sen-iors at MHA properties.

At the event, MHA’s execu-tive team was able to raise $1,500 towards our “Rent Bank”. The proceeds will going towards MHA’s Rent-al Assistance Program that is currently in the develop-

“Peace

and

friendship

with all

mankind is

our wisest

policy, and

I wish we

may be

permitted

to pursue

it. “

- Thomas

Jefferson

MHA’s Rental Assistance Program Update

M U T U A L H O U S I N G A S S O C I A T I O N

AmeriCorps VISTA is a national service program designed to alleviate poverty. They make strides in accomplishing this by working alongside communities across the nation using volunteers to help agencies in the community to address poverty related issues. Through Neighbor-Works, Mutual Housing of Southwestern Connecticut received a grant for two VISTA members. The VISTA members are in the process of capturing data for the development of a Rental Assistance Program. This program is designed to educate individuals in the MHA residential community about this program, and similar programs and services in the community aimed at alleviating homelessness and poverty. Be on the look out for a survey and information about the program that will be coming in the mail to you soon.

Thank you to our Teen Volunteers Ryan Gabriele and John Zizzadoro, high school students from Wilton, volunteered this

summer for MHA’s Recycle Program at Wilton Commons. Ryan and John visited the com-

munity once per week to assist. They were responsible for collecting redeemable bottles/

cans from the Wilton Commons facilities, and

once a month the recyclables were brought to a

redemption center to

collect funds. The volun-

teers co l lected over

1,500 bottles/cans. Funds

were used for different

recreational purposes for

MHA residents at Wilton

Commons.

P A G E 3

Hearing Impaired? Check out Clear Captions Meet Wayne Simmons, the local Clear Captions representative. Clear Captions is an FCC certified telephone captioning provider. Clear Captions pri-mary purpose is to deliver the highest quality and most innovative communication services to meet the unique needs of each hearing challenged indi-vidual. Find out how to get a free phone. To be eligible, you must be hearing impaired. Contact Wayne Simmons at (860)335-1140 or by email at wayne.simmons@clearcaptions.com for details.

During the month of November all senior developments will be having

Winter Safety and Fire Prevention programs.

Holidays are approaching. To request a toy for your children or the chil-

dren of another family, Stamford residents contact Toys-for-Tots coordina-

tor, George Ducanic at (203)359-9662. Bridgeport residents contact Toys

-for-Tots coordinator Cruz Rick at (203)209-5700. www.toysfortots.org

Mark your calendar for the next Quarterly Board Meeting, Norwalk

City Hall, Norwalk CT, January 24, 2018 at 6:30 P.M.

Quick Reminders for Our Residents

Resident Service Events P A G E 4 N E W S L E T T E R

During the month of Sep-

tember, Wilton Meadows, a

Rehabilitation and Health

Care Center, hosted a lunch

demo with Chef Lenny

Haynes at MHA’s Wilton

Commons Facility. More

than 20 residents came out

to enjoy the delicious

food that was pre-

pared and learned

how to make Chicken

Marsala.

Over the sum-

mer MHA partnered

with Neighbor Works

to host its 2nd Annual

Health Fair at our

Trumbull and Wilton

locations. Residents

and the community

attended the event to

learn and meet local

community resources.

There was food, raffle

prizes, and a Tai Chi

demonstration and much

more.

Please join us in welcoming Patricia “Pat”

Riveria to the MHA

Team. Pat has accepted

the Property Manager

position for our Stam-

ford portfolio. She

comes to our organiza-

tion with an MBA in

Business Administra-

tion from Everest Uni-

versity.

MHA New Hires MHA Promotion Congratulations to Sharon

Campbell! Sharon was recently

promoted to Assistant Property

Manager overseeing Yale St

Commons and Merton Homes in

Bridgeport. Prior to her promo-

tion, Sharon worked for MHA as

a Re-Certification Specialist. She

will be located at our Yale St

Commons Property.