Greetings Everyone!
I am hoping that all of you are enjoying your summer as much as we are here at ACHIEVE! For us, the month of June was filled with smiles, celebration, and fun-filled activities - including our Annual Dinner Dance and Awards Banquet, parading in the Strawberry Festival and Chenango Dairy Days, and taking part in National Selfie Day, to name just a few! July will be bringing more activities, like a statewide flash mob/dance party to commemorate the 70
th
Anniversary of Ann Greenberg’s classified ad in The New York Post - which became the catalyst for The Arc New York and each of our Chapters, an annual picnic for individuals served through our Guardianship Program, and the start to our 6 week Children’s Summer Camp - the longest running program we operate!
In addition, planning is well underway for our 9
th
Annual Savor the Summer Event which will take place on August 23
rd
at our Cutler Pond Road site. We are grateful for this year’s presenting sponsor, M&T Bank. Savor the Summer is hosted by ACHIEVE’s Agency and Foundation Boards of Directors and I hope you will join us for this exciting evening of local wine, craft beer, and gourmet fare! Invitations will be mailed and electronically distributed within the next two weeks, and additional information can be found by visiting our website at
www.achieveny.org
.
Finally, we are getting very excited at the prospect of opening our new IRA in Greene, NY as well as our new Adult Social Program later this year. Both projects will serve an unmet need in our community and are much anticipated by the individuals we serve and our staff.
Have a very happy and safe 4
th
of July everyone!
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STRAY HAVEN DONATIONS
Submitted by: Sarah Dornblaser
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Tioga’s Sarah Dornblaser organized a pet drive for Stray Haven Humane Society in Waverly NY during the months of May-June. She contacted the shelter and formed a list of all that was needed. All of the ACHIEVE sites participated in this drive which resulted in a significant amount of donations. Betty, Timmy and Sarah delivered the donations to the shelter on our scheduled volunteer day and were met with such thankful hearts. On behalf of Team Tioga, and Stray Haven, THANK YOU to any and everyone who donated. The animals deserve the very best, and we were able to give them so much! These moments of gratefulness certainly makes us #ACHIEVEProud.
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LANDSCAPING WORK
Submitted by: Melissa Ellis
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What do you do on a beautiful day in June? Why, landscaping of course! Program and Division Managers got together on June 6th to landscape the Wildwood IRA. The individuals absolutely loved watching them, and did their best to manage their wild shenanigans. Although it was a lot of hard work - it most definitely paid off!
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BUTTERFLY RELEASE
Submitted by: Victoria Studer
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On Thursday, June 14th at 1:00 p.m., Core Room 2 and 10 held a Butterfly Release Memorial for amazing individuals that we have recently lost:
Susan Axtell, Krystle Williams, and Ricky Board. In order to celebrate their lives, butterflies were released, kind words were said, and Amazing Grace was sung by one of our talented individuals. What a beautiful way to remember the kind souls that have left a mark in our hearts.
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CHENANGO DAIRY DAY PARADE
Submitted by: Laura Thompson
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The ACHIEVE Chenango County Day Habilitation Program worked hard on creating a float for the Chenango County Dairy Day Parade on June 16th. The float represented all different types of dairy - and all of the decorations were made in the program by program participants and staff! There was a great turnout of staff and people who attend our Day Habilitation Program as well as people who live in our Residential programs. Everyone had a wonderful time!
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OWEGO STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL PARADE
Submitted by: Kasey Taylor
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On Saturday, June 16th, ACHIEVE staff and individuals attended the Owego Strawberry Festival Parade! They worked hard on creating T-Shirts and decorating their bus to look like a picnic! As they paraded the streets to music and handed out candy and beach balls, they were applauded the entire time. Thank you to everyone for coming out and supporting ACHIEVE at the annual Strawberry Festival.
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LIFEPLAN
Submitted by: Lisa Whitney
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In the spirit of collaboration and transparency, LIFEPlan’s CEO Nick Cappoletti and Regional VP Anne Seepersaud hosted a listening luncheon for Care Managers at ACHIEVE’s Riverside Drive site in late June. The event was attended by more than 40 Care Managers who were eager to hear from their new leaders on the direction of the field and on what the culture of LIFEPlan has to offer once they make the transition. ACHIEVE enjoys a strong relationship with LIFEPlan and has served as a hub of various activities during the transition phase. ACHIEVE is confident that LIFEPlan is poised to be a premier Care Coordination Organization and that the outstanding quality of care individuals and families experienced under the Medicaid Service Coordination model will continue as MSCs transition to Care Managers. We are excited to see what’s to come under the new model and where the partnership with LIFEPlan takes us.
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FOSTER GRANDPARENT
Submitted by: Terri Riley
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What if you were offered the opportunity to finally be in your dream job? What would that job be? Have you ever really thought about it? Have you ever really pursued it? Meet Lynn Hoeflein, ACHIEVE Vocational Services participant. Lynn’s dream has always been to work with children in some way, especially in the area of reading. Imagine coming across an ad in a newsletter describing the perfect job for you and wondering – could it be?! Lynn took the initiative and responded to an ad about being a Foster Grandparent. Lynn completed the application process, including interviews and providing all the requirements necessary for consideration and was offered the position to be a Foster Grandparent at a local elementary school. Can you imagine how Lynn felt realizing this success? How would you feel? Dreams really can come true! Congratulations, Lynn!
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ADULT SOCIAL PROGRAM PROGRESS
Submitted by: Victoria Studer
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The Executive Management Team has been checking on the progress of the new Adult Social Program being built at the Cutler Pond location. We are ecstatic over the progress thus far, and can't wait to see what another month will bring!
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A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS
Submitted by: Lori Bailey
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I occasionally work on call for some of the IRAs which affords me the opportunity to interact more directly with the individuals we service in medical coordination and work with direct service professionals in residential.
The direct service professionals that I have encountered often go above and beyond in their professional responsibility of providing supervision and guidance, developing and implementing plans for individuals, encouraging daily living activities, preparing meals, assuring needed staff ratios, and assisting with personal care. The responsibility to develop a rapport while providing these services cultivates a safe and supportive relationship for the individuals we serve. And the ability to do so is what makes an IRA a home because “excellence comes with the appreciation of it” Maya Angelou.
I appreciate those who continue to make medical coordination a success in all that you do for the individuals we service.
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BASEBALL SUITE
Submitted by: Melissa Ellis
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On June 14th, the Guardianship Committee purchased a Suite at the Stadium and individuals got to enjoy a game in style!
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ANIMAL ADVENTURE
Submitted by: Danielle Williams
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Some individuals at Chenango had a fantastic time going to Animal Adventure's Low Sensory Night - and they even got a picture with Jordan!
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#NATIONALSELFIEDAY
Submitted by: Victoria Studer
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On June 21st, ACHIEVE staff and individuals took part in #NationalSelfieDay! Everyone pulled out their cameras, got together with some of their most favorite people, and snapped a selfie! A larger collection of the selfies can be found on our Facebook page!
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A DAY AT THE ZOO
Submitted by: Caitlin Ropp
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Tioga has been learning all about the Rainforest and visited the Ross Park Zoo to put our knowledge to test! Day Habilitation Trainer Vickie Price worked hard to show and explain each animal we learned about, and even called upon the zoo keepers to give us a brief lesson. It was such a fun AND educational day for our crew.
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ITHACA VISIT
Submitted by: Caitlin Ropp
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Weather providing, Mondays, are spent at parks within New York State. June 25
th
, was a perfect day to travel to Ithaca to not only eat, but enjoy the beautiful waterfalls and local wildlife. Jon, Jenny and Justin enjoyed their time exploring and soaking up the sun!
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MARTIAL ARTS
Submitted by: Rose Stevens
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Did you know that one of our ACHIEVE individuals from the Tioga Day Hab program does martial arts? She attends the Xtream Ambition in Endicott and is quite proud of her pink gloves! Even with a visual impairment, she "hits her mark" and works very hard.
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DISCOVERY CENTER'S STORY GARDEN
Submitted by: Amy Pello
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ACHIEVE individuals at Cutler Day Hab had a fun filled day at the Discovery Center's Story Garden!
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ACHIEVE'S NEW FLAG
Submitted by: Guy Newman
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Jesse, Nine, and Kenny are raising the American flag together for the Day Program here at Cutler Pond as they faithfully do each and every day. But July 21st was a little more exciting for these young men. The long awaited ACHIEVE flag was now in and ready to be raised as well. Just prior, Jesse took the time to study proper etiquette in the raising of additional flags along with the American flag. Jesse has been the go-to-guy for this daily task and has trained several peers and staff to participate in the process. It was really great to experience the respect and love these men have for their country and for their agency this morning.
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YANKEES GAME
Submitted by: Courtney Sarpriacone
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On Thursday June 21, Michael Mann had a dream come true. He was born in the Bronx and never had a chance to watch a live Yankee’s game. Staff member at River Road, James Glover, was talking with Michael a few months back about things in life he would like to do and trips he would like to knock off his list. Michael said he would love to go watch a live Yankee’s game. With some research, James found a game, and asked Michael if this sounded good. Of course, Michael’s response was “Yes I would LOVE to go!” With some time, staff planned the trip and ordered the tickets. For weeks, Michael talked about how excited he was and could not wait. The week of the game he talked daily about it. Then finally that morning came. Michael and James planned on driving down to Poughkeepsie and jumping on the Metro-North Railroad - which was another exciting part, as Michael never rode the metro before, and that would take them right to the Yankee’s Stadium. Once getting there, Michael and James got right into the stadium and bought a souvenir. Then it was time to walk into the ball field. Michael had a great time as he stated to staff. He got to see Aaron Judge hit a home-run, and was even on the TV screen as the home-run was near their seats! Michael continues to have a smile on his face and talks about the game and how much fun he had. I would like to thank James for taking him and making this dream come true!
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ACHIEVE BLOOD DRIVE
Submitted by: Victoria Studer
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On June 28th, ACHIEVE held a Blood Drive at the Cutler Pond Road location. Many staff and community members signed up and did their part in donating. Thank you to everyone that came out in order to donate blood. Your donation could save up to three lives.
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ACHIEVE HUMAN RESOURCES
Submitted by:Jamie Striley
ACHIEVE is proud to announce the following promotions for the month of May
- Aaliyah - Assistant Residential Manager
- Kathryn Huston - Assistant Residential Manager
- Victoria Studer - Executive Assistant
to view, and apply for, any of our open positions at ACHIEVE.
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2018 ACHIEVE MEMBERSHIP
Submitted by: Christa Reese
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We are fortunate to have so many opportunities in our community through the programs we offer and the partnerships we have created. But there is always more we can do. We ask you to encourage local businesses to hire a person with a disability, invite people with disabilities to participate in your civic organization or community activity, or to give time or money to an organization supporting people with disabilities. Our membership campaign is an important part of our year and support helps us to continue our mission to advocate for an enhanced quality of life through skill advancement, inclusion, integration, and independence of persons with intellectual, developmental and other disabilities through services provided in Broome, Chenango and Tioga Counties.
What is ACHIEVE’S Annual Membership Campaign?
·Each year ACHIEVE runs a membership campaign in which we ask our staff, families, people we support and the community to become a member of the agency.
·It is only $5.00, per person, to become a member!
· Membership lasts one full calendar year.
Why is ACHIEVE’S Annual Membership Campaign So Important?
·Your support and inclusion in the agency helps people with disabilities become more independent, productive and integrated in our local community. Without your help there is less opportunity for personal growth and achievement.
·Membership provides our agency the ability to advocate legislatively at the state and national levels. As we move forward, our agency continues to face enormous challenges given the current economic climate of our state and nation. It would be helpful for our advocacy with legislative and government officials to have the largest membership ever.
We hope you'll join ACHIEVE. Together, we will keep the vision alive of creating opportunities for individual successes.
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SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITY
Submitted by: Christa Reese
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Here at ACHIEVE we are busy planning the 9th Annual Savor the Summer and the 2018 Binghamton Devils Charity Golf Classic. As you may know, ACHIEVE provides programs and services to 2,200 individuals with disabilities in Broome, Chenango and Tioga Counties. Our organization is growing physically and programmatically and we are asking for sponsorship to help support our organization and the individuals that we serve. Sponsorship opportunities come in in many sizes and provide you with recognition as a business that supports individuals with disabilities in our community.
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8th Annual Savor the Summer
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