Spring Greetings,

Despite the late winter storms, we're beginning to see green everywhere we look, which means Spring has finally arrived!

Although it came late this year, I’m happy to report that the 2022-2023 New York State budget included the long-overdue 5.4% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) that provider organizations have spent years calling for. While advocates were optimistic that the Assembly’s proposed 11% COLA was going to be the benchmark, this recognition by the Governor and New York State that it’s finally time to invest in our direct support workforce across the state is a huge step in the right direction. There’s still work to be done, and ACHIEVE will continue to be the loud and passionate voice that ensures our advocacy efforts keep the field moving forward.

Another exciting piece of news in April was that former ACHIEVE Board of Directors and Foundation Board of Directors member and the Chairman and namesake of our Guardianship committee, Jim Hayes, was selected for The New York Alliance for Inclusion and Innovation’s prestigious Public Policy and Social Justice Award for 2022. This award honors leaders in the disability and human service fields who have made exceptional contributions to the betterment of society through the advancement of policy and life enrichment opportunities for all individuals. Jim has spent decades utilizing his expertise and experience as a partner at Hinman, Howard and Kattell to lobby and advocate for critical legislation, and has been instrumental in the growth of special needs trusts and guardianship services across the state. This outstanding recognition is very well-deserved. Congratulations again, Jim!

Planning is well underway for our 67^th annual Dinner Dance and Awards Ceremony, featuring our annual Membership meeting, for Friday, June 10^th at The McKinley in Endicott. Excitement is building for this event’s return in-person for the first time in three years, and always serves as a special evening for the individuals we support, their families, our staff, and the many community supporters who join us each year. We have a number of exciting new ideas in place to make this year’s return extra special, and I hope that you’ll consider joining us.

Finally, our 2022 Membership campaign kicked off in March and will continue running through August. For only $1, you and your family can become ACHIEVE Members for 2022 and help us have the loudest voice possible when it comes to advocating for those we support in our programs.

I personally hope you’ll consider joining us for this year’s Dinner Dance and Awards Ceremony next month, and sign up and recruit others to become ACHIEVE Members! Information on both tickets for the Dinner Dance or becoming a Member can be found in this month’s newsletter.

As always, thank you for your support. I wish you and your family a wonderful month of May!

Join us Friday, June 10th at 5:00 PM at The McKinley in Endicott for a night of recognition and dancing. This signature event is an evening full of celebration and dancing, combined with a brief membership meeting and highly anticipated awards ceremony. The evening provides an opportunity for ACHIEVE to recognize the many accomplishments of our program participants and staff as well as express our sincere appreciation for the friendship of our community partners.

Congratulations to the five staff who are winners of the 2022 1^st quarter training challenge: Pat Enright, Marlene Mendoza, Brittany Crane, Sean McBride, and Valerie Golliver.   Each of these staff members received a $20 gift card for Dunkin Donuts!!

Congratulations to longtime friend of ACHIEVE, former Board and Foundation Board Member, and namesake of our Guardianship Committee, Jim Hayes, on his selection as the NY Alliance's prestigious 2022 Public Policy and Social Justice Award recipient!

Jim served on ACHIEVE's Board of Directors for 45 years, including time as The Arc New York's Guardianship Committee Chairman. His experience, expertise and commitment to advocacy were instrumental in the growth of special needs trusts and guardianship services, not just at ACHIEVE, but across New York State.

Over Easter weekend, the folks at Wildwood IRA shared some words of inspiration across the agency, once again illustrating that friends make the world beautiful.

"There are friends and there is family, and then there are friends that become family."

April 22nd marked Earth Day, and Recreation Respite celebrated by helping our feathered friends by making peanut butter bird feeders, recycled paper seed bombs, and a delicious worms and dirt snack!

Core Room 1 in Broome County were eager for some beautiful Spring weather and repurposed an old colander and some silverware they found at the thrift store to make a flowerpot windchime. It was a fun project to make that came out beautifully!

The cooler temperatures at the end of April had some of the people in Chenango Community Habilitation dreaming about warmer weather!

They created these decorative flip flop welcome signs that came out great!

Everyone is excited that warmer weather is just around the corner!

The Meaningful Change Group is looking forward to rolling out educational materials in the area of Rights. The Council on Quality and Leadership (CQL) encourages agencies to ensure that people supported by ACHIEVE and the staff who provide services are knowledgeable about rights, and that staff are able to assist people in understanding and exercising their rights. The guide below is a quick overview of individual Rights.

In the next few months, ACHIEVE will be launching a program to provide resources to explain and discuss people’s rights, with a Right of the Month. The Right of the Month for May is Privacy. Be on the lookout for educational materials and videos specific to the Right of Privacy!

Thank you to Jim Hayes for joining us as host for our guardianship rights question and answer session, and for everyone who tuned in!

There was a lot of great discussion and information shared! You can watch the video of the full presentation below.

The ACHIEVE Foundation seeks to support ACHIEVE’s mission to improve the lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The growth of the Foundation is determined by planned gifts from our community and family members. These gifts are the cornerstone of our Foundation and allow us to continue to offer a wide range of programs and services.

Every year, more donors are discovering the benefits of supporting ACHIEVE through their estate plans. These planned gifts are the cornerstones to the ACHIEVE Foundation and support the programs and services of our organization.

To learn more about Planned Giving, or to make a donation, please contact Preston Evans, Vice President Development and Donor Relations, at (607) 352-3280 or [email protected]

reached 75.7% of this year's Annual Appeal goal of $72,500!

But we still need your support. In order to keep that momentum going and continue providing exceptional services to those we serve, we rely on generous gifts from supporters,  like you, who want to make a difference in thousands of lives.

Your Gift Matters.