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~To empower, educate and connect those living without both arms or more

{ December 2022 Newsletter }

Executive Director's Message


HAPPY HOLIDAYS & HAPPY NEW YEAR

We hope your holiday season includes people and experiences that bring you joy and warm your heart. As we reflect on 2022, we are incredibly grateful that we came together in person for Skills for Life 6. Using your feedback, we are continuing to evolve as an organization that serves a wonderful community. We are excited to see what 2023 has in store! 


Our newsletter reflects our mission with outreach, community, and fundraising articles: 

  • Return of zooms in January
  • Join us for Ronnie's Bowling Tournament in February
  • Mental Health Matters 
  • Combined Federal Campaign closing on January 14, 2023 


Do you like to write? Do you have something to share with the SFL community? We would love to feature you in the ESFL Monthly Newsletters! Please submit to skills_for_life@aol.com. If you would prefer to be interviewed or work with one of our writers, let us know. 


The end of the year is a natural time to look back with an eye to creating a brighter future. We hope that spirit is alive in you and that you are filled with hope -- or at least the knowledge that ESFL is here to help kindle that flame for you in 2023. If you need support of any kind, you are always welcome to reach out to us. 

Ronnie Hindsman's 5th Annual Bowling Tournament Benefitting ESFL


Come Join Us!!

When: February 18-19, 2023

Where: Triple J Bowling Lanes, 6900 US Highway 190, Livingston, TX 77351

Website: https://www.enhancingskillsforlife.org/bowling-tournament


Scholarships Available!

Click here to fill out your application. We are excited to watch this event grow every year and would love to have you come join the fun in 2023! If you apply for a scholarship/grant, Enhancing Skills for Life will take care of the hotel bill upon checkout and will reimburse you for your flight after the event/once we have your receipt. Apply for a scholarship today! If you have questions about the scholarship process, please email us at: skills_for_life@aol.com.


Travel

If you are traveling by plane, please use IAH (Houston's north airport). It is about 1 hour drive from IAH to Livingston, TX. If you are traveling by car, please note Livingston, TX is about 1.5 hours northeast of downtown Houston, 3.5 southeast of Dallas, TX and 3.5 hours east of Austin, TX.

If you are bowling on Saturday, please plan to arrive Friday night, February 17.


Lodging (Hotels & AirBnB)

We have a block of rooms at both La Quinta and Holiday Inn. The community of Livingston also has many beautiful lakefront AirBnB options.

La Quinta (402 Highway 59 Loop South, Livingston, TX 77351)

$118.15/night. Breakfast included. Please make your reservations by calling 936-328-5299. We will update this newsletter and the website if we are able to negotiate a lower rate at La Quinta.

Holiday Inn (120 Southpoint Lane, Livingston, TX 77351)

$129.95/night (normally $149.95). Breakfast included. Please make your reservation by calling 936-327-9600 and telling them you are with the bowling tournament.


Bowling Shifts & Start Times

Saturday, February 18: 10am (1st shift) and 2pm (2nd shift)

Sunday, February 19: 11am (1st shift)

If you are bowling 1st shift Saturday, please plan to arrive before 10am.

*You can bowl both Saturday and Sunday, or one day only.


Registration, Rules & Flyer

All the information you need should be in one of these three documents:

Registration, Rules, Flyer for Sharing

If you still have questions after reading through the above information and links, please contact us.


Raffle & Silent Auction

We are currently looking for donated items that we can include in the raffle or silent auction that takes place during the tournament. Please fill out this form and email it back to us, if you have something you would like to donate (weekend getaways, gift cards, homemade crafts, etc). Contact us with any questions. 


Updates will be provided on our ESFL FB page and the Bowling Tournament FB Event.

Guest Contributor:

Mental Health Matters - Holiday Edition

Suggestions to help you get through the holiday season:


Expectations: Making manageable expectations keeps you balanced and saves you from disappointment. Take the time to assess what you want, what you’re physically and emotionally capable of doing, and how realistic your plans are. Prepare for each outcome before it happens. You’ll be glad you thought of everything and aren’t surprised by anything that can spur difficult emotions. Put your plans on paper so you can easily refer back.

Don’t worry about how things should be. There’s a lot of pressure during the holidays,. We tend to compare ourselves with these idealized notions of perfect families and perfect holidays.” But remember, those other families doubtlessly have their own stressors and ruminations to contend with.

Be realistic. You can’t please everyone the rest of the year, so why try to during the holidays? Saying ‘no,’ whether to gatherings, travel or exchanging gifts. Your own mental and physical well-being needs to come first.

Set Boundaries: Say No: Too often, we feel obligated to go places and do things that may not be good for our overall wellbeing. Be gentle with well-intended family and friends who encourage you to “get out more. Set your own limits of what, when and where you participate. You are the one who will suffer if you overdo it.. Your situation is different now, put yourself first.

Accept Your Feelings: When you picture the holiday season, a few things come to mind: Turkey, presents, and decorations. Plus, everyone seems happy. It’s almost like it’s a requirement! You must take the time to assess your well-being and search for your feelings. Feelings are not right or wrong and you have the right to feel them. You also have the responsibility for how or if you act on them. If you’re feeling low, it’s not necessary for everyone else to understand. Find a safe place to process those feelings.

Mindfulness: When you feel overwhelmed, it’s a good idea to relax and destress as much as possible. Connecting to your body and mind to care for yourself can make stressful times easier. Deep breathing exercises, yoga, walks, you name it. Taking the time to relax will help you feel great and rested and is always worth the effort.

Reach out Spend Time with Supportive People: One key component of a healthy life and mind? Surround yourself with people who lift you, support you, and care about you. You don’t have to tolerate people that hurt you or don’t appreciate your value. This holiday season — and every other day you can — make sure you’re spending time with people who see you and accept you for who you are.

Seek Professional Help If You Need to: Some difficulties are best suited for a professional to handle. Psychology Today maintains a list of qualified counselors in your area if you need help locating one. If you have persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness or if your feelings interfere with your everyday life and you don’t enjoy activities that you once did, and especially if you are having thoughts about suicide, see your health care provider right away for help. This information is not intended for a crisis situation. If you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency or experiencing feelings you want to harm yourself or others immediately call 911 or go to the nearest hospital emergency room

You are not alone. Help is available. Keep your community’s mental health services posted in a convenient place in your home. You don’t want to be looking for this information during a difficult time.

November and December can be tough months if you’re struggling with sadness. But, always remember that there are things you can do to change things for the better. You can start now by putting preventative measures in place before they bring you down. As the saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.”

Contributor

Sandy Crisp, LPC-A, CRC, LCDC

Return of the Zooms!


We had an amazing time connecting in person with everyone last month and we would like to provide opportunities to stay in touch. Some of you may remember our zoom sessions in 2020-2021 that helped us stay connected during COVID. Our first zoom of 2023 will be a happy hour social with games. During this zoom we plan out what topics you would like to see covered in 2023. Come join us!


Mark your calendars for January 18th at 7pm central. Link and invitation will be posted on the Skills for Life FB private group and sent out via these newsletters.


Join January Zoom Meeting:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/97649737361?pwd=VHN3SllxUVRNZ1IzNFVvNTgyZUg2UT09

Combined Federal Campaign Giving


Are you a Federal employee (contractors and retirees too) and interested in workplace giving? Consider choosing Enhancing Skills for Life as one of the charities you support. The CFC giving campaign runs from September 1, 2022 - January 14, 2023. You can search for us by entering Enhancing Skills for Life as the name, filter by cause (Health Care) or by entering our CFC#: 60813. If you are interested in seeing what our ESFL campaign looks like online, you can view them by clicking "watch charity videos" and "read charity stories".

Upcoming Events/Programs


Ronnie Hindsman's Bowling Tournament

February 18-19, 2022

Livingston, TX


ISPO World Congress

April 24-27, 2023

Guadalajara, MX


Amputee Coalition National Conference

August 2-5, 2023

Orlando, FL


Camp No Limits

January-October 2023

Various US Locations

Get Involved!


Let us know if you have time, experience, resources or referrals/connections with any of the below. Our hope is to be able to hire for these positions in the future.

  • Marketing/Social Media
  • Grant Writing
  • Event Planner
  • Scholarship Committee
  • SFL 7 Planning Committee (will likely start communicating Spring 2024)

Enhancing Skills for Life, 501c3

Board of Directors

Mike St Onge, Chair

Summer Kozai, Treasurer

Annae Jones, Secretary

John Dombo

Karen Lundquist

Harold Sears, PhD

Gerry Stark, CP

Steve Kaestle

Mara Herschbach

Karen Fetter, Admin

Sponsors & Partners

Help us continue to provide programs, events, resources and meaningful connections!

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Contact Us for more

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Change a Life, Donate Today


The Skills for Life workshop was developed in 2002 with a specific focus on people living without both arms or more and the unique set of circumstances they face on a daily basis. The nonprofit was founded in 2017 to ensure we could continue supporting the members of our community with programs, events, resources and connections. To donate, please click either the Venmo or PayPal donate buttons in this section. PayPal allows you to donate via your account or with a credit card. Venmo requires you to have an account. Donations can also be made via check, payable to Enhancing Skills for Life, 16111 Park Center Dr, Houston, TX 77059.


Any and all donations, large or small, are greatly appreciated! 

Enhancing Skills for Life, 501c3 Tax ID: 81-2619137. 

ESFL is an AmazonSmile Charity

Consider choosing Enhancing Skills for Life as your 501c3 charity on AmazonSmile! When customers shop on AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com), the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to Enhancing Skills for Life.  When first visiting AmazonSmile, you will be prompted to select a charitable organization. Why not choose Enhancing Skills for Life? Click HERE to change your current AmazonSmile charity to ESFL today!
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