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Holiday Greetings Supporter,
I hope that you and your family had a terrific Thanksgiving and were able to enjoy quality time together creating wonderful memories!
With December’s arrival comes everyone’s favorite time of the year, celebrating the holidays! Everyone across ACHIEVE always gets into the festive holiday spirit, with some already starting, as you’ll see in this month’s newsletter.
Our 2024 Annual Appeal letter should be hitting your mailbox any day now, highlighting how stability across the organization has truly allowed us to grow and thrive in 2023, and how that growth has impacted all facets of our agency. I appreciate your consideration of a year-end gift to ACHIEVE that will further support that growth and stability and have a direct impact on the lives of the 2,200 individuals we support in Broome, Chenango and Tioga Counties. Information on how you can save a stamp while contributing to the 2024 Annual Appeal can be found at this link.
I’m excited to share that principal construction on our New Beginnings in Norwich renovation project is slated to be completed in the coming weeks, with the program transitioning to this new facility in early 2024. As the project nears completion, you can definitely feel excitement building across the agency and community, as this project stands to be a life-changing opportunity for individuals supported and Chenango County. There’s still time for you to include your name in this project’s legacy by providing a meaningful donation to support our $250,000 public fundraising campaign and help us get over the finish line. Donation information for this project can be found here.
The holidays always offer an opportunity for reflection, and as I consider the past year, I’m beyond grateful for the new relationships that we’ve formed across our community, as well as overwhelmed yet again by the outpouring of support that we continue to receive from families, donors, community members, corporate supporters and so many more. I’d like to extend my sincerest gratitude to our wonderful community who touch the lives of so many across ACHIEVE in so many ways. I know I speak for all of us at ACHIEVE when I say thank you.
December is shaping up to be a busy and exciting month here at ACHIEVE! From all of us, I wish you and your family a safe and happy holiday!
Warm regards,
Amy
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Amy Howard
Chief Executive Officer
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Happy Holidays from ACHIEVE! | |
Holiday card artwork provided by Cindy Dillemuth, Carlton Street IRA Resident | |
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In November, we were excited and thrilled to share our partnership with SUNY Morrisville and New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, offering a micro-credentialing program through a state grant that allowed 35 ACHIEVE Direct Support Professionals to attend the first semester of their Human Services program at no cost to themselves that will only further elevate the quality of services and supports they provide!
This partnership program has already been successful and will significantly enhance the meaningful care provided by these staff across our organization on a daily basis, while setting them up for future success in the field by putting them on the path towards an associate or bachelor's degree.
Thank you to SUNY Morrisville and OPWDD for this incredible opportunity for our staff now and in the future, all in the service of those we support!
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We are very happy to bring you another installment of #WhyIACHIEVE, highlighting Aaron Shoemaker, Day Habilitation Trainer since May of 2022!
Aaron loves working for ACHIEVE because no two days are alike and there’s always something new every day when he comes to work! He says, “I also have the best coworkers that I can always count on if I need help with anything. I love being able to spend time with the amazing individuals that we support and getting to do awesome and fun things like going on a bus trip to a Yankees game in New York City!”
Aaron’s job is important to him because it is crucial that every individual be given the opportunities to have as fulfilling a life as possible, and he is proud to help them accomplish that, whether that be a life skill, pursuing a hobby or activity that they are interested in, or anything in between.
“I am confident in saying that joining the ACHIEVE team is the best decision I've ever made, and I am excited to see what the future holds!”
Aaron, we are very #ACHIEVEProud for you joining our ACHIEVE family and for all the hard work you do every day!
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Congratulations, Lynelle! | |
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We're proud to congratulate our North Broad Street Program Manager, Lynelle Davis, on her selection as one of Community Care Rx's Direct Support Professional Excellence Award recipients!
Lynelle was recognized in November at a special DSP Award Gala hosted by Community Care RX, where she was recognized for all of her excellent work as a DSP.
Congratulations, Lynelle!
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LaRonda Johnson - Assistant Residential Manager
Kathleen Kolosky - Assistant Residential Manager
Valerie Golliver - Production Technician I
Catina Sutton - VP of Community Based Services
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Congratulations, Finance Team! | |
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As you'll see, our Staff Appreciation Committee have been busy, kicking off a month of recognition alongside members of our Leadership Team, starting by recognizing our Finance Department!
Handling every financial facet of our organization, and there are many, each member of the Finance team are highly specialized and bring years of expertise to the agency.
Thank you to the Finance Team for all your work making sure we account for every dollar and cent in an agency of our size!
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Congratulations, Development & Workforce Engagement and Development Teams! | |
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Members of our Leadership Team and Staff Appreciation Committee were proud to recognize the agency's Development Team and Director of Workforce Engagement and Development!
Often collaborating on strategies for successful employee recruitment and retention, the Development Team are the agency's fundraising, advocacy, marketing and communications, and community relations arm, and the Director of Workforce Engagement and Development drives toward optimal strategies for recruiting new employees, offers success coaching to new staff, monitors staff satisfaction across the organization, and tracks best practices for employee retention.
Congratulations to the Development Team and to the Director of Workforce Engagement and Development! Thank you for all you do in service to those we support every day!
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Thank you, Tioga Downs Regional Community Foundation | |
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We were thrilled to join 99 other local nonprofit organizations as one of the grant recipients from the Tioga Downs Casino Resort Regional Community Foundation! These funds will be used to support our annual Children's Summer Program, providing educational programming to students of varying abilities during the summer months.
Thank you, Tioga Downs Regional Community Foundation, for supporting ACHIEVE and so many other nonprofit organizations in our community!
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Thank you, Assemblyman Angelino! | |
Thank you, Assemblyman Joe Angelino, for your unwavering support and commitment to getting our invaluable Direct Support Professionals the living wages they deserve heading into next year’s budget planning season by signing on to a letter of support for the 3.2% cost-of-living adjustment and $4,000 Direct Support Professional wage enhancement! | |
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We have a day for giving thanks, two days for scoring great deals, and now a day dedicated to celebrating generosity and giving! #GivingTuesday is a global movement to celebrate and encourage supporting non-profits during this holiday season and this year, we were asking for your support of our New Beginnings in Norwich renovation project.
This transformation of our shuttered manufacturing facility, CWS Packaging, into a state-of-the-art day and community-based services hub in Chenango County means an enhanced quality of life for hundreds of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Your gift means...
- Fully accessible and newly transformed Core Rooms
- Vocational training and resources for employment opportunities
- Expansion of our Rec Respite program into Chenango County
- Creation of a multipurpose Community Center
... and so many more benefits for the agency and community as a whole!
Your generosity is one of the many reasons we are #ACHIEVEProud and gives us countless reasons to be grateful during this holiday season!
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On the Pond ~ At Cutler's 5th-Year Celebration! | |
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Last month, were joined by legislators, Board Members, staff and others to celebrate the 5-year anniversary of the opening of our On the Pond ~ At Cutler program!
Originally opening in October 2018, On the Pond ~ At Cutler was an innovative service that was started to provide opportunities for socialization and community integration through volunteerism, education and recreation in the wake of winding down our sheltered workshops. Since then, the program has thrived, providing over 60 individuals with the supports to live their best lives possible outside of the traditional day habilitation model, and serving as a stepping stone to be replicated in programming across other areas of our organization.
Thank you to Assemblyman Joe Angelino and Miles from Senator Lea Webb's office for joining us for the festivities, and for pledging your commitment to supporting a 3.2% cost-of-living adjustment and $4,000 wage enhancement for Direct Support Professionals in the 2024-2025 state budget!
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The Season That Keeps on Giving | |
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Tioga Day Habilitation took Thanksgiving cards they had made to a local nursing home and passed them out to everyone.
Everyone had a great time and were very thankful for the cards!
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A few weeks back we shared a photo of a painting that Matt and his mom, Ellen Feldman, donated to be displayed at our Vestal offices. The Arc New York were also the lucky and grateful recipients of some of Matt’s donated paintings!
Matt's paintings are available for purchase with a donation to ACHIEVE or a number of other select organizations that support individuals of varying abilities.
Information on how you can purchase one of Matt's wonderful
paintings just in time for the holidays can be found here.
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Greater Binghamton's Chamber of Commerce Thanksgiving Luncheon | |
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Members of our leadership team and Board of Directors were excited to join 500 members of our community for the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce’s annual Thanksgiving Luncheon!
This inspirational event is always a great opportunity to hear about all the wonderful things going on in our community and reflect on all that we have to be grateful for at ACHIEVE!
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It’s never too early to start decorating for Christmas!
Be sure to head over to the Roberson Museum and Science Center to check out ACHIEVE’s Christmas tree for their annual Home for the Holidays event!
This event runs from November 16th -January 5th and is a beautiful display that features traditions from many cultures around the world as well as trees decorated by local businesses. We hope everyone can visit Roberson and see all the wonderful festivities in person!
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Chenango Day Habilitation Celebrates Thanksgiving | |
November marked ACHIEVE's Chenango Day Habilitation's annual Thanksgiving Luncheon. Joined by members of our Leadership Team, everyone enjoyed a homemade Thanksgiving meal surrounded by great company! | |
Thanksgiving with Chenango Supportive Apartments! | |
November always sees delicious food being enjoyed by everyone across the organization, thanks being given, and memories being made at every house you walk into, especially our friends over at the Chenango Supportive Apartments! | |
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In October, ACHIEVE's On the Pond ~ At Cutler Team worked with our Maintenance Team to create a Pacman Scarecrow for Broome County's annual Scarecrow Contest!
We are proud to say we came in 5th place!! Congratulations to everyone involved!
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On The Pond Visits Vestal | |
On the Pond ~ At Cutler heard that the Vestal Parkway East offices needed some help getting into the festive spirit, and stopped by to drop off some ornaments they made to help out! | |
With the official start of Winter quickly upon us, the folks over at the Supportive Apartments in Chenango decided to decorate for the season by making some snowflakes! | |
Chenango Community Habilitation Thanksgiving Party | |
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Chenango Community Habilitation also held their annual Thanksgiving Dinner! Members of our Leadership Team helped serve and joined everyone to share thanks amid each other's company.
Everyone had a great time celebrating together, just like they always do, and the best part? There was definitely no shortage of dessert to go around! Everyone left full and happy!
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Tioga Day Habilitation were eager to get to the bowling alley!
Everyone loaded up to head over to Midway Lanes, where gutter balls were thrown, strikes were hit, and spares were made! Everyone had a blast!
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Dan, a participant in our On The Pond ~ At Cutler program, was able to meet one of his favorite role models, a policeman!
He politely asked for a picture and an autograph while walking at the mall.
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Our On the Pond Team ~ At Cutler Pond team had a relaxing day last month by joining Julye Bush, ACHIEVE's Director of Performance Improvement and Corporate Compliance, in a morning meditation class! | |
Recreation Road Trippers! | |
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Let's check in with what our Recreational Respite team has been doing over the past month!
They've been all over the place, working on their putting with glow golf, checking out the Christmas trees and exhibits at the Roberson Museum, catching some action-filled Black Bear hockey games, getting a workout at Synergy Athletics, becoming champions at pickleball courtesy of Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield, and testing their skills with bowling! Recreational Respite certainly knows how to have fun!
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New Beginnings in Norwich is a transformational renovation project in the heart of downtown Norwich, turning our shuttered manufacturing facility, CWS Packaging on East Main Street, into a state-of-the-art day and community-based services facility that will be a life-affirming change for over 100 individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Chenango County.
We broke ground on this project in March of this year, with principal construction slated to be complete by the end of the year, and are in the final weeks of our public fundraising campaign to raise $200,000 towards this project's cost, including hosting our first 50/50 raffle.
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Tickets can also be purchased in-person at our Vestal Parkway East offices, Cutler Pond Day Habilitation and Chenango Day Habilitation
If you have any questions, please contact Raffe Morehead, Director of Community Engagement at [email protected] or (607) 231-5225.
| New Beginnings in Norwich | |
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Thank you to everyone who has donated to our New Beginnings in Norwich renovation project, which is on schedule to open in Fall of this year!
Through your support, we are at 71.7% of our $250,000 fundraising campaign goal!
But we still need your help to get across the finish line.
You can be a part of this state-of-the-art day and community-based services facility that will be right in the heart of downtown Norwich and directly impact the lives of hundreds of individuals in Chenango County by donating and helping us reach that $250,000 fundraising goal.
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2024 Annual Appeal
Your Gift Matters
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Your Legacy, Our Future
Planned Gifts to ACHIEVE
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.
Charitable Bequest through Last Will or other Estate Plan
Individual Retirement Account
Stock and Securities
Real Estate
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]
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As we wrap up our four signature fundraisers for 2023, we want to thank everyone for their contributions. Through your support, we're proud to announce we raised over $100,000 between our four events for programs and services to those we support!
We'd like to thank our Presenting Sponsors for each of our events and we were so happy to be able to be together for them: Bob Warner Pin Crushing Classic sponsor Visions Federal Credit Union, Dinner Dance and Awards Ceremony co-sponsors ACHIEVE Foundation Board of Directors and Mirabito Cares, Savor the Summer sponsor M&T Bank, and Half-K Classic sponsor NBT Bank!
We truly appreciate your support in helping us reach our goal!
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Don't forget to follow us to stay up-to-date with all that ACHIEVE is doing! | | | | |
