PEOPLE • PROGRESS • POTENTIAL

In This Issue:

Executive Director’s Message • pg. 2Accent on Excellence • pg. 3WERC Builder Award • pg. 3New Health Care Educator • pg. 3Rotary Community Corps • pg. 4Service Coordination Update • pg. 5Knoxboro Carnival Highlights • pg. 5Arc County Fair Highlights • pg. 6 & 7

www.thearcolc.org

Issue 3 • Summer 2009

Graves joined the foundation board in 2002 and has held the offices of Secretary/Treasur-er and Vice Presi-dent. She has worked on fund-raising committees for Arc events such as the Gala, Silent Auction and Golf Tournament. She has been involved in the CollegeWorks program through participation on the Lynda Ford Awards Committee.

The Arc family is proud to congratulate Crystal and we thank her for her role as a young leader and her many contributions not only to our agency but to the entire community.

Page 2 • Issue 3 • Summer 2009 PEOPLE • PROGRESS • POTENTIAL

News & Views is published quarterly by The Arc, Oneida-Lewis Chapter NYSARC 245 Genesee Street, Utica, NY 13501A United Way Agency

Issue Date Month May 2009 Issue Number 2 © 2009 www.thearcolc.orgNews Advisory Committee:Publisher: Anne Van Strander, Director of Community Development

Editor/Designer: Pamela DelMedico, Public Relations Coordinator

Jo-Ann Mox, Community Development Assistant

Colleen Bottini, Intake Coordinator

Frank Centola, Deputy Director of Residential Services

Deborah Barrett, Special Projects Coordinator

Sharon Daktor, Quality Assurance

Victoria Hillebrand, Director of Community Recreation

Terrie Ripp, Habilitation Coordinator North

Mary Jane Tottey, Director of Residential Services

Michele White, Project Coordinator

Shannon Clark. Children’s Programs Coordniator

Distribution: Angie Swartwout, Receptionist

THINK GREEN! Dupli (printer of this newsletter) is 100% powered by Green-E certified WIND POWER ELECTRICITY!

A Message From:Angela Z. VanDerhoof, Executive Director

Accent on Excellence Honors Friends of the Arc Director

ExceptionalArtworks

By: Anne Van StranderCrystal Graves, Director of Human Re-sources for Carbone Auto Group and a Director on the Friends of the Arc Foun-dation Board, will receive an Accent on Excellence Award at a noon luncheon on October 15th at Daniele’s Banquet Spe-cialists on Seneca Turnpike.

Accent on Excellence was founded in 2000 by the Observer Dispatch and Northland Communications to honor area residents of Oneida and Herkimer coun-ties younger than 40 who are making a difference in the community. This year the program is honoring 10 young adults who are making a positive difference not only in their jobs but in the community volunteering for non profits helping to make the Mohawk Valley a better place to live and work.

Crystal Graves has been a long time friend to The Arc, Oneida-Lewis Chapter.

By: Vicki HillebrandOver 100 people gathered at Arnold Av-enue for the Exceptional Artworks Annual Awards Ceremony to honor 66 people. This ceremony recognizes artists for their participation in visual and performance art. Executive Director, Angela Z. VanDer-hoof presented each artist with a cer-tificate and a visor with the Exceptional Artworks logo.

As you look at this edition of “News & Views”, it seems most appropriate to talk once again about the 55th Anni-versary of our organization. 500 of us enjoyed a great picnic featuring food, friends and fellowship orchestrated by staff on August 15th – granted it was the hottest day that most of us have experienced, not only this year, but in past years, but that did not deter

Crystal Graves

us from doing a commemorative walk for our anniversary before the picnic or enjoying all of the activities that our committee devised throughout the day from cake contests to tarot card readings to Irish ballads (is there any others) by Vincent Colgan. It was a smashing success.

It was a success because we value each other, we value the important partnerships we have and because everyday we know the importance of our Mission. We expect that all of you readers do also, because so many of you are friends of the Arc and support our activities so this is a column of gratitude.

Thank you to all who have made, not only the Anniversary observations out-standing and fun, but for your advocacy year in and year out.

Issue 3 • Summer 2009 • Page 3www.thearcolc.org

Arc’s New Health Care EducatorBy: Jo-Ann MoxCharlene Crawford joined The Arc Family on August 3, 2009. Charlene attended Nursing School in Binghamton, NY and later received a BS in Nursing from Utica College. She brings to The Arc 34 years experience as a Critical Care Nurse.

When asked “Why The Arc”, Charlene responded “I tend to gravitate to new things to broaden my experience. My previous contact with individuals was limited; soon I discovered the importance of the direct care profes-sionals. Their care and dedication to the individuals made me realize that I wanted to know more about this type of service.”

By: Sharon DaktorMatthew 17, is currently a “bridge” stu-dent attending his senior year at MVCC, where he is majoring in engineering sci-ence. One day he aspires to create his own lacrosse equipment. “I’d like to create the equipment first, sell it to companies and then maybe open my own business.” Matthew is currently the captain of the lacrosse team.

Matthew’s energy and drive are a real bo-nus for the Saturday Friend’s programat The Arc where he has vol-unteered for five years. “I like to play with the kids and hang out.” Matthew said. Satur-day Friend’s is not his only involvement with

children or teens with disabilities. Mat-thew is currently the President of the Best Buddies Club at school. “It’s a lot like Saturday Friends, but it is students volun-teering to act as a buddy to someone with a disability. It’s a 1:1 match,” he said.

Matthew’s first real experience with children with developmental disabilities began over a game of Legos when he met his life long friend Matthew. Today, they go on family vacations together, go to the movies, or just hang out. “At my school, kids are not really picked on if they have a disability, but they can be ‘ignored.’ My friends know that they can’t ignore my friends with disabilities, they become part of our group.” Matthew said that recently, some friends wanted to get together to see a Harry Potter movie, and he called his friend Matthew to see if he wanted to go with us. It was all fine and we had a lot of fun.”

Matthew hopes to graduate from MVCC and then transfer to either Clarkson Uni-versity or Norwich for engineering. He is a recent recipient of The Rotary Youth Lead-ership Award, an award that honors young people who exhibit leadership and are rendering service to their communities.

Matthew Burke, a Man on the Move!true sense of value for what they are

doing. A job is very important... but a job in which you feel valued is a success for everyone involved. For this reason we want to acknowl-edge The Arc... for caring about those who may want to help them meet their goals and mission. The Arc is successful because it cares about not only who it serves... but choosing the right people to help them provide the best services possible... and it cares about providing quality informa-tion to help all job seekers whether they work at The Arc or elsewhere. It is the partnerships such as ours with The Arc that help make our women succeed” said Ms. Moran.

Lori noted that The Arc’s involvement with the WERC program has been mutu-ally beneficial as The Arc has met many fine employees and assisted them in finding meaningful employment. Lori will be accepting the Werc Builder award on behalf of the Arc at an awards luncheon on October 7th 2009 at the Yahnundasis .

Pavia Receives ‘WERC’ Builder AwardBy: Frank CentolaFor those of you who may not be familiar with the Women’s Employment and Re-source Center (WERC), they are an agency that provides job readiness assistance to women in Oneida, Madison and Herkimer counties with the goal of helping them become gainfully employed. WERC’s mission is to provide guidance, hope and vision which will lead to personal self-sufficiency and eventually economic independence.

Lori Pavia, Arc’s Human Resources staff development coordinator became affiliated with WERC in 2006. She has offered presentations to their clientele on employment opportunities at The Arc as well as offering perspectives on current challenges relevant to employment oppor-tunities in our area. It has been said that Lori has ‘an upbeat yet realistic approach’ to the area’s job market.

This year , WERC is presenting The Arc with their WERC Builder award for the agency’s role in helping women value the working opportunities that are available to them. Eleanor Moran, Executive Direc-tor of the program states, “Lori‘s presen-tations at the center have helped women better understand the numerous jobs that they could hold... and more importantly jobs at which they can excel and feel a

Lori Pavia

Matthew Burke

Charlene is most impressed with the level of respect of The Arc and its employees for each other and the individuals we serve. The greatest challenge Charlene feels will be learning the organization and person-nel. She plans to continue the level of education that has pre-viously been provided. Char-lene feels the program works

and she doesn’t anticipate making any major changes.

Charlene resides in Deerfield with her husband of 34 years Ron. Charlene and Ron have a daughter Gail, a teacher in the Utica School District, and a son Brian, who works at Byrne Dairy; and a special granddaughter Brianna.

Charlene Crawford

Page 4 • Issue 3 • Summer 2009 PEOPLE • PROGRESS • POTENTIAL

Knoxboro - Where Loretta Chase Belongs!By: Sharon DaktorThings didn’t look good for little four year old Loretta Chase. She was a diabetic and the disease was out of control. At Upstate Medical in Syracuse, Loretta suffered a stroke and remained in a coma for 60 days. Her prognosis was very, very poor. Grandmother, Thelma Chase, and her friend Roger Gregory heard words from the physician they had been dreading, “Loretta is unresponsive. She will remain in a vegetative state and will never walk or talk again. She probably won’t live past the age of 21. The best place for her now is Rome Developmental Center (RDC).” Twenty-five years ago, that was a common option for children who were disabled. So, in 1984, Loretta was trans-ferred to RDC.

A doctor at RDC noticed when he moved a “Gloworm” toy in front of Loretta’s eyes that they followed the light. He felt that Loretta might benefit from rehabilitative services and it didn’t take long for Lo-retta’s grandmother to act on the advice. After five months at Faxton Children’s Hospital, Loretta went home - walking

again, smiling and trying to communicate. Although she never regained her speech, Loretta has learned to communicate with gestures and her own form of sign lan-guage that is understood by those close to her.

Loretta now attends The Arc, Oneida-Lewis Chapter’s Knoxboro Day Services program for adults with developmental disabilities. Her grandmother says, “Loretta just loves The Arc’s Day Program. Staff members know her very well and it’s something that makes us feel good - that they can understand an expression or a gesture and know if things are okay with her.” Occupational, physical therapy and psychological services are available at Knoxboro, but the activities are what interest Loretta.

Grandmother’s long time friend, Roger Gregory, says that Loretta is a real joy and keeps them young. “Loretta wakes up with a smile and goes to bed with a smile. She loves to go to Wal-Mart and Flo’s Diner.” She enjoys family events that include eight siblings in the blended

family. “She interacts with them, they interact with her and they always have a good time together.”

Loretta is 28 now and, like most young adults, will one day make the transition away from home. Regardless, Loretta’s day program will not change. “It takes a lot to learn about Loretta. The staff at Knoxboro are great with her, always make us feel welcome and we’ve really estab-lished a great relationship with them.

Rotary Community Corps GroupBy: Michelle WhiteThe agency has started a new group for young adults with dis-abilities: Rotary Community Corps (RCC). This is an off-shoot of the Utica Rotary. The members value community service and want to improve the quality of life in our community. The premise is one day individuals with disabilities will be full fledged members of Rotary Clubs. Men-tors, Shari Tine and Julie Baum, began meeting with the group in July, and mem-bers wanted to immediately start their first community project. It was decided to collect school supplies and donate what is collected to local agencies/orga-nizations for distribution to low income children. Boxes were placed conveniently

L to R: Gail Miskowiec, Director of Day Services, Angela Z. VanDerhoof, Executive Director and a representative District Rotarian.

throughout the Agency. The timing couldn’t have been better. Stores everywhere were running ‘back-to-school’ specials and it was possible to bring in a bag of goodies for less than $10! Once

again, Arc staff showed their generos-ity and we were able to donate boxes of school supplies to children who may not have had everything they needed to begin the school year. Future projects the RCC has planned include serving lunch at the Hope House and collecting used chil-dren’s books to donate to a local daycare center. Anyone interested in learning more about RCC may contact Shari or Julie.

When you leave a legacy you make sure that help continues to be there for those who need it. Gift planning is a “win-win” for the donor and The Arc. When you remember The Friends of the Arc in your Will or Trust, you will become a member of the Circle of Friends Society.

Most people have an “estate”, which is simply a word used to describe any property, money or personal belongings that you may have at the time of your death. Even though you may not have a great deal of wealth, anyone can arrange to leave a charitable gift that will benefit a charity of their choice.

Think about for what purpose and why you would like to leave a gift. Maybe you or someone you know has been helped by The Arc’s services. Perhaps you are an active volunteer serving on an Arc board or committee or in one of The Arc’s programs. You may wish to leave a gift in honor or memory of a special loved one.

If you have already made a provision for The Friends of the Arc in your will, you deserve our acknowledgement and ap-preciation. If you are considering The Arc in your plans, we would like to say “thank you” and welcome you as the newest member of our Circle of Friends Society. Please contact us at 315.272.1528 and we will enroll you today. Your Circle of Friends Society lapel pin will acknowledge your commitment to the future of children and adults with intellectual and develop-mental disabilities. Call today!

Join our Circle of Friends

Issue 3 • Summer 2009 • Page 5www.thearcolc.org

Fun and Friendship at Knoxboro!By: Jo-Ann MoxOn August 26th, Knoxboro Day Hab held its 3rd Annual Carnival with a little help from their friends from Hamilton Serves. Hamilton Serves is a group of student volunteers from Hamilton College. They have not missed a Knoxboro Carnival yet! Students helped with every aspect of the event, freeing staff to focus on giving our individuals the best day possible.

Festivities held from 10:30 am to 1:30 pm, promised something for everyone and delivered. Traditional carnival food including hot dogs, ice cream, sno-cones, pop-corn and everyone’s favorite cotton candy were on the menu. Games included duck pond, milk can toss, balloon darts, putt-putt golf, frog jumping game and much more.

All attending enjoyed the day particularly the students and individuals that got along so well; the day would not have been the success it was without their help! They can’t wait for Knoxboro’s 4th Annual Carnival!

Service Coordination: UpdateBy: Colleen BottiniBy mid-September, the Service Coordina-tion program will be serving approximately 500 OMRDD individuals living indepen-dently, with family, or in residences! We are also expanding the number of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) individuals we serve; we have 12 individuals presently, and are exploring 6 new referrals. This is a feat, given that there are not many TBI providers. The Arc Oneida-Lewis Chapter continues to be one of the largest non-profit providers of Service Coordination in the area.

The SC division has also become a certi-fied “Broker Agency” for Consolidated Support Services (CSS). Also, OMRDD has contacted us to become trained to provide “Fiscal Management Services” (FMS). This will allow the Agency to be-come an “Agency with Choice”. These pro-grams promote self-determination among the individuals we serve by empowering them to take control and responsibility to shape their own lives. Under these programs, individuals will manage their

own budget, select staff, and essentially make all their own decisions, large and small. The purpose is to move to a more self-directed system from the traditional provider-directed system. As a premier Agency, The Arc Oneida-Lewis Chapter continues its reputation of advocating for, and supporting people with devel-opmental disabilities and their families by incorporating the self-determination philosophy and its related programming.

Additionally, we are also working to obtain a contract for the Nursing Home Diversion

Arc Service Coordination

and Transition program. In this program, Service Coordinators will work with both the elderly and individuals with medical, intellectual and developmental disabili-ties. The goal is to keep these people living in their homes with a network of supports whom otherwise would need to receive a nursing home level of care. The application has been submitted to the Department of Health and we are await-ing a decision.

What does this all mean? Essentially, Service Coordination is expanding the scope of services we provide to our com-munity. Not only do we want to remain a viable competitor, we want to continue to answer the calls of our community and improve upon the quality of services we provide. It’s definitely an exciting time for Service Coordination and The Arc Oneida-Lewis Chapter as a whole!

Anne Van Strander Receives

Paul Harris FellowAnne Van Strander, The Arc’s Director of Commu-nity Devel-opment, recently received a Paul Harris Fellow from the Utica

Rotary. The Rotary views this recognition as a reward for years of selfless service to others through Rotary. It is a rare occa-sion when a Paul Harris Fellow is awarded to a non-Rotarian. The Utica Rotary and The Arc have partnered to throw an Annual Holiday party for the last 38 years, and Anne has worked side by side with the Ro-tary’s Special Needs Committee for most of them. Her compassion and enthusiasm are contagious, and she is a great motiva-tor of fellow staff members and Rotary Volunteers. The Arc would like to congratu-late Anne on her award and thank her for her hard work and dedication.

Anne Van Strander, center with husband Michael Van Strander, left and Lou Steppello, Utica Rotarian, right

Page 6 • Issue 3 • Summer 2009 PEOPLE • PROGRESS • POTENTIAL

TheArc

Fun at the Fair!On August 15th, two chapters of NYSARC, Inc. in the central NY region, The Arc, Oneida-Lewis Chapter and The Arc of Oswego, joined together for a walk in Sherrill Brook Park in New Hartford to celebrate both the 55th Anniversary of The Arc, Oneida-Lewis Chapter and NYSARC, Inc’s 60th Anniver-sary.

Walkers included individuals served by The Arc, their family and friends, Arc staff and their family members. The walk began at 11 a.m., and kicked off The Arc, Oneida-Lewis Chapter’s summer picnic which was a bigger event this year with a “County Fair” theme.

The fair included games, popcorn, cotton candy, a dessert contest, Piggy Pat’s BBQ and much, much more! All who at-tended enjoyed the warm summer sun, good food, friends and family. We are all looking forward to next year’s event!

Issue 3 • Summer 2009 • Page 7www.thearcolc.org

The Arc Summer Picnic Puzzle!

Across1.) A semi-monthly publication for The Arc Staff3.) The Arc devil’s don’t like them5.) Rachel Simon rode the bus with her7.) The Residence on the hill that has much love but no “HEART”9.) The Arc’s newest Day Habilitation “venture”10.) The Arc’s littelest ANGELS11.) MVCC “works”

Down1.) The kind of “dogs” served today2.) People, _______, Potential3.) The E.D.’s first name4.) The shortest sea-son in upstate NY6.) The town Drunk on the Andy Griffth Show who also got stuck between floors at 245 Genesee St.8.) The most famous Jackson

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Board of Directors2009-2010Joanna Greco, PresidentJack Spaeth, Vice PresidentDavid Scharf, TreasurerDeborah McGrath, SecretaryRaphael AlcuriCarl AnneseLarry CalabreseLouis DunlayJoan EhlingerJerylann GeorgeDavid HarrisJohn KowalczykSuzanne LavinDavid MathisLeland McCormacPhilomena NowakowskiJudy NoleRobert Payne, Jr.Ruth RidgwayLou SteppelloFrank TomainoDavid Wojnas

Friends of the Arc Foundation Board 2009-2010Peter Baildon, PresidentSteve Gassner, Vice PresidentAnthony Battaglia, Secretary/TreasurerKristen BasiMichael ColuzzaJames D’OnofrioJames E. EllisCrystal GravesDiane HobaicaSusie JenkinsErica KlarDavid LupiaDarlene MahadyKristen MandourZaida MorellJoshua J. OlbrysRichard PreskyGregory RaabStephen RoefaroLaurie SchoenLucia SoultsCullen StevensRosemary TalericoSymeon Tsoupelis

Executive Director of The ArcAngela Z. VanDerhoof

Anniversary EventsCelebrating 55 years!November 2009November 20 The Band FlameRotary Holiday Party