Volume 39 Issue 6 www.cosmoindustries.com June 2019

the cosmo communicator

Special Olympics Track Meet 2019 We were blessed with some beautiful weather for the Special Olym-pics track meet this year. The sun was hot, but the wind and some clouds provided a welcome break. On Wednesday May 22nd, we brought 13 enthusiastic athletes to ED Feehan High School for the meet. Coming to the field from Cosmo Market Mall, we had Richard “The Bolt” Sayers. Cosmo Arlington sent some top performers, Joseph “The Charmer” Wilby and Christo-pher “The Intimidator” Schaeffer. And from the main center, repre-senting top athletic performance, we had Victoria “The Team Player”

Robertson-Nelson, Tif-fany “The Determina-tor” Bramall, Michael “The Jack-of-all-sports” Baldhead, Joel “The Flash” Lewis, Chris “The Motorcycling” Umpherville, Johnny “The Pragmatic” Turgeon, Jason “The Giggler” Auchstaetter, Cindy “The Hand-Holder” Draper, Faye “The Motivator” Gareau, and Tyrell “The Astonishing” Sandfly-Westfield. The opening ceremonies featured speeches from Addison, a local Special Olympian, and Saskatoon Mayor, Charlie Clark. Seven events kept us busy during the day including long jump, the 100m dash, and a fan favour-ite, the soccer kick.

The best thing about Special Olympics is the sportsmanship that is shown. Win or lose, people are there to cheer each other on and do the best they can! The atmosphere is unlike any other.

As the oath says, “Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”

Goodbye and Thank You

As I leave Cosmo and embark on a new adventure “retirement’ I want to say THANK YOU. Thank You most im-portantly to the Program Participants who put a smile on my face and inspired me every day. I will dearly miss your dai-ly visits, your high-fives, our visits over coffee and your stories about what you have been doing. Thank you to the staff who provide the most amazing opportunities for the participants every day. I have enjoyed working with each of you throughout the years. Thank you to the entire Leadership team for inspiring each other to make amazing things happen. We encountered challenges along the way, however, we always found solutions together. Thank you to the Board of Directors for supporting me throughout my career at Cosmo. You all give your time and energy to make Cosmo “The Miracle on 34th Street”.

I will dearly miss everyone and I am proud to have been associated with Cosmo for almost 38 years. I feel fortu-nate to have worked at a job that didn’t seem like a job but rather an opportunity to enjoy the ups and downs of Cosmo life with my extended family. I also thoroughly enjoyed my many visits with family members and care-givers over the years. I wish each of you all the best. I will miss the laughs and the good times. I will leave with the fondest of memories and thank each of you for being part of them. The joy of the journey is in the ride and what a ride it has been!! Thank you for being on the ride with me.

Best wishes always, Denise Young

the cosmo communicator Page 2

Farm Life!

Walter Lane is a place where we can meet new friends and experience wonderful activities in a farm setting. A group from LE 4 was able to spend the day at Walter Lane. Ac-tivities such as the petting zoo, creating potted plants and having lunch outside made this an enjoyable day. Bruce the goose was a huge hit as were the baby goats. Thank you to Light of the Prairies for the activities they have planned when we get there. We truly enjoy the farm setting and plan to spend more time out there this sum-mer.

A small group from Supported Work toured the Canadian Light Source learning about the brightest light in Canada and all the different scientific uses for it. They also learned about light diffraction and received a com-plimentary pair of glasses that turn light sources into rainbows. They had a great time!

Cats at SCAT

A group from Arlington has been volunteering weekly at SCAT

Street Cat Rescue program. We pick up donations from Cow-

town and Pet Value Kensington

and deliver them to SCAT’s

main office. These donations

include cat food, beds, toys, cat

trees, and other items to help

SCAT’s foster families support

their rescued animals. After de-

livery, we get to interact and

play with some of the cats that

stay at SCAT’s main office.

We’d like to give Erin from

SCAT a special thank you for

providing this opportunity to

give back to the community.

Michael Baldhead is a passionate and multifaceted artist from Community and Enriched Sup-ports! Michael can be found daily work-ing on his art with

intense devotion. He alternates between colouring of pre-drawn pictures and his own free-hand work. Michael dedicates his time and detail orientated mind to complex and intricate colourings. These require impressive focus and attention to detail which he manages naturally! Mi-chael equally lends his time to working on his creative and diverse free-hand drawings. His personal works vary from pieces inspired by his personal interests and completely unique pieces. Accompanying this write-up is a collage Michael created to display his variety of works for you all to enjoy!

Did you know Supported

Work has a collection of art-

work on display for sale. The

artwork is created by a varie-

ty of participants who spend

time throughout the week

creating their pieces. Partici-

pants also enjoy creating

double fleece, knotted blan-

kets, baby blankets, and

wheelchair blankets which

are all available for purchase

in our Supported Work area,

located near the administra-

tion office.

the cosmo communicator Page 3

Cosmo’s Annual Fashion Show

First BBQ of the Summer

Community and Enriched Supports and Life Enrichment #1 came

together June 4th for a fantastic BBQ at the Forestry Farm! We cel-

ebrated the beginning of summer with a feast of hotdogs, chips, and

iced tea!

The afternoon was spent enjoying the warm sun while visiting with

our panoply of friends and co-workers as well as competing in a

friendly tournament of bean bag toss! These joint events give a

great opportunity to experience the camaraderie throughout the

many diverse programs at Cosmo.

We would like to thank Sobey’s, Maple Leaf, and the many staff for

the donations they made for

to the BBQ. Without their

support, large events like this

would not be possible.

Community and Enriched supports’

b.y.o.b. compost sale!!!

Over the past year, we have worked diligently to create a building-wide compost system here at Cosmo!

We are now ready to share the rewards with any par-ticipants, staff or families looking to add a nutritious

boost to their gardens this summer! What you need to do:

- Find us, C.E.S., on the top floor of Cosmo - B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Bucket) - Bring $5

And you’ll be on your way with a bucket of fresh compost soil!

IF YOU CAN’T TAKE THE HEAT........SPEAK UP

The body normally cools itself by sweating. Dur-ing hot weather, especially with high humidity, sweating isn’t enough. Body temperatures can rise to dangerous levels if you don’t drink enough wa-ter and rest in the shade. You can suffer from heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

Any worker exposed to hot and humid conditions is at risk of heat illness, especially those doing heavy work tasks or using bulky protective cloth-ing and equipment. Some workers might be at greater risk than others if they have not built up a tolerance to hot conditions, including new work-ers, temporary workers, those on meds, or those returning to work after vacation. All workers are at risk during a heat wave.

The three main heat related illnesses are heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and heat cramps. Heat stroke can be fatal and heat exhaustion and heat cramps can quickly lead to heat stroke if left un-treated.

To prevent heat related illness:

Drink water every 15 minutes, even if not thirsty Rest in the shade to cool down Wear a hat and light-colored clothing Learn the signs of heat illness and what to do in an emergency Keep an eye on fel-

low workers

the cosmo communicator Page 4

Celebrating Supported Work—Elmwood Residence

Elmwood was one of the first work placements for our Supported Work program 20 plus years ago. Over the years many participants have had the opportunity to work at Elmwood. Our list right now consists of 22 participants including: Jenessa V, David E, Kris-tie K, Shaun P, John C, Tim L, Jen M, Faye G, Mike S, Cindy D, Andrea D, Don B, Velvet T, Caroline Z, Daryl B, Justin T, Rebecca L, Kim J, Chris B, John F, Morgan S, and Danny S. There are many duties to complete during a shift at Elmwood including putting away and hanging up all laundry under the appropriate names and in the right rooms. Kristie is an amazing towel folder; some days she will fold up to five bas-kets of towels. We put away all towels to the linen closets throughout the build-ing. We make beds, clean bathrooms, sweep and mop, clean mirrors, and hot spots. We help vacuum mats throughout the building and the furniture in the sit-ting lounge. We wipe chairs and clean the dividers between the tables in the din-ing room. When asking Kristie what she enjoys most about Elmwood she says “the folding” and “she gets to go out everyday to do her job!“ Great work everyone!!

Elmwood Celebrates

50 Years! The Elmwood Family Picnic and 50th Anniversary Party was held on June 1st at Nutana Curling Club. Each resident was able to add string to a collaborative art piece that formed the Elmwood tree.

Angie Weisner sang a welcome song and speeches were made. There was a delicious BBQ pulled pork lunch with salads. The Balloon Guy was busy creat-ing balloon art. Elvis drove right into the curling rink in his blue Cadillac. He sang and had everyone on their feet dancing.

The party ended with cake and ice cream. Over 400 people at-tended to make this celebration a huge success!

Volunteer Corner Cosmo is so lucky to continue their volunteer partnership with Mother Earth Greenhouse. Linda Risling, a horticulturist from Mother Earth, leads the Horticulture Group periodically through-out the warm months. They begin each year with a visit to the

greenhouse where the participants help pick out plants to be used at Cosmo. Throughout the summer Linda plans a variety of lessons teaching the participants all about plants and how to care for them. To end the year, Linda leads the group in creating beautiful cen-terpieces for our Christmas Dinners.

the cosmo communicator Page 5

Day of Caring 2019!

United Way’s Day of Caring was held on June 11, 2019 and Cosmo was lucky enough to participate in amazing activities!

A group from Supported Work was fortunate to be have their Fun at the Farm event partnered with

BHP Billiton. BHP provided 12 volunteers and financial support for the event. Volunteers helped

facilitate a day full of activities including a variety of nature themed crafts that engaged partici-

pants in painting plastic sun catchers, or personalizing a canvas with abstract painting with the use

of leaves and pine

cones. In addition,

sporty activities

such as bowling

and bean bag toss

were featured along

with karaoke and

dancing! The volun-

teers were on top of

putting together a deli-

cious lunch that included hotdogs, macaroni and potato salads, beverages, and ice-cream desserts for

all to enjoy. All of the participants and volunteers had a great time and made some new friends. The

staff from BHP were an amazing group of volunteers. We would like to thank them for all their hard

work and great sportsmanship.

A group from Arlington enjoyed Art in the Park with BMO for their Day of Caring activity.

BMO provided ten volunteers and also

helped fund this event. The volunteers

helped barbecue, serve food, run the petting

zoo, and planned large outdoor games.

Thank you United Way for facilitating this

amazing day!

5 Years Amal Asfada Matthew Bell Norrie Buchinski Michel Caisse Shane Fleming Lisa Gregor Steven Kinakin Mark Pokiak Shelly Wiebe

10 Years Gus Cherry Vernon Eyjolfson Justin Fraser Curtis Gerwing

Jesse Haughn Stephanie Hlynsky Jenny Janvier Allison Man EvgenyMiroshnichen-ko Donna Romashenko Brett Sperling Patrick Tharp Michael Weyer

15 Years Jason Auchstaetter Anthony Busch Ian Cushon Joel Fehr Cory Kadlec

Stuart MacLennan Trevor Martens Shaun Poncelet Crystal Quintal Cynthia Toews

20 Years Peggy Balan Sharman Berg Betty Ann Foth Anthony Hrytsak Kristie Krzyszton Mike Snell Vanden Wiebe

25 Years Margaret Claypool Marlene Davitko

Kim Doerksen David Eagle Gloria Fournier Jason Green Matthew Smith Jonathon Turgeon

30 Years Stanley Brass Rhonda Weir

35 Years Daryl Beaudry Richard Keller Orest Klypak James Matieshen William Monahan

Holly Rogalsky

40 Years Patricia Campbell Marilyn Knorr Randy Lilly Byron McCaig

45 Years Barbara Karpow Gladys MacDonald Donald Neufeld Carolyn Sedler

Participant Recognition Congratulations to the following participants who received years of service recognition awards. Thank you for your

hard work and commitment to Cosmo!

the cosmo communicator Page 6

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

July 1—5 Cosmo Closed Cold Plate Sub & Chips

Chicken

Souvlaki, Rice,

& Salad

Egg Salad

Sandwich

July 8—12 Ham &

Cheese

Sandwich

Macaroni

&

Cheese

Pulled Pork

&

Coleslaw

BBQ Burger,

chips, & pop

Tuna

Sandwich

July 15—19 Turkey & Swiss

Sandwich

Taco

in a Bag BLT Wrap

Smokies &

Perogies Chef Salad

July 22—26 Italian Sub Cheese Lettuce

& Tomato

Sandwich Hot Dog & Chips

BBQ Burger &

Salads

BLT Pasta

Salad &

Garlic Stick

July 29 - Aug 2

Ham, Cheese,

& Lettuce

Wrap

Roast Beef &

Cheese

Sandwich

Chicken Bacon

Ranch Wrap

BBQ Smokie on

a Bun with

Salad

Beans

&

Wieners

Riverside Cafe Menu for the Month of July

Sandwiches Monday, Tuesday & Friday $2.50 Wednesday & Thursday Specials $4

Soup available Daily for $1

July 1 Cosmo Closed (Canada Day) August 5 Cosmo Closed (Civic Holiday) September 2 Cosmo Closed (Labour Day) September 13 Summer Wind Up

TRANSPORTATION CORNER: IT’S A HEAT WAVE ! Due to the extreme hot weather we have experienced in the past week, we have put some safeguards in place to keep every one healthy. All bus drivers will have windows and vents open on their buses to keep air flow-ing. The buses can become very warm when they stop to load or unload their passengers. We are loading buses at the end of the day within a 15-minute time frame, so participants will not have to sit on the bus for extended periods of time with out air flow. We ask that participants riding the buses in the extreme hot weather not wear jackets as it may cause over heating. If any participant has diffi-culty withstanding very warm temperatures, they have the choice of stay-ing home. We want everyone to have a safe and enjoyable summer, so please

take care in the very warm weather.

STAFF CHANGES Marie Clipperton—maternity leave

Deidre Eruero—maternity leave Elise Dang—casual

STAFF LEAVING Katie Walls

Eliazabeth Olaes Denise Young—retiring

NEW STAFF Megan Tiegen-Gaede

PARTICIPANTS LEAVING Brian Zerr

Gary Herle—retiring

NEW PARTICIPANTS Shaun Kondra

Congratulations Derek and Deidre Eruero On the birth of their son Caelum Eseoghene May 23, 2019 6lbs. 1oz.

Do you happen to have any crayons or markers sitting

around just taking up space?

Please donate them to the Supported Work area for our art projects.