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Arizona
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See pictures from
West Valley Special Olympics Basketball Tournament
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Prescott, AZ. Trip
See pictures from
Wickenburg Open House
Press Releases
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Newsletter
Articles:
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Monthly Adult & Older
Children Program Schedules
Are Now On-Line
The monthly schedules for the Adult and Older Children
Programs are not available on
the Calendar page.
Click here to select the calendar you need.
-
From the Director's Desk
(Arizona)
I
took a trip to New Hampshire last week to see my parents. They
are amazing people...they listen when
I need to talk, they talk to
me about their dreams, they make me
laugh a ton, and most of
all, they have let me be who I am and
make choice that have
lead me down some amazing roads,
though a bit bumpy at times.
Read more...
-
Dean's Blog
Every person on this planet has a journey that starts the day
they are born. How their
journey develops depends on various
guiding factors, such as
the environment, knowledge through
information,
conditioning, nurturing, and much more.
Read more...
-
Expanding Experiences
AmeriServe's motto is "making tomorrow better because of what
is done today." Dean's
article focuses on this very important
concept and I'd like to
write along the same theme.
Read more...
-
ASI Monthly Elective Education -
Iowa
Positive Teaching
Techniques - July 2010
Incident Prevent -
August 2010
Read more about the classes & schedules...
-
A Time of Change
One need only look at the TV or pick up a news paper to see
how fast and furious the
pace of change has become. As we
move through this time of
change, we are challenged to
manage for the best
outcome for all of our associates.
Read more...
-
Volunteer Opportunities include
FUN!
Volunteering is fun! It can also lead to the development of
some very special
relationships! Thus it is with participants of
the ASI day habilitation
program and Santa's Children
Christmas Village and its
founder, Orin Hodges.
Read more...
-
Gifts of Summer
Gardening
"Keep Council Bluffs Beautiful" in cooperation with the Council
Bluffs Recreation and
Parks Department introduced a new
program this spring
called Creek Top Community Gardens.
Read more...
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Article One - From the Director's Desk (Arizona)
Lessons from Life
I took a trip to New Hampshire last week to see
my parents. They are amazing people…they listen when I need to talk, they
talk to me about their dreams, they make me laugh a ton, and most of all,
they have let me be who I am and make choices that have lead me down some
amazing roads, though a bit bumpy at times. Through traveling these roads I
think I have learned a lot that I am able to use every day and I don’t say,
“ I wish I knew that back then...” because it would have limited some of my
growth and learning.
These are the things I have
learned over the years:
1. Family loves
unconditionally
2. Friendship makes life a lot nicer
3. It is okay to be alone sometimes
4. Alone and lonely are two different things
5. Be who you are, not who others want you to be-by the same token, respect
people
for who they are
6. Have your own opinions, but be open to listening to the perspective of
others
7. Don’t procrastinate, it just makes things worse, if you are going to do
it then DO IT
8. Worry doesn’t change anything except your appearance (lines, grey hair)
9. Follow your dreams
10. Have dreams to follow
11. You won’t achieve goals unless they are written down and tracked
12. You can not plan for everything…life happens. Accept and move forward.
13. Be open to every possibility…life is full of awesome surprises but you
won’t see
them with your eyes
closed
I know this is stuff that
everyone knows; I also know that during times that are stressful it is
really easy to forget these things. Are you growing and learning during
your bumpy road trips?
In this months edition of
The Connector you will read about perspective, having your eyes opened to
new things, motivation, teamwork and modeling. We hope you enjoy this
month’s edition of The Connector!
Happy July!
Michelle Hallock
Director
mhallock@ameriserveintl.com
Back
to top
Article Two - Dean's Blog
Shaping Tomorrow
Every person on this planet has a journey that
starts the day they are born. How their journey
develops depends on various guiding factors, such as the environment,
knowledge through information, conditioning, nurturing, and much more. One
factor guiding all of this is an individual’s perspective, that inner voice
that directs and moves you. A perspective is an evaluation of ones point of
view; the result is the realization of those perspectives that drives all of
us throughout our journey in life.
Continuously, we develop a
surfeit of perspectives from our youth through our golden years. Some of
those perspectives yield good thought processes and some do not. The method
to solving your perspective is to measure its validity through action and
experience, kind of a live and learn translation. Did this viewpoint work or
was there another course of action to take? There is only one person to
satisfy a perspective and that person is you!
The title of this article
relates to a perspective, that the things we do today shape tomorrow. A
reality that is inevitable that tomorrow will exist and indeed become a
reflection of what we did today or days before; with this in mind, choosing
the path starts with planning for tomorrow. Whether it is a short or long
term plan, the process revolves within the individual to perceive the
benefit of shaping tomorrow. Again, the only beneficiary is the individual
who perceives this perspective as real and authentic. For those of you who
agree, we then share the same perspective.
Dean Anast
Lead Client Service Coordinator
danast@ameriserveintl.com
Back
to top
Article Three - Expanded Experiences
AmeriServe's motto is
"making tomorrow better because of what we did today".
Dean's article focuses
on this very important concept and I'd like to write along the same theme.
I enjoy illustrating concepts with real-life applications so I thought I'd
share some recent experiences that increased my awareness of my perspective
in several ways.
I recently visited some
very interesting places. Two of them were astronomical observatories, at
which people are using special instruments and technology to gather
information about the world. The other place was an enclosed ecosystem in
which people can study how nature works-how plants, animals, and weather
influence one another. All these places allow the people doing the studies
and the people visiting to have brand new perspectives on the world and on
themselves.
At AmeriServe, we are
doing the same thing. We are influencing one another's perspectives by
being open to the idea that someone else's perspective might be very
different from our own and that we can learn from that difference.
While driving away from
each of the places I visited, I felt different. My awareness had been
expanded. I also thought of AmeriServe and the expansion I've felt there.
In my experience here so
far, I have many times felt that same increase in awareness, and ability,
after really understanding someone else's point of view. It is a freeing
feeling, and one that allows us all to do positive things we could not have
done before. That certainly is a good way to shape tomorrow.
Elizabeth
Wagner
Day Program Manager
Wickenburg, Arizona
ewagner@ameriserveintl.com
Back
to top
Article Four -
ASI Monthly Elective Education - Iowa
Positive Teaching Techniques
Friday, July 16th 3:30-5:30p.m.
Thursday, July 22nd
12:00-2:00p.m.
Training provided by American
Institute of Management.
See Sign-up
sheet at work location.
This
session focuses again on the skills needed to reward, refine and reshape
behavior to enhance personal satisfaction, and home and community
interaction. Practical, hands-on instruction will reinforce the concepts
behind the learning and making the results useful immediately after the
conference.
Objectives:
- State four values of positive teaching and
positive behavior support.
- Understand how your attitudes and values shape the nature of your
interactions with
persons you support.
- Demonstrate understanding of the Ignore/Interrupt; Redirect; Reward
process.
- State and demonstrate 5 types of prompts.
- Define and demonstrate shaping and chaining techniques.
Incident Prevention
Friday, August 13th - 3:30-5:30pm
Thursday,
August 26th -
12:00-2:00pm
Training provided by American
Institute of Management.
See Sign-up sheet at work location.
The best way to address an incident is not to
have one in the first place! Learn the steps, tips, and techniques necessary
to increase opportunities to prevent incidents.
Objectives:
- Understand the link between communication,
relationships, and environment
- Review the stages of the behavior cycle
- Understand 5 steps related to behavior
- Establish proactive strategies
- Link the information to actions used to support specific clients
Back
to top
Article Five - A
Time of Change
One need only look at the TV or pick up a news paper to see how fast and
furious the pace of change has become. As we move through this time of
change we are challenged to manage for the best outcome for all of our
associates. The economy has caused some the biggest changes and will
continue to cause them for the foreseeable
future. Last December we experienced the first of the cuts in funding. Even
with funding cuts AmeriServe continued to support people with the quality
and dignity they deserve. As we look to the future we may experience many
more challenges such as this. Clients and customers of AmeriServe can rest
assured that we will carefully plan and manage to reduce the impact of these
changes on the quality of the supports we provide. We will work with
funders, counties and case mangers to ensure we have met the challenges in a
fashion that results in the continuation of the quality and dignity of a
lifestyle of choice
purpose and value. Working with all our stakeholders to pursue the best
possible result is another one of the things that makes us “The People
Company”
Tom Hoff,
Director of Marketing & Business Development
Back
to top
Article Six -
Volunteer Opportunities include FUN!
Volunteering is fun!
It can also lead to the development of some very special relationships!
Thus it is with participants of the ASI day habilitation program and Santa’s
Children Christmas Village and its founder, Orin Hodges. People
participating in the day habilitation program have had a relationship with
Orin and this non-profit organization for over a year. Santa’s Village
helps children and families in need locally and all over the world. ASI
clients volunteer at Santa’s Village doing things such as packing donated
items for delivery or shipping, helping to set up for fundraisers and
banquets, labeling donated books, and doing sorting and inventory of donated
items. Over the summer they have helped tend a garden which the Village
distributes to those in need.
Clients and staff were
recently invited to spend the day at Santa’s Village, enjoying a picnic
lunch, fishing, cooling off in the water, and relaxing in the wide open
spaces. Here’s what some of the people had to say about their day:
-
Matthew S.: “I liked
that we got to go fishing and caught 9 fish, and how Orin, the
owner, was so nice and respectful to me.”
-
Bryan S.: “I liked
going fishing. There is a lot of fish in the ponds, and the food was
great.”
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Heather S.: “I enjoyed
the BBQ and the fire hydrant that Orin sprayed. It was fun
running through it.”
-
Jacob S.: Jacob
enjoyed getting wet and getting in the pool; he didn’t want to leave.
- Rob
P.: “I really liked the
hamburgers.”
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John C.: “I had fun
fishing with my teacher Jim.”
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Nancy A.: Ice cream!
-
Justin S.: Justin liked
walking around in the big open space!
Many thanks to Orin for the
day of fun and relaxation! We look forward to continuing to help others
through our volunteer experiences at Santa’s Children Christmas Village.
Mike Caricofe, Planning Center
Coordinator
Sue Blakestad, CSC Specialist
Back
to top
Article Seven -
Gifts of Summer Gardening
“Keep Council Bluffs
Beautiful” in cooperation with the Council Bluffs Recreation and Parks
Department introduced a new program this spring called Creek Top Community
Gardens. The purpose is to provide a place where people can garden if they
do not have space at their own homes. Many people receive joy in gardening
and this new program has provided the opportunity for people served by
AmeriServe International, Inc. to be among them. The garden plots that have
been made available through this program have proven to be a productive and
rewarding project for persons served at the day habilitation program. Brian
said, “Gardening takes patience and skills; I have learned it is not done in
one day.” Cameron says he “enjoys pulling weeds and has learned not to
over-water the plants.” David, Ben, and Kathleen each had the same answer
as to what they enjoyed about the garden: they each said it “smells good!”
They also said they enjoy digging in the dirt and watching the plants grow.
Soon they will be enjoying the rewards and the fruits of their labor.
Alan Blakestad,
Director
Back
to top
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