Day Hab Special Olympics 2009

Recently, 80 individuals from Springbrook's five Adult Day Habilitation Programs took part in it's Third Annual Day Hab Olympics at the Main Campus gymnasium area.

Competitors had been practicing for several weeks for the Day
Hab Olympics at their own programs. 'Olympic Trials' took place
on their monthly Therapy Day the previous month to see what group of individuals would be taking part in each event. Every individual from each program would compete to see who would bring 'The Gold' back to their Day Hab Program.

The Day Hab Olympics started with the opening ceremonies. Each Day Hab brought their 'Team Game Piece' that they created with paper mache and decorated in the previous weeks for a life-sized game board for the score tallies. Soon after, a torch was passed and brought into the cheering 'stadium'. Each individual took part in two events during the Olympics. The competitors gave it their all, the points earned were tabulated, and in the afternoon, the Day Hab Game Pieces were moved along the life-sized gameboard as per the points earned in the competitions. In the end, two Day Habs were tied for the most points !!!

A large celebration took place afterwards. What a proud moment ! Every competitor also received a small trophy for their efforts. After the closing ceremonies, a joint sing-a-long among all the competitors and staff members to close the Day Hab Olympics took place.
Congratulations to all the competitors who took part in the Day Hab Olympics, to all the staff of the Day Habs who helped out, and a special thanks to the Clinical Staff (Lorna, Amy, Cynthia, Charlene, and Cherie) for setting up and planning the event.  Everyone is looking forward to next year's Olympics. Even though only one Day Hab can take claim to the 'gold', everyone who participated  in these events came out a winner...

Volunteering at Local Senior Center

At Community Connections Day Habilitation Program in Oneonta, every member does their part to give back in some way to their community. One example of this takes place every other Thursday, when participants Clayton, Michelle, Marilyn, and Paul, along with staff members Skip and Robin , go to Nader Towers, a
local senior living center, to run a BINGO program
that takes place after their senior meals program concludes.

 

The participants bring BINGO prizes that they selected at local Dollar Stores and set them up on a large table.  Michelle, Marilyn, and Paul help to pass out the BINGO cards and chips while being greeted by the senior citizens. Sometimes the start of the game is even held a bit due to their conversations.

 

Once the BINGO game begins, Clayton is in charge of spinning the wire BINGO cage with the wooden numbered balls inside. He knows exactly when to spin it, and where to stop turning it and then staff calls out the number. The participants also play their cards, hoping to win a prize. To keep things interesting, occasionally a new rule will be added, such as getting two prizes if someone gets a BINGO in 15 numbers or less. On most occasions, there are four regular games played, along with a coverall on the last game, which is worth two prizes. On a few days, they'd ask the seniors there if they want to play a bonus game afterwards, and seldom does anyone leave. Some of the senior citizens there has said that they look to forward to for the BINGO program on Thursdays.

 

The Day Hab participants are all known by name there, and have developed friendships with the seniors. If one of the participants couldn't make it, the seniors there ask if he/she is alright. They talk to the volunteers directly. It's amazing how doing an hour or so of volunteering can bring personal pride and joy to someone. It really elevates the level their self worth knowing that they are donating their time to make other people's lives more fulfilled.

Giving Back to the Community

Springbrook’s five Day Habs are showing the local community what it means to 'give back'. Some participants visit the SPCA to donate newspapers for the animals’ cages and love to pet the cats in the ‘feline room’, while others make tied fleece Blankets of Love and deliver them to the residents of a local nursing home. Still others distributed magazines to hospital waiting rooms and local nursing homes, where they enjoy interacting with residents anxious to peruse the latest selection of reading material. A group of volunteers deliver meals to local shut-ins, often stopping for a brief chat before heading to the next stop, then return to their Day Hab with a free lunch and dessert to enjoy after a job well done.

A local food bank, the Salvation Army Food Pantry and the local Salvation Army Thrift Store also benefit from the volunteering efforts of Springbrook’s Day Hab participants. Other volunteer opportunities include gathering shopping carts, stamping cards at a local library, assembling pizza boxes, dusting the shelves of local stores and running a BINGO program for senior citizens.

Day Hab Visits Firefighters

On Tuesday February 10th, members of Community Connections Day Habilitation Programs went to Hunter Mountain Ski Resort to see the 'pre-show' for the Annual FDNY and East Coast Firefighter Races.

 

When they arrived, several hundred firemen dressed
in full garb were preparing to compete, and MANY of them were already skiing down the slopes in full gear (helmet, coat, boots, etc...) practicing. They couldn't believe our eyes !!!  Teams of five firefighters dressed in full turn-out gear attempt to navigate through a race course while carrying a 50 foot fire hose. Tuesday's races were for only New York City Firemen. The winners would then compete Wednesday against any paid or volunteer fire company outside of New York City for the East Coast Championship. The proceeds from this event is be donated to the N.Y. Firefighters Burn Center Foundation.

“Singing Sign-Sations”

Who says you have to sing to be in the choir? At Springbrook participants learn to sign the lyrics to songs as a way of communicating beyond words.

On January 23, 2008 participants from all 5 of Springbrook’s Day Habilitation Centers joined together to have a combined choir practice. It was the first time for everyone to be together to practice and the energy in the room could have given light to the entire building! They wore shirts to represent a different color of the rainbow and when all sitting together, the brilliant colors matched the smiles on their faces. They performed the song “What a Wonderful World” with the help of day-Habilitation Clinicians.

In the 1970’s Springbrook was home to the “Hostel Singers” and in the 80’s, “The Upstate Bell Ringers”. In 2005 the “Springbrook Family Singers” made their debut, and today they are called the “Singing Sign-Sations”. They have been practicing for just about a year at the Maple Ridge location and just recently branched out to the rest of the Day centers at Springbrook.

They hope to begin performing at Springbrook events as well as possibly in the community. They will be practicing a song for our Spring Gala on May 17 and they are certainly a “Sign-Sation” to see!