The Arc of Greater Plymouth
In This Issue
Quick Links
SOCIAL RECREATION
Today's forecast.......
Fun and Education
Archways employment services was offered an insider's view of what it takes to work as a weather forecaster from one of Boston's best! Danielle Vollmar of WCVB channel 5 Boston dropped by for a visit July 8th and gave the team at Archways a behind the scenes look at the work and education needed to forecast the weather. Danielle, who is a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist, shared with the team what education was needed to pursue a career as a meteorologist as well as some of her background which included storm chasing in Oklahoma City, chasing down tornados.
Her presentation included a variety of information about how storms are made, how rain is made, the science behind the historic winter this past February and how hurricanes are created. She also brought with her a fantastic power point presentation which included green screen information and some behind the scenes footage of her and the rest of the Storm Team 5 crew! She was very informative, answered the many great questions asked by the team here at Archways and before she left Bonnie Downs, who reached out to Danielle to get her here, presented her with a box of goodies from our Bakery that she took back to the Weather studio! It was a great day and everyone here wanted to thank Danielle for the visit and putting our team on channel 5's eye opener wake up call!

ARCHWAYS ENTERPRISES growing
 businesses 

WE WORK HARD TO MAKE YOU SHINE...
GO GREEN WITH US... Positive Footprints Recycling



For Goodness Cakes Bake Shop

128 Main Street
Carver, MA
Hours:
Tuesday -Saturday 10am-6pm

Like us on Facebook  

 

Archway Enterprises
Archway Enterprises

"The ARC of Greater Plymouth is one of our United Way's strongest partners in greater Plymouth County with a leadership team and staff that understand that services and support for people with developmental challenges are most effectively delivered with compassion and in collaboration with other community organizations and businesses."

 

Dennis Carman

President & CEO

United Way of Greater Plymouth County

 

"I think the Arc does great work within the local community and as a 4th generation business we like to support local initiatives that actually help real people in need."

 

Dave Gallerani

President & Owner

Cape Auto Body

 

"Communication is what makes our partnership work. You let us know what your clients can do and what your expectations of us are and we let you know and especially the individual who will be working for us what our expectations are. In the case of Efrain the entire staff treats him as part of the family and holds him accountable for the expectations we have for him and he has responded by meeting all our expectations as any other employee has to. We also have a very structured work environment which I believe helps the individuals such as Efrain meet our expectations and their own goals."

 

Dave McCaffrey

General Manager

Olive Garden Restaurant 


Thank you to our Sponsors and Community Business Partners .

Cordage Logo Color.1 

Duggan Builders Logo 

scoolgearlogo 

bay coast bank 

swebsterbank 

rfcu 

sARCOFMASSLOGO

October 2015 
4th Annual
5K Trik or Trot Race- It's Halloween!!
Run. Walk. Join A Team. Wear a Costume. Help us raise money to support the families we serve AND to purchase materials to build Buddy Benches for local elementary schools. Refreshments, raffles and fun!
Click here to register! Sponsorship Opportunities still available. Contact Susan O'Neal at 508 732-9292 ext 108 or [email protected]
Tickets On Sale
Sunday, December, 20 * 3:00- 5:00pm
 
The Sons of Serendip Christmas Concert!
Performing songs from their newly released Christmas CD. Plymouth North High School Performing Arts Center.

The Arc of Greater Plymouth's Arts and Culture Club on the Freedom Trail tour in Boston. They had a great time!
TURNING DREAMS INTO A PLAN FOR THE FUTURE
 
John Shea, who turns 22 in 2015,  is a young man with physical and visual challenges  and many interests and abilities .  He loves baseball, motorcycles, hotdogs, McDonalds, cola, beaches, running errands and Jurassic Park. Planning for John's future, his parents asked themselves how could they make a vocation, a meaningful day, a future out of this list?  When asked, John says he wants to sell hotdogs at Fenway and ride motorcycles for a living! 
 
  John uses a walker or wheelchair to ambulate, does not always stay on task, requires assistance with most activities, does not always speak understandably, has transitional anxiety and is legally blind, so they had some "outside the box" thinking to do.
 
John's Dad came up with the idea of a mobile hotdog cart that John could take to events including baseball games and motorcycle rallies to sell hotdogs, chips and cola.  A cart for sale was located, but John needed assistance to fund not only the purchase, but seed money for the whole venture.  Working with DDS and The Arc of Greater Plymouth Assoc. Director and Director of Family Support Malissa Kenney, resources were found to help fund not only the cart purchase, but also other expenditures to get the business venture up and running, like marketing and an awning.
 
 
Using funds from The United Way of Greater Plymouth County Transition grant, The Arc  offered to assist with half the cost. Next, his family was encouraged to help John apply for the Kurt Giessler Scholarship which gives money to help students apply ideas and knowledge to businesses, research, and volunteerism.

Although traditionally  recipients are accomplished academic scholars, to their credit,  the selection team at the Kurt Geissler Foundation saw its' value and decided to fund this unconventional project  John received a grant of $2000 !  The whole process speaks volumes about parents using creative thinking and seeking resources to help their kids reach their dreams rather than relying on conventional post transition options as well as institutions recognizing the value to community of people with disabilities
.
To prepare, John has been practicing at home with tongs, cooking hotdogs on a griddle. At Perkins School, he is participating in job training at the Perks Café on campus.  John had his debut at a private party recently and was happy to make hotdogs for his guests and eat them as well! John will have his hotdog cart ready for business on September 12th, 2015.  He aspires to be the official hotdog vendor for The Arc's  Buddyball season this spring! John's business is called The Doghouse Dog.
Watch for him at The Arc's Trik or Trot Race on October 31st  and around the South Shore. He will be the young man with a smile on his face shouting " Hotdogs! Get your hotdogs here"!
 
John's dream for the future includes recruiting some friends to work with him in his business venture. We wish him every success.
AFC Spotlight on Success
Kaitlin Carpenter, or Kat to all who know her well, has been with the ARC of Greater Plymouth Adult Family Care Division since 2012. She currently lives in Plymouth with a
 very supportive AFC foster family. She works with them to develop, practice and further her independent living skills.  She is determined to strive and work to her full potential, always eager to listen and learn.
 
Kat has been a participant in the Road to Responsibility Employment Program since 2008.  A year ago she was hired by Wal-Mart for her first paid job. She has held several positions there and each time has made a move to a more demanding and higher skilled position. Recently she requested a position in Stationery and in order to obtain the promotion was required to take  First Aid and Safety Training .  With the support of her foster family, she passed both tests.  Kat recently maintained and stocked the Stationery  department through the Back to School rush. 
 
Kat is an avid softball and basketball player. She was catcher for the Softball teams' Gold medal win at the 2015 Special Olympics.  She also enjoys cooking and has frequently cooked for the whole family.  Her specialities include  homemade pasta sauce with sausage and breaded chicken with rice and veggies.  She is eager to learn and cook more.
To keep fit , she works out with apps on her Iphone and plans to take a dance class this fall as well.
 
We congratulate this young woman and wish her continued success. 
Ryan Murphy Bench & Photo Gallery Dedication
"Enjoy Life" was the theme for a celebration on September 16th, 2015  held at The Arc of Greater Plymouth's 52 Armstrong Road offices to honor the life of Ryan Richard Murphy (1991-2013) son of Arthur and Kathy Murphy.
 
Over seventy people with special connections to Ryan joined his parents, brother Patrick, extended family and Arc staff to dedicate a beautiful photo wall and theme bench to honor his joyful, but painfully short life.  Exec. Director Roger Monty spoke of Ryan as "a man of few words," with a great zest for life.  Jill O'Reilly recalled how much Ryan adored Kayaking and how it influenced the design of the bench dedicated to his memory. 
Ryan loved the Arc dances, and always took a front and center dance floor spot at the Annual Dinner Fundraiser events. Whether it was Special Olympics, Hoop Heroes, Dances or just outings on the Pilgrim Belle, Ryan gave every experience his all.   His smile was contagious, his joy unlimited and his love unconditional. His short life made a huge difference for so many and his "Enjoy Life" memorial changes #52 Armstrong Road forever.
AFC Provider Night
Adult Family Care of the Arc of Greater Plymouth will sponsor a providers Open House on Thursday October 29th at 6:00pm held at St. Bonaventure Parish Hall, 803 State Road in Plymouth (right down the street from Adult dance at the Moose Lodge)
 
Donna M. White, R.N., PhD is the program's featured speaker. Dr. White is the former Director of the Commonwealth Research and Evaluation Unit, a program between the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health and Harvard University. Dr. White will discuss Compassion Fatigue, the topic of her doctoral dissertation. She is a recognized expert in this field.
 
The program will begin at 6:30pm preceeded at 6:00pm by dessert and coffee. The desserts are provided by "For Goodness Cakes" Bakeshop in Carver, owned and operated by the Arc of Greater Plymouth.
Archway Enterprises, the Employment Training Division of The Arc of Greater Plymouth was awarded a $40,000 State Giving Grant from the Walmart Foundation and the Massachusetts State Giving Advisory Council in June. 
 
The purpose of the Grant is to provide paid internships that create job opportunities for individuals with Intellectual/ Developmental or physical disabilities. The Developing Partnerships/Enriching Lives and Communities Intiative is now in it's 5th year and has the ultimate goal of securing paid employment for capable people.  The grant will fund 12 week paid internships for individuals age 22 and older who are in need of skills training and are chronically unemployed and/or underemployed.
 
Paid internships have proven to create job opportunities at a higher rate than unpaid job training, which is directed more at gaining work experiences and rarely develops into job offers. 
 Archway Enterprises current intiative has decreased the unemployment rate of people with disabilities in our program by 47% and this further funding could decrease it by a range of 31%-62%.
 
Job Coaches provide support and training assistance for the employer and the intern which greatly enhances the chances for success. The plan is to maintain our current business partners while continuing to develop new partnerships for paid internships. The program participants will seek paid training opportunities that are aligned with their individual talents, skills and passions. Some examples of current interests and skills include Food Service, Maintenance, Retail, Office Work, Landscaping, Teaching/Training, Animal Care, working with children and the elderly, sports, fundraising and computers.
 
The program has identified the need for meaningful work for historically undervalued people. We seek business partners who have the vision, mission, passion and culture to provide a work environment that allows adult interns to improve work skills, learn new skills and achieve personal growth through employment.  In exchange, these employers will acquire loyal, dedicated employees who will enrich their work environment and strengthen their community involvement. 
 
The Arc of Greater Plymouth is grateful to the Walmart Foundation for their generous support to enhance the lives of adults with disabilities.