April 2019 Newsletter
We hope you enjoy this month's ACHIEVE Newsletter!
24th Annual Bob Warner Pin Crushing Classic
Thank you to everyone that supported and attended our 24th Annual Bob Warner Pin Crushing Classic! With 38 teams and more than 250 guests, ACHIEVE was able to raise nearly $25,000 to support programs for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities! To view photos from the Bowling Tournament, please click here!
Autism Awareness Day
April 2nd was Autism Awareness Day, and staff and individuals from ACHIEVE wore blue to celebrate! In addition, individuals had an opportunity to decorate puzzle pieces and realize that no matter how different we are, we all still fit together.
Growing Garden
Submitted By: Maggie Kapr
Last Summer, Core Room 1 at ACHIEVE's Day Habilitation Program started an indoor garden with Pixie Plants. They were small and planted in clay containers by the individuals. They have grown tremendously, and we just had to transplant them into bigger pots! The individuals enjoy watching their plants get bigger and love assisting with their care.
Tioga Earth Week
Submitted By: Caitlin Ropp
Tioga Day Habilitation celebrated Earth Day ALL week! From picking up garbage, to recycling, to nature walks, we were sure to learn about the importance of keeping this planet in the best shape possible. The folks here enjoyed going for a nature walk and creating "Earth" signs out of the things we found!
Party Night
Submitted By: Tori Studer
April's Party Night was held on April 12th at the American Legion Post 1645 - and everyone got dressed up for the night's theme: 90s Night! It was a wonderful night of denim, scrunchies, plaid, and 90's music. To learn more about Party Night, click here !
Welcome Chicks!
Submitted By: Caitlin Ropp
Tioga welcomed 18 baby chicks this April! The individuals are having a wonderful time meeting the newest additions to the family. Soon, they will be going to three different farms where they will live out their lives!
Amazing Sculpture
Submitted By: Lynne Majewski
Nathan Hills, previously showcased at an Art Studio in Binghamton, loves to sculpt. He recently finished this stunning sculpture of a clown, which he made all himself! Great work, Nathan!
Owego Community Gardens
Submitted By: Caitlin Ropp
Team Tioga has taken over the Owego Community Gardens in an effort to give back and were given seeds by Cornell! We spent the last couple months planting and praying the cold weather stays away so we can finally transplant!
Earth Day
Submitted By: Sue Benjamin
In honor of Earth Day, participants from Chenango Day Habilitation made pine cone bird feeders!
Afternoon Appetizer Tasting
Submitted By:John Adams
Ed and Jenny invited Amy Howard, CEO of ACHIEVE, for an Afternoon Appetizer Tasting. Ed and Jenny are learning about different food groups and how to prepare an appetizer for a cocktail party. Ed and Jenny prepared crackers with a cream cheese base, Italian parsley, a dash of pepper, and topped it with a piece of prosciutto ham. They also prepared the same cracker with cream cheese topped with hot salsa. Lastly, they made Swedish meatballs in a grape jelly and sweet chili sauce. It was an absolutely awesome appetizer afternoon for all! 
Harriet Tubman House
Submitted By: Amy Pello
Participants decided to take a trip over to the Harriet Tubman house and learn all about the underground railroad, and how remarkable Harriet Tubman was.
Thank You!

Thank you to all the participants that assisted in stuffing the goodie-bags everyone received at the 24th Annual Bob Warner Pin Crushing Classic! You were all such a great help!
Promotions

Congratulations to the following employees for receiving a promotion in March!
  • Raffe Morehead - Program Manager
  • Catina Sutton - Director of Compliance and Innovation
  • Victoria Studer - Executive and Compliance Assistant
  • Heaven Fink - Assistant Residence Manager
Outgoing Board Members
We would like to express our sincerest gratitude to three Foundation Board of Directors members who's terms ended in April:

  • Dr. Sandra Michael - serving since 2012.
  • Denis Wickham - serving since 2013, and previously served on the Board of Directors since 2005.
  • Doug Johnson - one of the original members of the Foundation Board of Directors - serving since 1993.

Career Fair
Submitted By: Caitlin & Julie
Thank you to everyone that attended the Owego-Apalachin School District Career Fair. Close to 200 kids stopped by to learn about ACHIEVE, and get a piece of candy. There were many children who told stories of a loved one who has a disability, and also many who were familiar with the agency through family members. We thoroughly enjoyed talking with the kids and representing the agency!
Paint the Ice Night
Submitted By: Melissa Blakeslee
Recreation Respite attended the Hockey 4 Hope "Paint the Ice Night" at the Broome Community College Ice Rink. Participants and staff got to paint the ice with pictures and messages of hope, encouragement, and love for those living with or lost to cancer. The paintings were sealed into the ice and on display during the Hockey for Hope game that took place the next night!
Car Museum
Submitted By: Melissa Blakeslee
Participants from Recreation Respite enjoyed the day in Norwich, visiting the Northeast Classic Car Museum!
Xtreme Ambition MMA Visit
Submitted By: Victoria Studer
ACHIEVE participants had a blast learning a few martial art techniques with Marcos and Tammy from Xtreme Ambition MMA & Fitness in Endicott!
Fire Station
Submitted By: Shawnta Smith
A group from On the Pond got to visit the Five Mile Point Fire Company! They sat in on a fire safety class, and were even able to get in the fire trucks and try on some gear! We'd like to thank the Five Mile Point Fire Department for letting us visit; all of the individuals came back with BIG smiles!
Veteran's Birthday Card
Individuals from On the Pond saw that the community was sending as many birthday cars to Duane Sherman - a World War II Veteran who was celebrating his 96th birthday! They decided to take part in this initiative and sent out 15 handmade cards! He received approximately 100,000 cards! WOW!
Parfait Day
Submitted By: Tori Studer
Thank you Cornell Cooperative Extension for visiting our On the Pond ~ At Cutler Program and teaching some of our folks about healthy and delicious food options they can make! Everyone was even able to enjoy a refreshing fruit parfait!
April Showers Bring May Flowers
Submitted By: Shannon Westbrook
Participants have been busy working in the greenhouse to make sure their plants are growing well. Soon they will have a greenhouse full of flowers, fruits, and veggies!
Baby Turtle
Submitted By: Shannon Westbrook
While loading a van, Habilitation Specialist Shawnta noticed a baby turtle in the parking lot. She saved it and brought it inside to show the individuals. After answering their many questions about turtles, a group carefully brought their new friend to a grassy area near Cutler Pond to set it free.
ACHIEVE's 2019 Membership Campaign
Your membership and inclusion in the agency helps support the individuals we serve by creating more opportunities for personal growth and achievements. Your membership helps give them a voice! Membership provides our agency more power to advocate legislatively at the state and national levels. As an agency, we continue to face economic challenges, and larger membership numbers gives us a stronger voice.
  • Membership is only $5 a person
  • Membership lasts one year, so if you were a member in 2018 please renew in 2019
  • Membership is open to the people we support, their families, our employees, and to members of the community that are 18 years of age or older
  • Invite your friends and family to become members too! The more voices the better
June 7th - The McKinley
August 22nd - Cutler Pond Road
September 28th - Chenango
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New this Year - ACHIEVE's Platinum Partners!
Thank you to our 2019 Sponsors!