STRIVE Rocks 2018

It's hard to believe it, but STRIVE Rocks 2018 is in the books! This year, for the first time in STRIVE history, we went over $100K, raising $100,912 in total! We are so thrilled with how successful this year's event was, and want to give an enormous thank you to everyone who played a role. To our staff who coordinated the event, all of our volunteers, every donor, every fundraiser, and everyone who came and spent time with us this weekend- THANK YOU! We couldn't have done it without you.

This year's STRIVE Rocks Weekend was at the Cross Insurance Arena again, and was split into two smaller events. STRIVE Rocks All Day ran 10AM-6PM, and visitors enjoyed tons of activities, like bounce castles, tie dye, live music, photo booths, juggling acts, craft tables and more. Then at 8PM came our overnight marathon, going all the way until 8AM Sunday morning! We danced all night to live music, enjoyed tons of amazing food donated by local eateries, and had so much fun meeting new people and having the night of a lifetime.

Thank you again to all of our sponsors who helped make this weekend possible- we are so thankful for your support. We're closing the book on STRIVE Rocks for now, but we're already looking forward to 2019!

STRIVE 25

STRIVE 25 is having it's April event this Thursday, April 5th, from 6-8pm! Anyone 25 or older is invited for this night of games, music, dinner, and more! We hope to see you there!

STRIVE 25 is a social event for people ages 25 and older. We run the first Thursday of every month from 6-8pm. The cost is $10 and includes dinner, and anyone 25 and older is welcome!  Please contact Caroline Cole at ccole@pslstrive.org (or at 207-774-6278) with any questions or for more information.

TOPS

To conclude our unit on community safety, Next STEP took a tour of the South Portland Police Station. We got to see what a police officer has to deal with on a day to day basis as well as discuss strategies for remaining safe in our community. The Next STEPpers really enjoyed it and learned from the experience. Here is what some of them had to say about it!

                  

"It was very interesting. It was fun to learn about community safety and look around the            police station."

"It was very resourceful to learn new things about the community."

"It was good to see that police officers are kind people and not scary."

 

Next STEP regularly incorporates cooking into our weekly schedule as this is such an important independent living skill. Whenever possible, we emphasize how to make healthy choices. Each week Next STEP makes at least one snack and one meal. We start by researching on Pinterest for a recipe. Once we find a recipe that we can all agree on, we budget how much money we will need for the snack/meal and walk to Hannaford's. We then come back and work together to make the recipe and then share the meal or snack together. Another important aspect of meal preparation is cleaning up so we take turns to make sure we have left the kitchen the way we found it! One of our Next STEPpers said this about the cooking class,  "We learn healthy choices and recipes that I can make at home."

 

Next STEP is a great option offering quality curriculum for those who are on a waiting list for other services, in combination with other services or for those who may not qualify for other services. Please contact Betsy Morrison at bmorrison@pslstrive.org or 207-774-6278 if you would like more information regarding Next STEP or would like to schedule a tour. Part-time and full-time options are available.

This past month at Bayside, our participants focused on learning all about being safe in the community and the ins and outs of riding the city bus. The participants watched videos with information about riding the bus and how to be safe while doing so. We also continued busing and navigating within our Portland community as well as taking the bus to Falmouth, Westbrook, and South Portland. As one of our Adventure Days, Bayside participants went to a place they'd never been to before; The Point Community Center in South Portland. Here, they were able to play on the turf and check out the facility. One of the cool things that we do at Bayside every month is recognize the hard work of two individuals, who we call the VIP of the month. In order to receive VIP, the participant must get the most amount of points out of the full time participants or part time participants. The points are based on completing chores, doing worksheets, wearing weather-appropriate clothes, eating a health breakfast and dinner, and doing a social or physical activity outside of program. Below, you'll see this month's full-time and part-time VIPs!

 

   

STRIVE Bayside is a unique community supports program that is dedicated to exploring and increasing independence. Some of the goals we work on are grocery shopping, budgeting, cleaning, navigating the community, cooking and social skills. We run five days a week, Monday through Friday and have two daily sessions, 9:00-1:00and 1:00- 5:00. We offer full time (Monday- Friday) and part time (Tuesday, Thursday -or- Monday, Wednesday, Friday) options. We operate out of an apartment in down town Portland to simulate actual apartment living. If you would like more information about our program, or to schedule a tour please contact: Caroline Cole at 774-6278 or ccole@pslstrive.org. 

We had an awesome week of Camp during February vacation week! We went everywhere from Wilbur's Chocolate Factory, to Bradbury Mountain State Park, and a live animal show at Maine Audobon! We are looking forward to another awesome week of camp coming up in April. We'll be running during school vacation from April 16th-20th. If you or someone you know is looking for some fun during April vacation, contact Olivia at ofraioli@pslstrive.org! Hope to see you there!

 

After School

March was a great month for After School! We continued learning new cooking skills, and are becoming much more independent cooking. We also made some awesome window-art during our craft days, and took advantage of some new snowshoes that STRIVE got! We went to Payson Park and tried for the first time. It was tricky, but we got it after a little bit!

As the school year begins to wrap up, we're enjoying the time we spend together before one of our students graduates from high school! We can't wait for all the fun we'll have this spring.

 

STRIVE's After School Program provides an opportunity for students to participate in an engaging extension of their typical school day that reflects their individual, family and school goals. During each afternoon, students work on skills that support self-determination and independence, as well as spending time socializing with peers in a relaxed environment. After School runs Monday through Friday from 2pm-5pm during each student's respective school district schedule. For more information on After School, contact Olivia at ofraioli@pslstrive.org.