Just a short time ago we celebrated as an agency the five-year anniversary of Community Living Trent Highlands. This is in some ways strange, as the three agencies that make up CLTH have been serving people and communities for well over 60 years each. We have had, however, another five years of coming together, getting to know each other’s communities, learning, sharing and growing as Community Living Trent Highlands.
We took time at the anniversary celebration to honour the vision and commitment of our founding board members, and we now have a plaque installed to keep them in our collective memory. At the event, many people asked the complex question about how things are going with the amalgamation. The answer is both simple and complicated. Firstly, there was no vision for a worldwide pandemic to insert itself into our first five years. Secondly, the simple answer is that our amalgamated agency is still evolving; we are still learning, growing, making plans, harmonizing and finding the best of what we do so we can do it some more.
Two and a half years ago, coinciding completely with pandemic times, we launched a committee called Positive Vibes. Forming Positive Vibes was based on the idea of centralizing the activities of the former celebrations, wellness, and communication committees. The Positive Vibes committee has been active alongside the ever-changing pandemic landscape, and is now for the first time planning ongoing in-person events. Members of the Positive Vibes Committee are focused on employee engagement, fun, wellness and all things positive.
Many of the amazing photos on the website and social media were taken during Positive Vibes activities. In the past two and a half years, the committee has put together spirit weeks at Christmas and Halloween with contests, events, challenges and virtual activities. There have been two summer camp weeks, filled with activities that remind us of all the summer camps of our childhoods - campfires, crafts, cabin names and camp T shirts.
There have been walking challenges, water challenges, photo contests, gratitude reminders, appreciation treats and many virtual teas, dances and trivia games. Anyone and everyone at CLTH - including the people we serve and their families, of course - have been welcomed to join in on the fun.
The positive vibes committee has kept us together when we had to be apart; they have made us laugh, get creative and get moving. Committee members keep trying new things that may appeal to different people - everything from quiet contemplative gratitude to outrageous Halloween haunting videos.
This magical group tries to make each day a little more positive, a little more fun and little more person-centred. So much of what they plan is about showing appreciation for all people that are part of CLTH. This is an appreciation that I want to ensure is reciprocated. Thank you, Positive Vibes, for the fun, the food and, now, the in-person celebrations.
