MCC Monthly Matters

December 2025

EZee Street Just Got Even EZee-er

The Mary Campbell Center cut the ribbon on Thursday, December 4, 2025, to celebrate the completion of the EZee Street addition project. This new addition is part of an ongoing $7.35 million construction project here at The Center that includes vital improvements to 42 Resident rooms.

The outpouring of support from both our MCC Team members and the Delaware community was overwhelming. DE State Senator, Dan Cruce, New Castle County, County Executive, Marcus Henry, and DE Cabinet Secretary, Claire DeMatteis, Esq. (Human Resources, Ret.) were all in attendance for the momentous occasion. Special thanks to Residents Ally Brennan and Tara Graver for their assistance in cutting the ribbon.

These projects are the culmination of many things—A recognition of the need to modernize Resident rooms to improve comfort, the importance of added space to support growth and safety; the vision of The Mary Campbell Center Board to affirm these needs and plan for them; the skill and creativity of contractors who developed the space; and of course—the generosity of donors who made this dream a reality, (ARPA, Homes for Life Foundation, and MCC Foundation).

Room updates include new furnishings, flooring, lighting, technology, medical components, and bathrooms to ensure Resident comfort, safety, and quality care as part of the strategic plan for The Center. The one-story addition adds four rooms and a nurses’ station with an independent HVAC system to support any protracted infections requiring isolation.

Click here to check out WDEL’s coverage of the event.

IN THE HOUSE

MCC's Resident Artists

Instead of hitting the stores this Christmas, a few MCC Residents opted for a less commercial and more sentimental approach to gift giving.

Joe Csira is a retired high school history teacher and guidance counselor who now spends a portion of his free time volunteering at The Mary Campbell Center. What's Joe got to do with Resident's Christmas shopping or lack thereof? Joe visits The Center a few times a month to lead painting classes and as a result, some MCC creators felt inspired to give the gift of art this holiday season.

If you stand in, even just for a moment, during one of Joe's lessons, you'll see the joy he brings to the Residents and vice versa. Heather Roemer and Ally Brennan are two Residents who decided they'd paint for their loved ones this Christmas. Both artists worked closely with Joe to ensure each brush stroke would mean something special.

Thank you, Joe for encouraging Residents to explore their creativity and for giving them the confidence to do so.

With your guidance, Brennan and Roemer created more than gifts; they created artistic expressions of the reason for the season — love.

"I feel like I can really be myself around you."

-Ally Brennan to Joe Csira

Lunch & Learn

On Wednesday, December 3, MCC hosted Sarah Mallory, PHD from the University of Delaware School of Education & Center for Disabilities Studies for a Lunch and Learn.

Mallory's presentation focused on Understanding IDD and Challenging Behaviors. MCC Resident, Jessica Davenport, joined Mallory for the presentation to offer her own insight as a member of the IDD community. Following the presentation, Mallory opened the floor for Q&A.

The hour-long session was not only relevant to the work we do here, but beneficial as well as Mallory ensured her audience walked away with actionable knowledge and resources.

Jerry Spileki Returns for Carols by the Fire

Former MCC Executive Director, Jerry Spileki, is a man of many talents, both administrative and musical. Jerry led The Mary Campbell Center community for close to 30 years. In that time, Jerry started a holiday tradition with Residents that he honors to this day.

Each December Jerry hosts Carols by the Fire, a decades-old tradition Residents look forward to each year. Thank you, Jerry for keeping this wonderful tradition alive. We look forward to many more Carols by the Fire with you.

Pawty Time

On Thursday, December 11, the Education team hosted a first birthday pawty for MCC's favorite fluffy friend, Benji!

The pawty featured bunny tailored gifts, fun facts about Benji, and of course plenty of cuddles and pets. Benji donned a blue and yellow pawty hat as he soaked up the spotlight and blew out the carrot candle on his three-tiered birthday cake made entirely of treats. Does it get any better than that?

Since his arrival last year, Benji has brought nothing but joy to Residents and Staff alike. Happy 1st Birthday, Benji! We can't wait to celebrate the big two with you!

Visiting Vocals

Through the month of December, Christmas music is on the radio 24/7, but it's not often you get to experience it live, let alone more than once. This is however, not the case if you found yourself at The Mary Campbell Center during the month of December. On five different occasions, The Center was visited by talented vocalists and musicians offering beautiful renderings of timeless Christmas classics.

Thank you to the Brandywine Pops Orchestra, Jerry Spileki, Doug Poole, Diamond State Concert Band, and the Bethel Baptist Choir for sharing your talents with the MCC community during the 2025 holiday season.

Benji's Pawty Wasn't the Only Party in Town

The week before Christmas was chock full of festivities. First, we had the Resident Christmas party on Saturday, December 13. We welcomed Residents' families and friends for refreshments, carol singing, and holiday themed games.

Second in line, was the Staff Awards Ceremony + Christmas party on Wednesday, December 17, catered by the always delicious Bachetti Brothers. Congratulations to this year's award recipients, Isaac Thomas, LaShay Thomas, and Nykee Collins. And a special thank you to Tarah Pappas, Pat Dunn, and John Welch for presenting this year's awards.

And finally, for the countdown to Christmas finale, Santa and Mrs. Claus came to visit! The pair posed for photos and listened carefully as Residents told them what they wanted for Christmas!

BONUS CONTENT...

Resident, Dan Price, joined in on the Children & Youth holiday fun and surprised everyone when he showed up as Santa!

Happy New Year!

The new year is a time when many of us reflect on years past. Something tells us we'll be reflecting quite a bit in 2026 as we approach our 50th anniversary in May of 2026.

Thank you for being a part of the The Mary Campbell Center. We look forward to another year of Discovering Growing and Celebrating Abilities with you.

On the Road in Pictures

Most, but not all of the excitement took place in house this month which tends to be the case around Christmas and New Years. It's like Perry Como said, "There's no place like home for the holidays." This isn't to say there was a shortage of community outings. Residents and Staff kept the spirit of MCC holiday cheer alive and well as they ventured out to attend Shrek the Musical, Herr's Lights at Night, Deck the Halls Show, and everyone's favorite Disney on Ice!