From Our Arc Family to yours, we would like to
wish you all a
Happy Thanksgiving
Read on to see a few of the things we are thankful for...
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Partnerships On Our Journey
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November always brings to mind reasons to be thankful, The Arc of Rensselaer is no exception. We are thankful for staff who come to work every day to make a positive impact on people’s lives. We are thankful for the many partners we have formed that help all of us all on our journey. We are thankful for the support of the community who walk with us on our journey of inclusion.
Hopefully, during the next few weeks, you have the opportunity to pause for a moment and think of the many things in your life that you are thankful for. As part of that reflection, please consider partnering with us to support the Direct Support Professional Fund (DSP). No amount is too small as the collections from many add up. These funds will be distributed to staff before the year’s end. Direct Support Professionals are a vital component to individuals they support. For more information, please go to our website
https://www.renarc.org/donate/dsp-support-fund
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It is my pleasure to inform the community that The Arc of Rensselaer County recently completed its re-accreditation with the Council on Quality Leadership (CQL). The accreditation process focuses on; ongoing implementation and commitment to Shared Values®, maintaining and monitoring Basic Assurances ®, continuous improvement towards Person-Centered Excellence®, and supporting personal quality of life as measured by the Personal Outcome Measures®. The attainment of accreditation is a result of our partnerships together because we believe all individuals should be included members of society. I thank the administrative team who work each day towards achieving this mission. For more information on CQL, please visit their website at
https://www.c-q-l.org/
.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Don Mullin
CEO
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Check out our Facebook page on Giving Tuesday November 27th and if you give to the DSP Fund your dollars could double with Facebook's Match. Help us twice as much. Thank you
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On October 31st, Tony Purificato, Production Manager, celebrated his 35th Work Anniversary. "It was my honor to go to Riverside North and thank him for his service to the Arc. He has helped train many a Riverside employee on various tasks while we operated a Sheltered Workshop", said CEO Don Mullin. Tony continues to be a vital asset to the Riverside team as we start our new business model. Congratulations and Best Wishes Tony!
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Thanks And Appreciation For Our Community Partners
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On October 24th The Arc came together for our annual Community Partners Breakfast to recognize people within the community that have touched the life of a self-advocate to make a positive difference. The community members honored were chosen through a process of nomination and review by the Community Partners Committee. Self-advocate Russell Johnson and our Director of Finance, Hongwei Zhang graced us with their piano playing before the award presentations. Mayor Pat Madden and Pastor Charlie Muller served as our guest speakers. Lisa Lagon, Agency Partner at Jaeger and Flynn, presented the awards for this year.
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The venue was filled with guests from the Capital Region as we celebrated six community partners who were honored with awards. These people varied from work mentors to neighbors who were always able to be counted on for support and friendship.
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Tamarac Unified Sports Program
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Our thanks go to all of those who worked to make this day special. A special thanks to Tony Purificato of Purificato Photos for capturing this special day with his photos.
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Sharing
From The Writing Corner Of Stephen Roberts
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Hongwei Zhang, our Director of Finance
,
started playing the piano at the age of 5 when she lived in China. Hongwei learned to read sheet music and memorize which key represents which music note. Hongwei plays the piano from sheet music until she can memorize the song. She plays from Grand piano to digital piano. She says the white keys represents the musical tones (C, D, E, F, G, A, B), the black keys in between them represents ‘half-step’ intervals. Functionally, they are identical. Hongwei’s favorite piano songs to play are Canon in D and the song from the movie
Titanic, "
My Heart Will Go On". Hongwei said she is learning the classical music "Nocturne" by Chopin right now. She plays the piano a few times a week (if she has time). If not she plays the piano when she likes to. Hongwei’s Favorite pianist is Chopin. Thank you Hongwei for sharing your gift of music with us.
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Thanksgiving Family Traditions by Stephen Roberts
I challenged some of the staff at the Arc. I went around asking the following question… In one sentence tell me your family's Thanksgiving tradition.
Chad and Stephanie
go to her family’s house to have dinner. They eat steak!
Tiffany
spends the day with her family or going Shopping.
Bill Normandin’s
family goes to his sister’s and brother-in-law house for dinner.
Rachel Young’
s family goes to the Desmond for Thanksgiving dinner because it is good and because we don’t have to clean up afterwards.
Danielle Stacy’s
family is going to her Grandmother house for Thanksgiving dinner.
Jennifer Burns’s
family goes to her sister’s house for dinner and then goes out to shopping.
Terri Crowne
and her family are going to her mother’s house for Thanksgiving dinner.
Crystal Wait
goes to Syracuse, New York to spend the day with her husband’s family and then that evening they drive to Rochester, NY to meet friends in their home town for the night.
As for me
, helping the day before with things like peeling and cutting potatoes for the big day is my family’s Thanksgiving tradition.
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Heads up! December is going to be poetry edition.
Calling All Poets
We will be collecting poems with the theme of Christmas to be included in our December Newsletter . All poems should be submitted to Stephan Roberts, sroberts@renarc.org. no later than December 10, 2018. If possible, please include a picture of yourself along with the poem.
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On October 29th and 30th, the Arc was visited by Reverend Munorwei (Muno) Chirovamavi Harare, Zimbabwe. Muno was visiting New York to explore our services and delivery of supports. He is leading a group in Harare that is starting a day program for individuals with developmental disabilities. Currently, no such supports exist, and individuals are not being supported.
While here, Muno visited Brunswick Center, chatted with individuals from Self Advocates, held a conversation with staff from Residential, and visited a few apartments. I want to thank Lucinda Ballard, Sandy VanEck, Jon Reiner, and Andy White for their assistance in the visit. I think it is important as an agency to help spread the message of inclusion throughout the world. I wish the residents of Harare and Muno great success!
A note from Muno that I received...
"Thank you so much for opening the doors of your organization for me to learn, refresh, and be inspired. The lessons learned benefited me personally and will be gently imparted to my friends in Zimbabwe. I look forward to further supports as we walk the long journey of serving."
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A laughter filled night was had by all who attended our 5th annual Trivia Fundraising event on November 1st at the Italian Community Center in Troy, NY. Three generations of The Arc of Rensselaer County's CEO s came together (not all on the same team either!) along with our co -hosts Kumi Tucker of Channel 13 news and Kevin Baker of Trivia Nights Live. Nineteen teams battled it out to win the title of this years contest. Team Captain John Harmor of Four Corners Energy and his team took first place ! Our fundraising efforts surpassed every other year to date. Those funds raised were added to the Direct Support Staff Fund (go to www.renarc.org to find out more). Thank you to our sponsors of this event : ACS Industries, Callanan Industries; Cutie Pharmacare; Jaeger & Flynn Assoc., Inc.; Merrill Lynch; Rivkin Radler; and Ross Valve. Thank you, as well, to our runners and helping hands for that night . Without you this night would not have been a success.
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Heartfelt Thanks To Averill Park High School
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Students from Averill Park High School recently delivered a donation to Brunswick Center Services. Each year, students and teachers organize a garage sale, and proceeds from this sale are donated to three local organizations. Students in the class nominate agencies that they think are deserving, and the class votes on the charities to benefit from their fundraising efforts. Student Giovanna nominated Brunswick Center as the recipient. She is pictured presenting the $250 check to Program Director, Carrie Painter.” Thank you for your generous donation APHS!
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Words of Advice From Our Friends
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Special Needs Trusts: Who Can Fund a Trust (SNT)?
November 2018 | By: NYSARC Trust Services
In the August issue, we introduced the concept of a special needs trust (SNT) and who can fund an SNT. In this issue, we will dive deeper into some key differences between first and third party SNTs.
First Party Special Needs Trusts
When a person with a disability begins to receive government benefits through Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and/or Medicaid, that person can only have a certain amount of money available to them in order to meet the financial requirements to maintain eligibility for services. If a person with a disability receives money that would affect their eligibility for benefits, that person can fund a first party SNT to protect that money, instead of having to spend-down those funds in the month they are received.
The funds in a first party SNT can only be used for the sole benefit of the trust beneficiary to make life-enhancing purchases of items and services that a person’s benefits do not provide. A trust can pay for many things from uncovered medical expenses, such as OTC items, adaptive equipment and assistive technologies to more quality of life purchases, such as education, recreation, and so much more!
Because a first party SNT is funded with money that belongs to the beneficiary, upon the death of the trust beneficiary, the State(s) that provided Medicaid services on behalf of the individual are entitled to reimbursement from any funds left in the account to cover any Medicaid lien before the funds can go to remainder beneficiaries.
Third Party Special Needs Trusts
When planning for the future of a loved one with a disability, a parent, grandparent or other interested party who would like to leave money to a disabled loved one can create a third party SNT, meaning the trust is funded by someone other than the person who will benefit from the trust.
Third party trusts offer more flexibility on the use of funds as long as they are used to supplement, not replace the benefits a person is receiving. Funds in a third party trust are not subject to the same payback provision as first party trusts. Upon the death of the trust beneficiary, the money left in the trust is distributed as directed by the Donor (person that funded the trust) according to the trust document. In most cases, the funds go to other relatives or the family chooses an entity such as a not-for-profit or other charitable organization to receive the funds.
Do you have questions? To learn more, contact NYSARC Trust Services at (518) 439-8323 or visit
www.nysarctrustservices.org
. NYSARC Trust Services has administered supplemental needs trusts since 1972, helping thousands of people protect their eligibility for benefits and improve their quality of life.
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