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STRIVE News & Updates
January 1st, 2024
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ID: A close up of hands holding a sign that says "join our team". | |
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Are you, or someone you know in the market for a new job?
We're hiring for a number of positions!
We have full time, part time, and per diem opportunities available- including weekdays, evenings, and weekends!
We are also offering a $1,750 sign on bonus (after 30 days of successful employment) plus an additional $250 bonus for those that are already DSP or MHRT certified!
Click Here to browse our open positions!
If you have questions about our current openings, contact Jennifer Boucher at jboucher@pslstrive.org or at 207-879-0847.
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Here's what's happening in our programs! | |
Students at STRIVE U have been enjoying the lead up to the holiday season. The fall semester at SMCC wrapped up nicely on 12/12 when students gave presentations in Learning Group on what healthy relationships should look like. They visited the Victoria Mansion, went to Freeport-- including LL Bean, and made holiday ornaments and bird feeders on campus during Learning Group. Students also navigated to the Portland Art Museum. Students are helping to plan our STRIVE U Snowflake Social on 1/6/24 including being liaisons for tours and leading games. | |
ID: 3 STRIVE U students standing inside a lifesized L.L.Bean snowglobe. | |
ID: 4 STRIVE U students sitting outside on a bench, They are smiling and holding up brown paper bags, L.L.Bean is in the background. | |
ID: STRIVE U students and staff shopping at L.L.Bean. They are smiling at the camera and holding up items. | |
ID: 3 STRIVE U students standing at L.L.Bean. there are taxidermied animals (deer, bear, etc.) in the background. | |
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STRIVE U applications for the class of 2026 are now available! If you are interested in learning more about the program and seeing if it is the right fit, we invite you to attend one of our upcoming virtual open houses! Dates are:
- Monday, January 8th at 6pm
- Thursday, January 11th at 11am.
STRIVE U is also hosting a snowflake social on Saturday, January 6th! Join us at our STRIVE U campus from 10am-1pm to hear from current students, meet alumni, enjoy refreshments, pick up an application, and more!
Please contact the admissions team at admissions@pslstrive.org if you are interested in attending, would like to schedule an individual tour, or would like to pick up an application!
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ID: blue flyer with the STRIVE U logo on the top left. In the middle there is an image of 12 students outside and on the bottom left there is an image of 7 students in graduation caps and gowns. | |
ID: white flyer with blue mountains along the bottom. There is a pair of earmuffs and a skate on either side of the flyer and blue and red branches and berries along the top. | |
STRIVE U is a comprehensive two-year residential, post-secondary educational opportunity for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. To learn more about the program, schedule a tour, or get an application, please contact admissions@pslstrive.org or call (207) 774.6278. | |
Join us for a fully Online Educational Experience! Learn from a variety of courses throughout the year 2024! Our upcoming term begins the week of January 8th, 2024. | |
ID: Image of a laptop with information about January courses. | |
ID: STRIVE WorldWIDE offerings for 2024. | |
STRIVE WorldWIDE is STRIVE's online program that teaching independent living skills. For more information about STRIVE WorldWIDE, contact Courtney Veinotte at cveinotte@pslstrive.org or call 207-712-0048. | |
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December flew by as our TOPS students settled into the school year. TOPS hosted their first mid-year graduation this month, celebrating a peer's conclusion of programming and enjoying an evening together. At the celebration, we had a cookie swap and competition, sparking creativity and fun as we planned, shopped and baked throughout the week with both sessions.
The group is gearing up for the second half of the school year after the winter break, narrowing down some pre-vocational skills and continuing to work on bringing new skills into their lives outside of school.
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ID: TOPS student and staff standing together and smiling. The student is holding a certificate. | |
ID: TOPS student smiling. He is weating a grinch sweater and is standing in front of cookies and food on a table. | |
ID: TOPS students standing at a counter cooking. They are micing things in a bowl. | |
ID: Group of TOPS students itting at a table at Dunkin' Donuts. They are smiling and laughing. | |
Interested in TOPS? TOPS (Transition Outcomes Program for Students) provides transition programming for high school students from area school districts who are typically 18 years and older. For more information, please contact Ryanne Desjardins at rdesjardins@pslstrive.org or by phone at 207-879-0847. | |
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Happy Holidays and best wishes for the New Year from all of us at Bayside!!!
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ID: Group of Bayside participants sitting together, smiling, and holding wrapped Christmas gifts. | |
ID: Bayside participants and staff sitting at a kitchen table making holiday cookies. | |
ID: Bayside participant mixing chocolate dough/mix in a bowl. | |
ID: Bayside participants mixing dough in a bowl. There are other kitchen supplies on the table in front of him. | |
For more information on Bayside, please contact Community Support Program Director, Veerle Pottie, at vpottie@pslstrive.org. | |
ACTIVE and WAVES had a busy month of December! Groups did their usual goals and activities, but also did a number of festive outings including seeing A Christmas Carol and The Nutcracker and shopping for their secret santas! The month ended with a holiday party which included our annual Secret Santa gift exchange and a spaghetti dinner! We're excited to see what 2024 has in store for our programs! | |
ID: STRIVE ACTIVE participant holding a gift. He is smiling at the camera. | |
ID: STRIVE ACTIVE participant holding two wrapped gifts. He is wearing a santa hat. | |
ID: 2 STRIVE ACTIVE participants sitting at a table with their spaghetti dinners. There are colored pencils and papers also on the table. | |
In December STRIVE Studios has been filled with holiday spirit! In addition to all our usual activities participants spent time making holiday cards and ornaments. To finish off the month Mia came down from the CMCA for an in person lesson where we made large scale collages. Can’t wait to see what the new year brings! | |
ID: 2 STRIVE ACTIVE participants smiling and holding up a handmade Christmas tree. | |
ID: STRIVE ACTIVE participants painting on a large canvas. | |
For more information on PSL Services/STRIVE's Community Support Day Programs, ACTIVE, WAVES, and STRIVE Studios, please contact Community Support Program Director, Veerle Pottie, at vpottie@pslstrive.org. | |
Wednesday Night Educational Series | We have a new Wednesday Night Ed Series starting on January 10th! This series is all about time management and goal setting and will be in-person only. Students will talk about what time management is and why it is important. They will also discuss prioritization, estimating time, and time wasters! Please fill out our online registration form if interested in attending! | ID: dark teal background with an image of a person with a clock and calendar on the top left, a person checking off a list on the middle right, and a person looking at his phone next to a clock on the bottom left | The Wednesday Night Educational Series is held every Wednesday in person for participants 15-24 years old. Series are between 4 and 8 weeks and topics vary from month to month! The price per series is $30-$40, depending on the series' length. For more information or for your link to join class, contact Alex at awoodhouse@pslstrive.org. | | |
Stay tuned for more information about February and April Vacation camps - coming soon! | |
ID: Camp STRIVE logo in front of green grass and blue sky | |
Camp STRIVE is a day-camp experience for campers between the ages of 11-24. Camp STRIVE is held every school vacation (Winter, February, and April) as well as for the full summer. For more information about Camp STRIVE, contact Alex Woodhouse at awoodhouse@pslstrive.org. | |
Tweens had a great December! We played games, watched holiday movies, made ornaments | |
ID: Tween pointing to his decorated cookie on a plate | |
ID: Two tweens decorating cookies | |
ID: Tween sitting at a table eating a cookie | |
Tweens is excited for the new year! We'll experiment with slime & snow, build igloos, make snacks, and paint! We hope you'll join us for the fun! | |
ID: white flyer with blue mountains along the bottom. There is a pair of earmuffs and a skate on either side of the flyer and blue and red branches and berries along the top. | |
Tweens is a safe and fun environment to build new friendships and learn new skills for folks 11-14 years old. We run every Friday from 3:30-5:30pm. We have a scheduled activity each week, with free time built in to maximize socialization. For more information about STRIVE Tweens, contact Alex at awoodhouse@pslstrive.org. | |
STRIVE Night celebrated December with multiple theme nights! We kicked off the month celebrating 24 years of STRIVE and welcomed alumni back to STRIVE Night! We also had a Taylor Swift theme night, ugly sweater party, and a formal Snowball to close out 2023! | |
ID: two smiling and holding up a microphone | |
ID: participant sitting at a table making a friendship bracelet | |
ID: participant singing kartaoke and holding up a peace sign | |
STRIVE Night is looking forward to 2024! Our theme night this month will be a fun Minute to Win It Winter party on January 26th! We will also be electing a new advisory board in January - stay tuned for more information about elections! | |
ID: background with red stars, green leaves and silver dots around the outside. | |
Friday Nights at STRIVE, fondly referred to as "STRIVE Night," is a relaxed but fun evening of socialization for 15-24 year olds. New members are always welcome, and your first night is free! STRIVE Night is Friday from 6-9pm, with at least one special "theme" night happening each month. For more information, contact Alex at awoodhouse@pslstrive.org. | |
STRIVE 25 got into the holiday spirit in December with an ugly sweater party! Everybody came dressed to impress in their merriest attire! | |
ID: Two STRIVE 25 participants wearing green sweaters sitting on a couch | |
ID: Three STRIVE 25 participants standing and smiling | |
ID: STRIVE 25 partipant wearing a light up necklace and green sweater smiling in the came | |
STRIVE 25 is looking forward to 2024! Our next meeting will be Thursday, January 4th and we'll be electing our new advisory board! Start preparing your speeches if you're interested in running! Mark your calendars for the following STRIVE 25 as well - Thursday, February 1st! | | |
ID: light blue background with white trees along the bottom and blue snowflakes on the top. There is a "vote" sticker on the middle right side | |
STRIVE 25 is a social event for folks 25 and older. It currently runs in-person on the first Thursday of every month from 6-8pm For more information on STRIVE 25, contact Whitney at wwildes@pslstrive.org or Alex at awoodhouse@pslstrive.org! | |
The STRIVECast had a great December! We got to chat with friend of STRIVE - Morgan Woodhouse, Caroline Dragan - STRIVE's Jesuit Volunteer, and Winter Royce-Roll - Reference and Instruction Librarian at Saint Anselm College! We also hung out as a fam and talked about highlights from 2023 and what we're looking forward to in 2024! We hope you enjoyed listening to these conversations as much as we enjoyed having them! Big shoutout to LegalShield for continuing to sponsor the STRIVECast as well! | ID: screenshot of a STRIVECast recording with all six members of the STRIVECast team and one guest |
The STRIVECast is a podcast brought to you by the team at PSL Services/STRIVE in South Portland, Maine — bringing you engaging, hilarious, and thoughtful conversation through one interview week by week. Co-Hosted by two young men with Down Syndrome, the STRIVECast aims to change the voices we typically hear on the radio and through podcasts, as well as to provide meaningful dialogues with all sorts of public figures in our world. We are very proud to be both hosted, produced AND edited by people with disabilities! Like what you hear? Shoot us an email at strivecast@pslstrive.org!
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Thank you to our December Donors! | |
- Beverly Sherman
- Michael Beaudoin
- Steven and Lisa Levesque
- Dr. Jeffrey Saffer
- Barry Dunlap - In Honor of Caleb Dunlap
- Pond Family Foundation
- Susan Gays
- Cathy and Greg Grigsby
- Courtney Sinclair
- Andrew and Nancy Wickwire
- James and Andrea Sinclair
- J.E. Britton- In Honor of Dr. Russell Britton
- Janet Fillmore- In Honor of the Mariski Family
- Ranjiv and Tari Advani
- Thomasine Piche
- Roberta O’Brion
- Robert Barna-In Honor of Methos Barna
- Layla Lord
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Gael Jackson- In Memory of Lucy Jackson
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Shoshana Bannett- In Memory of Jake Shapell
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Susan Knowles- In Honor of Nate DiBiase
- James Moran III
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Image Description (ID): white background with a circle of colored flowers in the middle. Text in the middle reads "Thank You". | |
Thank you for your generous support of STRIVE!
With your support, we are able to continue our work each and every day.
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Happy Birthday to our STRIVE members with a birthday in January! | |
Image Description (ID): Black background with three cupcakes in the middle. Icing on the cupcakes is blue, yellow, and pink. On top of the cupcakes are lit candles that read "Happy Birthday." | |
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Emily Murray
Brittany Bean
Owen Wolterbeck
Jordan Young
Sumner Ellis
Nicholas Cataldo
Nathaniel Rines
Peter Tarling
Leeann Brionez
Marshall Noyes
Kelly Mberaba
Jacob Benvie
Thomas Hartnott
Samantha Mueller
Lindsey Foster
Destiny Lemine
Ryan O'Donovan
Cera Ann Lane
Kayla Haggett
Benjamin Beisswanger
Lisa DeFreitas
Timothy Kerr
Charlie Gilbert
Abby Healy
Gary Burton
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Meet Violette! Violette attends our Friday Tweens program at STRIVE! She loves dancing art!
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ID: photo of participant spotlight, Violette, sitting at a table drawing | |
ID: photos of staff spotlight, Courtney. She s standing outside on a field with her arms crossed. | |
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Meet Courtney! Courtney is our STRIVE WorldWIDE Program Director! Her favorite thing about working at STRIVE is that "The STRIVE community was so welcoming! It has been a joy getting to know everyone! I am looking forward to meeting all of the STRIVE WorldWIDE students and being involved with our courses starting this upcoming January 8th! I am also excited to attend more STRIVE socials and events - and just being apart of the community in general" Thanks, Courtney, we're grateful to have you!
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We're teamed up with our friends at the Maine Celtics and Hammond Lumber for another season of 3 Points for STRIVE! Each time the Maine Celtics score a 3-pointer at a home game this season, Hammond Lumber will donate $50 to STRIVE! You can get involvedby making your own 3-Point pledge. Visit our website Contact STRIVE Program Director, Whitney Wildes at wwildes@pslstrive.org for more information! | |
ID: Flyer with information about 3 Points for STRIVE. there is an image of a basketball going into a net at the top of the flyer and logos for Hammond Lumber Company, Maine Celtics and STRIVE at the bottom of the flyer. There are images of black and white basketballs around the edges of the flyer. | |
Community Members Wanted!
Did you know that STRIVE hosts a monthly, free, networking group for those in our local community? The STRIVE Business to Business Networking Group is just one way that we try to be a mutually beneficial partner, with the hope of expanding the networks of our partners and local businesses.
We are looking to grow! The group meets at noon on the last Wednesday of each month (right now we are meeting virtually). Are you or someone you know interested in joining? Contact Pete (pbrown@pslstrive.org) or Whitney (wwildes@pslstrive.org) for more information about the group and your link to join!
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Image Description (ID): gray background with a dark blue border. The STRIVE logo is in the top right. Text is in black and reads "business to business networking group." | |
STRIVE Shop
Don't forget, STRIVE has an updated store! We've launched an online store to purchase all your STRIVE swag needs! Take a look at all the shop has to offer HERE! There are so many items to choose from AND you can customize any item by choosing the color and STRIVE logo that you want. Happy shopping!
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Image Description (ID): white background with two rows of swag. Top row from left to right is a gray backpack with the STRIVE WorldWIDE logo, a black mug with the STRIVECast logo, a white t-shirt with the STRIVE logo, and a blue baseball hat with a STRIVE U logo. Bottom row from left to right is a blue tote bag with a PSL Services/STRIVE log, a gray sweatshirt with a STRIVE U logo, and a white travel mug with a STRIVE logo. | |
Has your mailing address changes recently?
Have a new mailing address to add?
Have questions or comments about any of our programs and events?
New members: You will be asked to complete an updated information form upon your arrival to Tweens, STRIVE Night or STRIVE 25. Want to get a head start? Visit https://www.pslstrive.org/membershipform to submit your membership form today!
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