44th Annual Charmie Welch Invitational

The MCC Foundation hosted the 44th Annual Charmie Welch Invitational on September 8, 2025, at the DuPont Country Club. Even after 44 years, support of the tournament remains overwhelming. Once again, the event was SOLD OUT! We hosted 200+ golfers and 250 guests for dinner + auctions. This annual tournament benefits The Mary Campbell Center and our mission to Discover, Grow, and Celebrate Abilities. Thank you to all who attended and/or made a donation. Your generosity and dedication to our mission plays a significant role, year after year, in the success of The Charmie.

To foster a deeper connection between tournament attendees and MCC Residents, we once again invited Residents to join us at the course. Some helped greet attendees at the front entrance while others engaged with golfers at check-in. We also implemented a new effort this year, a story series titled, “My MCC Story”. The series features 17 different Residents and their stories related to The Mary Campbell Center. Each story was printed and displayed in a frame along with information on Fund a Need at the dinner following the tournament. To see the full collection of MCC Stories, click here.

If you know a Resident who you think would be interested in sharing their story, please don't hesitate to reach out to our Communications Manager, Kateri Cimoch, at kcimoch@marycampbellcenter.org or (302) 762-6025 x 191. We want to include all Residents and families who are interested.

IN THE HOUSE

ASR Patio or an Up & Coming Live Music Venue?

Our very own Lisa Dolan performed live with band, Helixx, on Friday, September 12. It was a gorgeous night, perfect for an outdoor concert. Lisa has been a part of the Delaware based cover band, Helixx, for many years now and has enjoyed touring with them throughout the state of Delaware.

Helixx spent the night engaged with the crowd, even inviting folks to join them on stage. Residents, Deneen, Kate, Bill, Kelly, and Brian all took the band up on the offer for 15 minutes of fame! Thank you for a great night, Helixx.

One Breath at a Time

Our MCC Speech Patholgy Breath Group meets every other week to meditate, breathe, speak, and encourage. The group's main goal is to gain better control of the rhythmic patterns of breath in an effort to improve speech volume, power, and endurance. Did you know that vocal projection, volume, and stamina can all be enhanced by learning to control your breathing? Breath not only keeps us alive, it ensures we are heard.

The group practices controlled breathing techniques to enhance power and projection as they verbalize encouraging sentiments like, "I can do this!". They are reminded to breathe in, exhale, and speak during their exhale. This is because speaking during exhale allows for increased vocal strength. After various breathing exercises, it's time to turn practice into action with the group's favorite game, Crazy Candles. The plastic birthday cake gets passed from one player to the next and whoever blows out all the candles wins! In the images, you'll notice the group members using a straw to blow out the candles. Blowing through the straw concentrates the air, allowing for a more targeted flow.

This group not only offers a safe space for Residents to improve their speech, but it also provides an invaluable sense of comradery, support, and encouragement. MCC Speech Language Pathologist, Grady Redmond, ensures participants feel safe to discuss their struggles with speech and how those struggles make them feel. The peer-on-peer support in this group is something special; the MCC community is lucky to have it.

Quality Time with the Guys

Resident, Steve Chambers, had one simple yet meaningful request to cap off his summer... He wanted a steak dinner from the grill, and he wanted to eat that delicious dinner with his buddies. Steve asked and the MCC staff delivered.

Multiple departments worked together to make this end of summer dream a reality for Steve. Maintenance set up the grill, Occupational Therapy secured the groceries and helped Steve prepare the sides, which included green beans, fresh radish, and mashed potatoes, Will from Activities manned the grill, and RCT, Warren, assisted Steve with his meal.

Will, Warren, and Steve dined alfresco in the early evening on The All-Star Patio

where not even the spitting rain could ruin their dinner party.

Cheers to the end of Summer, men! And shout out to the awesome MCC staff members who worked together to make this happen.

UD NSSLHA Volunteers

Members of The University of Delaware's National Student Speech Language Hearing Association volunteered their time with MCC Residents this month.

The group of 16 teamed up with our Activities and Volunteer staff to take a large group of Residents out for a walk to enjoy the beautiful weather. The UD students later shared a post to their organization's Instagram page stating they'd had a wonderful volunteer experience and look forward to visiting again soon.

MCC Presents:

The MCC Children & Youth team hosted their first Sibshops Program on Wednesday, September 3, 2025.

Sibshops workshops address the lifelong concerns of siblings of those with special needs. Kindering's website describes Sibshops as, "Sibshops are fun, action-packed workshops in which siblings of children with special needs are encouraged to share challenges and celebrate joys with their peers in similar situations. It's a celebration of the many contributions that the siblings of children with special needs make to their families and communities."

Six siblings, ages 8-10 attended the pilot workshop. This month's theme was "A Piece of Me". The group worked together to create personal pizzas, played a special pizza edition of Mad Libs, and made slime. Also discussed were shared experiences and the complex emotions often felt as siblings of children with special needs.

MCC's next Sibshops will be titled "Stacked" and is scheduled for November 12, 2025. Participants will work as a team to build tall edible towers and stack homemade burger sliders sky-high with toppings.

Contact Olivia in Children and Youth to register today!

Contact details: omoyer@marycampbellcenter.org or at (302) 762-6025 x154.

ON THE ROAD

A Visit to Linvilla

The MCC Education Team and their Vocab Victors kicked off the fall season with a trip to Linvilla Orchards in Media, PA on Monday, September 22. The vocab-focused group works hard on strengthening and expanding their vocabulary while they’re here at The Center. With this trip, they took their learning beyond the classroom and into the community.

With support from the education and speech therapy teams, the Residents were tasked with a scavenger hunt that encouraged them to lean on their vocational skills and vocabulary knowledge. The goal of the hunt was to identify attributes like color, shape, size, texture, and function of objects at the orchard. The Residents had fun exploring, learning, and practicing real-world skills. The group will now work with education staff on creating a scrap book to preserve the memories of this special trip.

On the Road in Pictures

The month of September was full of clear, blue-skied days which lead to a variety of outdoor activities like sightseeing on the Riverfront, live music in the park performed by our friends, Meeta and Frank, and even a Philadelphia Union game paired with a signed ball for each Resident in attendance! Residents and staff also traveled to The Chase Center this month to check out the Dinosaur Adventure expo while others enjoyed a delicious meal and good company at The Brandywine Diner.