MCC Monthly Matters

October 2025

All Hallows' Month

The month of October at The Mary Campbell Center is a time of spooktacular excitement and long-standing traditions. From the annual Mottola family pumpkin carving showcase to the adaptive punkin' chunkin' in the parking lot, and much, much, more; the four weeks that fill October are some of our favorite weeks of the year!

IN THE HOUSE

The Annual MCC Costume Contest Winners Are...

After 30 days of preparation and anticipation, MCC Residents were ready to hit the All-Star Room's red carpet for the ultimate Halloween costume competition. Twelve prizes were awarded this year, because the creativity just keeps getting better with each year!

1st Row from left to right:

Best Staff Costume - Paige, Vicki, and Dan S. as Cruella Deville and the Dalmatians

Costume of the Year - Derek as Uncle Fester

Best Resident Costume - Michael and DJ as Wawa Manager and Coffee Cup

Most Original Costume - Judy wearing clothes inspired by her Case Manager, Destinee's sense of fashion

Most Outrageous Monster Costume - Jared as a Bloody Scarecrow

Sweetest Costume - Tara as a Chocolate Chip Cookie

2nd Row from left to right:

Dynamic Duo - Nykee and Deneen as a Hot Dog & Ketchup

Best Group - Education Condiment Team (Jonaye, Kelley, and Jojo) + Benji the bunny dressed as a hotdog

Best Couples - King Charlie and Queen Ally

Blast from the Past - Gina as Mary Poppins

Silliest - Billy H. as Bob Ross

Wild and Wacky - Dan P. as an Old Woman in labor

Thank you to all who helped make this day a smashing success!

Decor with a bit o' GORE

Residents combined decorating forces with friends from WSFS this month to take their unit doors from drab to Halloween-fab!

Witches, skeletons, bats, and all things spooky adorned the many door-hangs that would soon cover Resident doorways, or should we say portals to other-worldly realms?! The creative door decor wasn't just for the Residents, it was for Larc School students too. We'll get to that later in this edition, so keep reading. 😉

Trick-or-Treat!

Have you ever wondered what it'd be like to trick-or-treat at The Mary Campbell Center? If you answered yes, check this out...

Many MCC Residents have grown fond of their time spent volunteering at The Larc Norcross School in Bellmawr, NJ. Students from the Larc School light up when Residents come for a visit and some have even furthered their connections with Residents by becoming pen pals.

With this in mind, Residents and Staff of MCC agreed, it was time for the Larc community to come to Wilmington. And with that, came the planning of a trick-or-treat experience to remember! On October 23, Larc students lined the halls of the four MCC neighborhoods as Residents doled out nut-free candies and fidget toys. There was even a pen-pal meet up along the way!

Once their bags were stuffed full, the students made their way to the All-Star Room accompanied by Residents to play a few heated rounds of Bamboozle Trivia and participate in a Halloween-themed scavenger hunt. After trick-or-treating, playing games, and catching up with friends, it was time for the students to return home. Residents of The Center were gracious hosts to all who attended and look forward to more visits in the future.

Halloween Crafts with Volunteers

We welcomed The University of Delaware's National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) and Wilmington Friends School Best Buddies back for another volunteer visit with Residents. The groups spent the first half of their day co-creating Halloween decorations using air-dry clay. The hands-on activity gave Residents and volunteers a valuable opportunity to connect with one another as they discussed and selected their favorite colors and designs to use in their shared creations.

Bunny Care 101 with Lauren

Resident, Lauren Z., lead an educational session on how to properly care for pet rabbits. Bunny care is a popular topic here at The Center as we have our very own pet rabbit to look after named Benji.

Lauren explained the importance of proper diet, living conditions, understanding your bunny's behavior, and unlimited hay? Yup, that's right, bunnies need an unlimited supply of hay at all times! Who knew? Thankfully, we've got Lauren to guide us and ensure we give Benji everything he needs to live a happy and healthy bunny lifestyle! Lauren went on to state the four main reasons hay is so important in a bunny's everyday routine.

Digestive Health
Dental Health
Mental Stimulation
Weight Management

Click here for Lauren's full presentation to learn more about how something as simple as hay impacts a bunny's overall health and for Resident + Staff testimonials on what it's like to have a Center Pet! Thank you, Lauren for researching and presenting on this relevant topic. Keep up the great work!

Construction Updates

In July 2025, The Center was awarded a generous grant from the State of Delaware through the Community Reinvestment Fund. This grant was used to fund the replacement of two aging boilers that heat the EZee Street neighborhood portion of the building. This was an integral preventative maintenance project. The Center can rest easy now with two brand new boilers in place ready to ensure the building's heating system runs as efficiently as possible. Below you’ll see a snapshot of the project in action and the final result.

Annual Children & Youth Trunk-or-Treat

On Saturday, October 18, our Children & Youth group hosted their annual Trunk-or-Treat event. Each year, the Children & Youth staff, participants, and their families make this a fun-filled day for all who attend. This year's party featured, a variety of sensory activities, a caricature artist, and of course, creative trunk decor paired with themed costumes. Thank you, MCC Children & Youth staff for your hard work in putting together another successful trunk-or-treat extravaganza.

On the Road in Pictures

A lot of action happened in-house this month due to the Halloween holiday and all of the festivities that come along with it, but that didn't stop Residents from getting out and about in the community. Residents Deneen and Jamie traveled together to Odyssey Charter School where they volunteered their time with the kindergarten class playing games and handing out prizes, while others took to the local lanes at Bowlerama to brush up on their bowling. And last but not least, a small group of Residents along with Activities and Medical Staff ventured their way to Longwood Gardens to take in the beautiful, natural glory of the Autumn season.