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STRIVE News & Updates
May 1st, 2023
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A big thank you to our 2023 STRIVE Rocks Sponsors!
Our event would not be possible without all of you!
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ID: Logos of our STRIVE Rocks Sponsors. | |
Image Description (ID): "We're Hiring!" flyer with position and contact information and 3 photos of staff working with STRIVE participants. | |
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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!
For the month of May, 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 Betsy Morrison at bmorrison@pslstrive.org or at 207-879-0847 x207.
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Here's what's happening in our programs! | |
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STRIVE U students are gearing up for the spring semester to end at SMCC. The first-year students have enjoyed learning new kitchen skills and having the opportunity to taste new recipes. The second-year students have been working on their communication skills and practicing public speaking. They are practicing for their big speech which will be at Graduation.
Students are still exploring Portland and all it has to offer! Most recently they got the opportunity to go check out the Portland Museum Of Art. The students loved seeing all the different types and styles of art being displayed there.
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ID: STRIVE U students and staff mixing ingredients in a kitchen | ID: STRIVE U student posing in front of a painting | |
ID: STRIVE U students and staff standing in a kitchen | ID: STRIVE U student posing in front of a painting | |
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. | |
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Get Cooking With STRIVE WorldWIDE
Join STRIVE WorldWIDE for a Free Webinar on cooking & meal planning! STRIVE WorldWIDE has been offering accessible online courses to neurodiverse learners since 2019. We want to share our knowledge with you! Please join self-advocates, support staff, case managers, families, or anyone curious for our Free Webinar where we will offer a taste of our full 5-week Cooking & Meal Planning course. If you like the webinar, you’ll love our course. In our full course, we’ll explore meal planning, grocery shopping, kitchen safety, and our Food Lab- a weekly cooking show featuring flexible and accessible recipes and demonstrating entry-level kitchen skills.
In this webinar, you'll learn:
- What is meal planning and how do I do it?
- How do I make a grocery list from a recipe?
- How do I store my food so it is safe to eat?
Attendees will leave with some of our favorite beginner chef recipes to start you on your journey!
This webinar is completely free, so there's no reason not to register! Click here to register for a Free Virtual Seminar session on Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Choose from one of three times that is most convenient for you:
1. 1 PM Eastern Standard Time
2. 4 PM Eastern Standard Time
3. 7 PM Eastern Standard Time
We record our seminars, so if you are unable to join us but want to check it out, email Dr. Anne Ryan at aryan@pslstrive.org for a link to the recording.
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ID: Image for STRIVE WorldWIDES's cooking and meal planning webinar with a graphic of two people - one person chopping tomatoes and one person mixing lettuce in a bowl,. The STRIVE WorldWIDE logo is along the bottom. | |
STRIVE WorldWIDE is STRIVE's online program that teaching independent living skills. For more information about STRIVE WorldWIDE, contact Dr. Anne Ryan at Aryan@pslstrive.org or at
207-879-0847.
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April is a quick month for TOPS as the program follows a typical school schedule. Before the break, we wrapped up our new student shadow days, having welcomed in close to 25 students from 13 different schools.
Our current students are growing in confidence each and every week. As we get closer to the end of the year, our graduates are solidifying plans for life after high school. Simultaneously, our returning students begin to see what it will be like as a second or third year student, proudly guiding the shadow students through their visit.
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ID: TOPS student looking a scavenger hunt list | ID: Three TOPS students standing in front of a wall with art | |
ID: TOPS students and staff participating in art | ID: three TOPS stduents walking through an alley on a scavenger hunt | |
ID: Five TOPS students standing in front of a wall that says 'Vans' | |
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 Betsy Morrison, bmorrison@pslstrive.org or by phone at 207-879-0847. | |
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This month participants at Bayside have been experimenting with new and more challenging recipes on cooking days like air-fried barbeque chicken, homemade breakfast pizza, and broccoli cheese soup. We have also been spending more time at STRIVE Studios to participate in art classes and Dance Ability- which is a new favorite activity for many of our participants.
Staff and participants have certainly been enjoying the warmer weather by spending more time outside. Participants have had fun planning navigation days to the Old Port and exploring Portland in the sunshine. Luckily, Deering Oaks Park is also nearby so we can walk there to play basketball, tennis, and volleyball. For one Fun Friday, the participants challenged staff to a basketball game which was a great way to end the week. Now we are looking forward to May and hopefully lots of flowers brought by April showers!
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ID: Bayside participant making sandwiches | |
ID: Bayside participants playing basketball | ID: Bayside participants and staff participating in art | |
STRIVE Bayside is a unique community supports program that is dedicated to exploring and increasing independence. Some of the goals we work on are grocery shopping, budgeting, cleaning, navigating the community, cooking and social skills. We run five days a week, Monday through Friday and have two daily sessions, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm and 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm. We operate out of an apartment in down town Portland to simulate actual apartment living. If you would like more information about our program, or to schedule a tour please contact Kim O'Connor at koconnor@pslstrive.org.
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ACTIVE: This month we have been doing Danceability with Spark Inclusive Arts. Our Danceability instructor, Michaela, has been helping us to expand our dancing skills by playing dancing games and teaching us new moves! While there we get to learn more about different types of dancing such as salsa, slow dancing, speed dancing, and social/group dancing! Danceability has helped us to get stronger and healthier, meet new people, and to feel more confident! Dancing weekly is a great way to maintain and improve both our physical and mental health!
WAVES: This month we went to the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray Maine! There, we saw deer, bears, lynx’s, beavers, moose, coyotes, and more! We learned all about the parks efforts to rehabilitate Maine wildlife, and their essential role in protecting endangered species. During our day we had a nice picnic lunch and soaked up the sunshine! Afterwards, we walked down to the bird and fish exhibit and to feed the fish. Thank you to the Maine Wildlife Park for having us and for all of the amazing work that you do for local wildlife!
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ID: Participants and staff dancing in the STRIVE Studios Dance Studio. | |
ID: 2 participants sitting on a wooden bench. There is a wooden fence behind them in green trees. | |
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This month, STRIVE Studios has been busy making artwork in our studio and going out into the community. We've started a new Garageband group, where we've been learning how to create digital music on the iPads, as well as continuing to explore new ways to use paint, drawing, fabric, clay, and more. We've also been going outside more as it's warming up, to collect materials and inspiration from nature to bring back to the studio. Our groups also visited Mayo Street Arts and the Osher Map Library this past month, learning about artwork that was made today and hundreds of years ago.
In our Movement Studio, we've been busy practicing yoga, dance, and music with 317 Main each week. We love getting to move our body and listening to music with our groups! We are always looking for new volunteers and partners to teach activities and lessons with us, feel free to reach out with any ideas or questions. Opportunities can be a one-time lesson or ongoing.
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ID: A group of participants doing artwork at a large table at STRIVE Studios. | |
ID: Two participants at the Osher Map Library. | |
ID: Participant looking at small sculptures on a shelf at Mayo Street Arts. | |
ID: Participants looking at artwork at Mayo Street Arts. There are also 2 large stained glass windows. | |
For more information on PSL Services/STRIVE's Community Support Day Programs, ACTIVE & WAVES, please contact Community Support Program Director, Veerle Pottie, at vpottie@pslstrive.org. | |
Wednesday Night Educational Series | |
Our Wednesday Night Education Series' Writer's Workshop has been such a hit that we are going to bring you part 2 in May! Join us as we continue to explore different forms of writing and put together our own WNES book!
*This will be our final hybrid series, starting in June we will be going to in-person only*
| ID: white block in the center with class information. On the left and right sides are color blocks of black, white, and three shades of blue. | The Wednesday Night Educational Series is held every Wednesday, with a hybrid model, 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 $20-$30, depending on the series' length. For more information or for your link to join class, contact Alex at awoodhouse@pslstrive.org. | | |
Registration for Summer Camp STRIVE is OPEN! While we are still finalizing the schedule and daily activities, we are happy to share the theme weeks with you! This summer, Camp STRIVE will run from Tuesday, June 20th - Friday, September 1st! Camp runs from 9-5 with full day and half day options. Please check out our website for more information and to register your camper today! | |
ID: image of weekly camp themes | |
Camp STRIVE is a day-camp experience for campers between the ages of 11-24. Camp STRIVE is held every school vacation (February, April, and the day before Thanksgiving) as well as for the full summer. For more information about Camp STRIVE, contact Alex Woodhouse at awoodhouse@pslstrive.org. | | |
We're so excited for another fun month of Tweens! We have some tasty treats, fun crafts, and a scavenger hunt planned for May! As a reminder, Tweens will not be meeting on Friday, May 5th but we hope you'll join us for STRIVE Rocks instead! | ID: white background with orange, pink, yellow, and purple flowers along the top and bottom. There are |
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. | | |
We're looking forward to another fun month of STRIVE Nights! As a reminder, STRIVE Night will not be meeting on Friday, May 5th but we hope you'll join us for STRIVE Rocks instead! Stay tuned for more information about our May Theme Night...coming soon! | ID: white background with yellow, green, and red polka dots along the bottom. There are red, yellow, green, orange, and purple flowers in both top corners. | 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. | | |
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It’s May, yay! STRIVE 25 is excited to meet for another in-person social on Thursday, May 4th from 6-8pm! Come join us for a pasta dinner, fun games, and a great time with friends!
*This month's STRIVE 25 will also serve as our STRIVE Rocks packet pickup*
| ID: white background with pink shapes and black lines in the two left corners and green shapes and black lines in the two right corners. There is a yellow smiley face with a pink border in the middle right. | 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 team had another great month and had a lot of fun with our guests! We got to talk to Nola Fennessy from Legal Shield and Jazmin from Dean's Sweets! We also chatted about STRIVE Rocks and turned the tables on our host, Noel with some lightning round questions for him! We hope you enjoyed listening to these conversations as much as we enjoyed having them! Do you have a guest idea for an upcoming show? Let us know! | ID: screenshor the STRIVECast zoom recording. There are 6 boxes - 5 members of the STRIVECast team and 1 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 April Donors! | |
- Barry Dunlap- In Honor of Caleb Dunlap
- Michael and Dawn Macwhinnie- In Memory of Peter Sanville
- Donald and Mabel Rogers- In Memory of Peter Sanville
- Samantha Leavitt
- Knights of Columbus Maine State Council
- Kristin and Michael Rowe- In Memory of Peter Sanville
- Robert and Judith Letarte- In Memory of Peter Sanville
- Sonja Bathras- In Memory of John (Jack) Maller
- David Caldwell- In Memory of John (Jack) Maller
- Thomas and Matthew Hood
- Brad and Betsy Morrison- In Memory of Peter Sanville
- Wagner Drywall, Inc., - In Memory of John (Jack) Maller
- David and Cynthia Barnard
...and a huge thank you to all of our generous STRIVE Rocks donors!
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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 May! | |
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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Taneka Burwell
Alexandra Agostino
Jack Rosenblum
Zachary Sprague
Ryan Dufour
Jaydon Leighton
Melissa Goodman
Blake Waterhouse
Mary Burke
Caitlyn Welsch
Nick Watkins
Aphrodite Makrides
Alli Brooking
Madeleine Joyce
Bella Joyce
Damian Thress
Mary Burke
Molly Snowden
Sally Alexander
Lauren Chapman
Eric Hughes
Landon Rideout
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Meet Landon! Landon attends our Friday Tweens social and has also been doing a great job fundraising for STRIVE Rocks! His favorite things about STRIVE are "coloring, egg hunts, and board games!"
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ID: photo of member spotlight, Landon He is standing and wearing a green shirt that says 'STRIVE Rocks' and glasses. | |
ID: photo of staff spotlight, Doug. Doug is standing outside and holding a brown and white dog. | |
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Meet Doug! Doug works in our Community Support program! Dug's favorite part about STRIVE is "helping participants explore their creativity at STRIVE Studios, and also air hockey". Thanks, Doug! We're grateful to have you!
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Registration is now open for the 2023 STRIVE for 5K: Foden Road 5K and Block Party! This year's event will take place (Rain or Shine) Sunday, July 16th at STRIVE! A Kids Fun Run will begin at 8am with the 5K following at 8:30am. Registration is $25 until 04/16 and increases to $30 until 07/14, so register early! For more information or to register now, visit our website HERE! | |
ID: 5K runners starting the road race. They are running through an inflated blue and white arch that says "start" with the STRIVE logo. | |
ID: Participants (children) who participated in the Kids Fun Run. They are standing and smiting in a group under the inflated blue and white arch . | |
The STRIVE for Five: Foden Road 5K is hosted by the STRIVE Business to Business Networking Group, a collection of business leaders from the Foden Road/Maine Mall district of South Portland (business leaders from surrounding communities also welcome). Foden Road Networking Group members are invested in supporting the local economy and residents through business-to-business fellowship, culminating in the annual 5k/Block Party. If you would like to be involved in this year's event, contact STRIVE Program Director, Whitney Wildes at wwildes@pslstrive.org! | |
Beach to Beacon bibs available! | |
STRIVE has Beach to Beacon bibs available for this year's race! All we ask is that runners fundraise a minimum of $350 on behalf of STRIVE. For more information, or to claim your bib, contact STRIVE Program Director, Whitney Wildes, at wwildes@pslstrive.org or 207-774-6278! | |
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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Be sure to follow us on social media! | | | | |
