Creating opportunities for adults with disabilities since 1974 |
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A MESSAGE FROM OUR NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
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Greetings Friends of Vocational Visions,
As Joan mentioned in the last newsletter, she is retiring at the end of June. I have known Joan for many years and I will miss working with her on many shared issues and projects. I, along with everyone at Vocational Visions, wish her a very happy retirement, with lots of time for relaxation, projects, hobbies and grandkids.
I am very excited to take on the role of Executive Director at Vocational Visions! I arrive here with over 24 years of experience supporting people with disabilities and directing a variety of programs with nonprofit providers in Orange County. I earned my B.A. and M.A at Cal State Fullerton. I have lived in Orange County since 1997, raising my kids in Costa Mesa.
As I reflect on my first week here, what stands out is how kind and welcoming everyone has been. I have had the chance to meet many staff and participants, and I look forward to meeting and spending more time with the people we serve and those who support them. I am getting a strong sense of the values of this organization and I know that everyone is here to provide opportunities for people we support, to help people maximize their potential, to build skills and to promote inclusion in the community. I am very fortunate to be part of such a great organization and I look forward to the remarkable things we can all accomplish together.
Best wishes for a safe and happy summer to you and your families!
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Today, is Joan McKinney's last day at Vocational Visions. We thank her for her nine years of devotion to our organization and wish her the very best in this new and exciting chapter of life! |
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ENCHANTED EVENING 2022
ALL WE NEED IS LOVE
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We are less than three months away from our 2022 Enchanted Evening Gala. This year's theme is All We Need is Love. It feels so good to be able to plan and prepare to come together once again for a wonderful evening of dinner, wine and fun with friends all while raising funds for Vocational Visions. The last time we were all together was in 2019.
For those households who are on our active mailing list, you should have received a 'Save the Date' reminder in the mail recently asking you to reserve the evening of Saturday, September 17, 2022 for our festivities. Expect to receive the formal invitations around the second week of August.
We are busy collecting donations for the live auction. We are delighted for what we have received so far. However, we certainly have room for much more. Do you have credit card reward points built up? Ever thought about purchasing something with those points to donate to our auction? Do you have any unspent gift cards / certificates that you have received but never got around to using? Ever thought about donating them to us to raise money during our live auction? If you would like to donate an auction item, please reply to this newsletter email with a quick description. Thank you for your support. It's a team effort.
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PARTICIPANT SPOTLIGHT
DESIREE BRERETON
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This month, we are shining our participant spotlight on ADP and Clubhouse program participant Desiree Brereton who joined VV in 2015. Desiree has had some very awesome life events recently and we're happy to share them with you.
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Desiree successfully completed her Paid Internship Program (PIP) as a Bus Person at Ted's Place, a classic American diner serving Laguna Niguel and surrounding areas for over 30 years. Upon completion, Desiree happily accepted a direct hire position with the restaurant and you can find her working there on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Job Coach Melody describes Desiree as having a strong work ethic. Desiree listens well, asks good clarifying questions and is open to suggestions and advice to help her do and be her very best at her new job. Desiree has learned a lot about herself through this experience and is looking forward to continued growth and learning. She loves that her job keeps her very busy. Her shifts fly by. She also enjoys being able to save up money. She's not sure what she wants to buy with her savings yet, but she loves knowing that she has earned the money through hard work and commitment. This will make whatever she decides to purchase that much more meaningful.
Here is a glimpse of Desiree during a day on the job.
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There have also been amazing changes in Desiree's home life. She moved into a group home last September. This was a change she was eagerly anticipating and it has been fantastic for her. There are four women living in her house and she does share a room with one of them which she doesn't mind at all. One thing she really appreciates is that her group home does a lot of activities and outings together. She is looking forward to the 4th of July when she will be going to a concert and watching fireworks with them.
The house just recently adopted three pets; a puppy named Kelly and two kittens named Oscar and Lilly.
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Their chores now include cleaning up after the pets but Desiree isn't protesting. These three new furry friends are well worth the extra work.
The downside of living with a lot of people is that they just had an outbreak of COVID in the house and had to spend some time on lockdown until everyone tested negative.
We want to congratulate Desiree on her new job and her new home. Incredible things are happening all around Desiree and we are thrilled for her successes. The positive attitude she exhibits really makes a difference in all that she does.
"Virtually nothing on earth can stop a person with a positive attitude who has his/her goals clearly in sight." - Denis Waitley
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EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT
CORA LACSINA
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Our organization is blessed to have a super staff of Direct Support Professionals who are committed to enhancing the lives of our participants. This month, we are spotlighting Corazon (Cora) Lacsina, a Program Quality Lead for our HRS program. Cora just celebrated 13 years of employment with VV. Let's get to know a bit more about her here. |
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Question: How did you first find out about VV?
Answer: I learned about VV through a friend.
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Question: If someone has never heard of VV, what would you share with them to help them to understand what VV is about?
Answer: I would describe VV as a way to touch the life of another person. It has brought a lot of inspiration and fulfillment to me.
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Question: What is your favorite part of your job at VV?
Answer: Being a part of Vocational Visions is being able to help with the developmentally disabled community, making them feel comfortable and accepted within our society. It brings me joy to be able to do something that is very meaningful.
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Question: What is something that could be added, removed or changed to make VV better?
Answer: Technology is fast evolving. Incorporating this with our participants will continuously help them to be a part of these changes.
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Question: Did you volunteer or work with people who are uniquely abled before working at VV?
Answer: I first worked with the developmentally disabled population in Santa Ana before coming to VV. This line of work gives me a bigger purpose and allows me to help others every day.
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Question: Are there any interesting, unique or fun facts about you that you would like to share with us?
Answer: I’m ambidextrous so I can write well with both my right and left hand. I grew up as a left-handed person and eventually learned to write with my right hand as well. Another fun fact about me is that I love anything about Disney, especially Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
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Question: What is your motto for life or a quote that really resonates with you?
“Take it day by day and make the most of it, for life is a beautiful gift from God.”
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It was nice getting to learn more about Cora. The positive attitude and desire to help that she brings to work every day makes a huge difference in our HRS program. Thank you, Cora, for your many years of devotion to our participants.
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Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month
Alzheimer's & Brain Awareness Month
National Safety Month
Autistic Pride Day
VV Board of Directors Meeting
EE Committee Meeting
Helen Keller Deaf-Blind Awareness Week
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Entire Month
Entire Month
Entire Month
June 18, 2022
June 22, 2022
June 22, 2022
June 26 - July 2, 2022
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SHOP FOR SUMMER & EARN DONATIONS FOR VV
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Click on this link to smile.amazon.com to go right to the page to select Vocational Visions as your charity for Amazon purchases.
Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchases to us as long as you shop at smile.amazon.com.
Click here for instructions to activate AmazonSmile on your Amazon mobile app.
As of 6/26/22, we are eager to share that 96 Amazon shoppers have selected VV as their charity of choice for AmazonSmile purchases. In the month of May 2022, Amazon rewarded VV with $140.05 through donations received from 179 qualifying purchases. Are you taking advantage of AmazonSmile? It is a wonderful and easy way to help others.
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BUY GROCERIES AT RALPHS
EARN DONATIONS FOR VV
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VV is delighted to report that we received a check for $54.36 from Ralphs as a donation thanks from 12 households who shopped at Ralphs from March 1 - May 31, 2022. Why did Ralphs reward us for those 12 household shoppers? Because those shoppers support what we do at Vocational Visions so they linked their free Ralphs Grocery Store shopper's card to Vocational Visions as part of the program below:
Then, they swiped their shopper's card, or entered their associated phone number, whenever they shopped at Ralphs and Ralphs made a quarterly donation to us on their behalf. It was that simple.
Can you imagine if 100 more grocery shoppers decided to take advantage of the Ralphs Community Contribution and chose us as their charity of choice? We could potentially raise over $400 per quarter. And all it would take from you is a couple of minutes to sign up and then grocery shopping at Ralphs using your rewards card like you probably already do. Click on the link above or the image below to sign up and make a difference in an unassuming but important way.
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