The STRIVECast

 

The STRIVECast had an AWESOME month of July! We interviewed some really awesome people, like our friend Hayley from Hot Radio Maine, AND our very own Pete and Noel to talk about sixteen years of STRIVE Rocks events. Ryan, our Sound and Video Engineer, has been doing a great job of putting together the shows so you can watch them, as well as listen! Visual episodes are available over on our facebook and youtube pages. Check them out!

Do you have guest suggestions, ideas for fun games we could play, or want to particip ate in the Ask Noel segment? Shoot us an email at strivecast@pslstrive.org! We'd love to hear from you. The Ask Noel hotline is still up and running, too - you can leave Noel a voicemail asking him your life advice question at 207-774-6278, ext. 352!

The STRIVECast is a podcast brought to you by the team at STRIVE in South Portland - 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, edited, and produced by people with disabilities! Like what you hear? Shoot us an email at strivecast@pslstrive.org !

STRIVE 25

STRIVE 25 has continued to have so much fun during our bi-weekly virtual meetings! We all are loving spending the first full hour checking in with our friends and peers, hearing what we've all been up to while staying safe at home. And of course, karaoke and bingo is still on the agenda! We are so glad we can continue to have this time together every other week to keep our social connections strong. If you'd like to join in a STRIVE 25, email Olivia at ofraioli@pslstrive.org for your link to join! 

STRIVE 25 is a social event for folks 25 and older, and typically happens here at STRIVE the first Thursday of each month (currently running bi-weekly online during COVID-19). For more information on STRIVE 25, contact Caroline (for the in-person event) at ccole@pslstrive.org or Olivia (for the virtual event) at ofraioli@pslstrive.org.

Bayside

Bayside has made it through its second month at the Central Office while continuing our Zoom chats daily for those that are not able to be with us in person. Our daily programs are going very well, and although our participants are looking forward to getting back to Cumberland Ave, they are doing great in adapting to all the new changes. We are keeping up on our goals and have been working with different types of maps and learning street safety by virtual tours of the city and doing worksheets for our navigation group. 

For our cooking goals, we work on deciding which are the best foods to eat using the GO SLOW or WHOA worksheets, to help improve health. We have been having a great time playing Kahoot, a game where we have to guess the correct answer on iPads. This game flows right into what we are teaching with the GO SLOW - WHOA model. Math days are very busy for the Bayside participants. They have been working on worksheets that deal with money using real coins some of the worksheets have been focusing on how to make up different denominations. We also have been coming up with some really great topics for our Topic of Interest goals focusing on good news in the world. Participants write a short story about it and then share it with their peers. Adventure day on Fridays are fun as we connect with our peers on Zoom to play Online Jeopardy putting the Bayside Zoom against Bayside Central. We also like the competition in identifying songs and the artist who sings it (It amazes me how many we all know!).

Congratulations are due for Graeme, as he graduated on June 26th to Strive U.   We saw a lot of growth by Graeme while at Bayside. He learned a lot, and added much to the program and his peers. While we will miss him here, we are equally proud and confident in the road he will now travel.

  

  

TOPS

TOPS began our ESY program in July, offering virtual programming 4-days per week. TOPS is currently collaborating with 6 districts, serving 13 students this summer!

Each week is a new topic, covering personal safety, health and wellness, self-advocacy and team building. The students have quickly adapted to virtual education, completing daily reflection videos using FlipGrid, attending class on Zoom and finding new tools to interact using the technology they have available. Virtual home scavenger hunts have been a hit- searching for items related to emergencies and even finding specific items relating to nutrition!

We've continued to have so much fun during our Virtual STRIVE Night's! Getting to see our friends every Friday has been such a bright spot during COVID-19, and having a place to just relax and have fun together is so important! We've been having some incredible karaoke performances, as well as heated bingo games, and hilarious rounds of charades! If you'd like to join in the fun, email Olivia for your link to join a STRIVE Night soon!

  

 

Friday Nights at    STRIVE , fondly refer red 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 every Friday from    6-9pm, with at least one special "theme" night happening each month.    For more information, contact Olivia at  ofraioli@pslstrive.org.

We've been having so much fun during Tweens this month! We've been working on our conversational skills, as well as watching some adorable animal videos on youtube and playing some fun games. We're so glad we get to continue to see our friends virtually during this time!

Do you know someone 11-14 years old looking for a fun social outlet? Contact Olivia to join Virtual Tweens and get your link to join!

Things are always changing here at ACTIVE these days! While some participants have started to head back on site, our ACTIVE Zoom-iverse has maintained popularity among all of our ACTIVE team. Attending zooms is important because it allows participants and staff to continue to see and connect with members of our community. In particular, our check-in zooms are a lot of fun because we typically play games there like name that tune, hangman, and our original check-in game, "Ask Around." Zoom Check-Ins have definitely become our most attended zoom group because it has created a space for everyone to touch base with each other in a fun and inclusive way. Additionally, our Virtual Community Events have also been a huge hit! These evening and weekend Zoom gatherings, although in the same Zoom-iverse, seem to have a different vibe. Kim, Kayla, and Rachael bring some fun and exciting topics to explore such as vintage cars, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Name that Tune, just to name a few. Over time, we have also found Zoom groups to give staff the opportunity to express interests of their own and to share their personal knowledge of skills and interests. In this way, our Zoom groups have definitely become a place for everybody.

It is hard to believe that the on-site Active programming has been back up and running for almost two months! We have welcomed some of our WAVES participants back to program as well. Everyone is enjoying getting to see their peers and participate in fun activities both in the buildings and outside. Staff and participants have been getting creative with the activities that we can do while being socially distant. Everyone has been patient as we all navigate this new stage! "Guest" staff have been coming on site to each location to lead groups for our participants outdoors. Birding, scavenger hunts, meditation, science, Zumba, and art groups outside have been some participant favorites. We are gradually welcoming more participants back to program, as safely as we can. If you have any questions, please reach out to ewright@pslstrive.org. Happy summer!

 

For more information on PSL Services/STRIVE's Community Support Day Programs,  Active & Waves, please contact Emily at ewright@pslstrive.org .

Though many events look a little different this year, one event is able to stay the same- Kevin On The Roof! Save the date- Kevin will be heading atop the roof of Patriot Subaru starting  Friday, September 18th ! Kevin has yet to pick his fundraising goal. How much do you think it will be? How long will he be on the roof this year?! Keep your eye out for updates about this special event!

Meet Bridget! Bridget is a STRIVE Tweens and Camp STRIVE participant, who, if you've ever been to STRIVE when she is there, you've certainly met! Bridget has a bright and friendly personality and loves to make new friends. Bridget joins us for virtual Tweens every week, so we are so glad we are able to still see her while we're all still at home!

Recently, Bridget was in the South Portland area, and missing her friends at STRIVE, so she and her mom decided to stop by our office and take a quick picture! Thanks for sending it along, Bridget!