The Bridge is Archway Programs' bi-monthly newsletter delivered straight to your inbox! To subscribe, see the latest and previous editions of this publication, please visit our website at
www.ArchwayPrograms.org/newsletter
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A Message From the CEO
Dear Archway Family,
These last few months have certainly been one for the history books! If you asked me six months ago how we planned on celebrating such a big milestone throughout Archway’s history, I would have never guessed that we would only be celebrating virtually these last couple months; however no one could have planned or prepared for this pandemic. As we continue to navigate these unusual circumstances while also celebrating our 55
th
Anniversary, I realize how thankful we are. I want to personally thank everyone who has supported Archway Programs, including the individuals we serve and their families, our employees, our local communities including people and businesses who have donated their time or resources during this time, our Leadership Team, our Board of Trustees, our Parent Affiliate, Woods Services, our affiliate network, our founders and our former leaders who put their blood, sweat and tears into serving Archway Programs. This level of support allows our organization to further our mission to help individuals in need and make a real impact in the lives of thousands of people. Although the world is in a different place right now, the work we do each day at Archway Programs has been proven to be
essential
in driving our communities forward. I am confident that we will not only get through these challenging times but come out of it more resilient, and stronger than ever.
When I look back at how Archway started off and what it is today, the word “proud” doesn’t even come close to explaining how I feel. I am humbled to be the leader of such an extraordinary organization and grateful to work amongst so many talented individuals. Throughout the last few months I have seen staff members pull together and support one another without being asked, and without any hesitation. Every day something new is brought to my attention not by the staff member who went the extra mile, but from one of their coworkers who wants to make sure their good deeds don’t go unnoticed. It is becoming hard to keep track of and that is a good problem to have. It’s what defines the type of organization that Archway is at its very core. It serves as a reminder that the core values that Archway was built on 55 years ago stand true today. “The Archway Difference” is our people; individuals who not only emulate our mission, but who give unselfishly of their time and talents to those we serve. It’s outlined by our commitment and by compassion for others. It means supporting each other and showing up for one another despite any challenges we may face along the way.
I invite you to take another look at all we have to offer and share it with others. Archway Programs offers a comprehensive continuum of care that meets individuals and families where they are in life to provide the best care. With services throughout southern and central New Jersey, Archway offers innovative programming and services, delivered by a team of talented professionals dedicated to making a difference in the lives of others.
Sincerely,
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A Look Back at Our Beginnings...
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April 20
th
, 1965 marked Archway Programs’ 55th anniversary. We want to reflect back on how we got started. We would not be here today without our founders, Dr. Irving Packer and his wife, Estelle Packer. Their vision began in 1965, upon realizing that there was a serious lack of summer opportunities for children with special needs. Experiencing polio in his youth, Dr. Irving Packer understood firsthand that there were too few programs designed to help children and adolescents with special needs. As a young adult, when he and his wife, Estelle, worked with special needs children in the public school system, they encountered problems helping these children due to lack of adequate program development and funding to support such ideas. In April 1965, with very little third party assistance, the Packers developed Camp Happy Times, a small summer day camp program in Atco, New Jersey, to improve the lives of children having various disabilities. Over the years, this program grew into an innovative, year round, multifaceted organization known as Archway Programs, designed to serve individuals of all ages and abilities.
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Forever Grateful for Your Support
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Thank you to everyone who stood by Archway on
#GivingTuesdayNow, helping us to move lives forward throughout New Jersey during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your support is an act of generosity and kindness and for that we are forever grateful. Thank you for being a part of building resilient communities.
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If you didn’t get a chance to participate, it’s not too late to show your support. Click
here
to learn more about how you can help. Read more about some of the inspiring acts of community, hope and generosity below and on our website (click
here
).
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Employee Spotlight On: Jay Ham
Human Services Department
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Our employee spotlight goes to Mr. Jay Ham, Coordinator of Community Supports of Archway’s Human Services Department. Although Jay has been part of the Archway family for 2 and half years, it seems like it’s been much longer than that. It’s hard for our Human Services team to imagine what life was like before he joined the
#ArchwayFamily
. Jay is always willing to go the extra mile and jump right in to help support staff or clients, whatever the case may be. During this COVID-19 crisis, Jay has been totally selfless in ensuring the clients and staff is well cared for. He has been covering ALL shifts, daytime, second shifts, as well as overnights. This pandemic has caused a lot of stress and anxiety for residents, families and our DSP staff. Jay has been a pillar of strength and has remained calm and positive during this very difficult time, and always has a smile on his face. That alone makes such a positive influence in the lives of our residents who haven’t been able to have visitors or go on community outings for the past few months to ensure their health and safety during this time.
Our staff had nothing but wonderful things to say about Jay and what it’s like working with him –
- “Sometimes the work we do can be mentally draining and physically exhausting. Jay is the kind of coworker that brings such a positive energy that is so infectious to both his coworkers and our residents. He’s the type of person you want around for everything, the good, the bad, the ugly; the accomplishments and the challenges; you can rely on him when times are tough and he’s the person you want there when you’re celebrating milestones; he makes everything better.”
- “He’s the type of coworker that makes you feel so motivated just being in his presence. He is someone you can count on to not only do his job but to lift others up along the way, inspiring them to see the good and go the extra mile.”
- “The world needs more people like Jay. He is that person that puts everyone else’s needs before his own. He’s incredibly passionate about making an impact in the lives of our clients and is their biggest advocate.”
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Congratulations Jay! We are proud to call you part of the Archway family. Thank you for everything that you do for our Human Services Department!
#ArchwayProud
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Anonymous Giants Fan Donates to Archway Residents
An anonymous Giants fan donated Giants gear to some of our Freehold residents who are BIG Giants fans. Needless to say, they were very excited and appreciative of the kind gesture and generous donation. Thank you to the anonymous donor who made this possible and for brightening our residents’ day!
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Not Every Superhero Wears a Cape
Archway has always been
#essential
to our community, along side healthcare providers and emergency responders. Our incredible team never ceases to amaze us. Their level of dedication, compassion and selflessness is beyond inspiring.
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Staff from the Archway Lower School surprised students during spring break to check-in on families and spread some cheer. Pictured above is Physical Therapist Ms. Cheryl and Teacher Ms. Katie with Archway student Kenny.
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During Teacher Appreciation Week, Upper School staff surprised students and delivered munchkins. Students loved the delicious treat and enjoyed seeing familiar faces! T
eachers Ms. Amanda and Ms. Kelly are pictured above with Luis, one of our students.
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Local Business and Community Groups Donate Face Masks to Frontline Workers at Archway
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We would like to give a special shout out to everyone who has donated face masks to Archway Programs during this challenging time.
The face masks ensure the health and safety of residents in addition to the Direct Support Professionals who care for them during this crisis.
“In the middle of the COVID-19 crisis, Direct Support Professionals have stepped up yet again to provide care, support, and safety for the most vulnerable. There are no days off when it comes to providing quality service to those who need it most. Our DSPs are there during medical emergencies, every holiday, birthday and everything in-between,” said Mickie Patetta, Human Services Director of Archway Programs.
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Freehold Community Comes Together to Make a Difference
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A special thank you to Jennifer Miller for reaching out to local restaurants in the Freehold community and coordinating the delivery of donated food for our residents at our community homes in Central New Jersey. Jennifer is the niece of one of our residents, Matthew Eschner, and did this out of the kindness of her heart. Shout out to
Romeo’s Restaurant
as well as
Jersey Freeze of Freehold
for donating the delicious food and ice cream. All of our residents enjoyed the pizza, sandwiches, hamburgers, hotdogs, French fries and yummy ice cream! Despite the challenging times we’re all currently facing, it’s so warming to see the community come together.
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Happy Anniversary to Our Archway Family!
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Congratulations to all of our employees celebrating monthly work anniversaries! Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication to help Archway further its mission. To see the list of names and anniversary dates, please click here or on the 'Read More' button below.
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Celebrating Employee Milestones & Years of Service
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Every year around this time, Archway Programs’ Board of Trustees hosts the annual Employee Recognition Breakfast to recognize employees with longevity and to salute outstanding staff members who have supported the organization as they reach career service milestones. This year, we haven’t quite yet gathered together due to everything going on in the world however we would like you to join us in virtually celebrating our employees and the level of hard work and dedication each one of them exhibits in furthering Archway’s mission.
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Recognized for 5 Years
Deborah Bellwoar, Childcare Supervisor
Chantel Bechtel, Childcare Assistant
Amanda Brezee-Thompson, Teacher
Linda Cottman, Direct Support Professional
Brittany Cropley, Paraprofessiona
April Delgado, Occupational Therapist
Samantha DePalma, Paraprofessional
Michael Fishman, Teacher
Candice Hoffman, Teacher
Rebecka Howe, Paraprofessional
Cyriss Howell, Life Skills Counselor
Megan Keck, Occupational Therapist
Holly Keresty, Paraprofessional
Mercedes Ledan, Paraprofessional
Yolanda Maiden, Speech Therapist
James McNally, Network Administrator
Lillian Norton, Paraprofessional
Rosemarie Pichini, Paraprofessional
Toni Pratt, Direct Support Professional
Carmen Sandoval, Assistant Manager
Deborah Schafer, Paraprofessional
Caitlin Stow, Paraprofessional
Michelle Weber, Art Teacher
Recognized for 10 Years
Stacey Carrelli, Manager
Nancy Cattanea, Childcare Assistant
Linda Fernandez, Paraprofessional
Stephanie Fitzgerald, Childcare Supervisor
Victoria Henderson, Direct Support Professional
Alyssa Jones, Childcare Assistant
Donald Lamb, Registered Behavior Technician
Nicole Madrid, Child Development Specialist
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Recognized for 15 Years
Lois Cunningham, Registered Nurse
Tammy Kaminski, Social Worker
Kevin McGuire, Teacher
Tracy McShea, Occupational Therapist
Rachel Patti, Special Educator
Recognized for 20 Years
Patricia Carey, Teacher
Hanna Gunson, Paraprofessional
Dorothy Musick, Paraprofessional
Aracelis Ortiz, Art Teacher
Recognized for 25 Years
Samantha DeGerlia,
Residential
Coordinator
Recognized for 30 Years
Linda DiLullo, Billing Specialist
Dale Webber, Teacher
Congratulations to all! Archway Programs is a better place because of you. We are proud that you are part of the
#ArchwayFamily
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Residential Community Homes
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All of our residents have been safe at home since early March and we are trying to make the best from this unprecedented situation. Our residents and clients are all trying to keep themselves busy at home. Some are enjoying the time; relaxing and doing things at their leisure, while others are going a little stir-crazy, wanting to get back to work. Staff has been trying to offer up a variety of activities to help pass the time, like; crafts, puzzles, cooking, movie days and going out in the yard when it is nice. Hopefully we will all be back to our somewhat normal daily routines and we can all enjoy a stress free summer away from this virus that has undoubtedly changed many of our perspectives and hopefully a renewed appreciation for the freedom and luxuries we all have available to us at any given time!
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As well as appreciation for the people who are still out there every day during these times, risking their own health and safety as well as their families to provide others with essentials, care, kindness, and guidance to get through this extraordinary life altering event. We would like to give a special shout out to all medical personal, emergency responders, law enforcement and to those who seldom are seen as heroes, essential, or brave, the cashiers, gas attendants, food service personnel, shelf stockers, delivery drivers, public transportation workers, CNAs, DSPs, home health aides, nursing home workers, school personal and bus drivers delivering meals to kids that may not otherwise have one, volunteers, human service workers, and mental health personnel, all these workers and more are some of the real heroes in what we currently call our norm. We praise and applaud your sincere dedication to the work you perform on a daily basis! Thank you to all of our dedicated DSPs for taking such good care of our residents!
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The Archway Schools Are Here to Lift You Up
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Since March 17
th
, the Archway Schools have been providing outstanding education, remotely for our students, during the pandemic. The teachers, one to ones, paraprofessionals and related service providers have created packets for each child to continue working on their goals. Each plan meets the student individual educational needs. School staff is keeping in contact with all of the families on a daily basis via telephone or online, depending upon the families’ accessibility. Some teachers are using class dojo, google classroom and other means to see the students and interact with them to deliver lessons in “real time”. Related service staff is using teleservices to deliver therapies if able.
A special shout out to our transportation department who has worked diligently with us, delivering packets to homes for students all over South Jersey. We appreciate their help immensely!
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Our wish is to begin school as soon as possible, as the students need us and we need them. But first and foremost, we need everyone to remain healthy so we can gather again in a safe manner. I think everyone thought they would enjoy working from home, but what we have found is that it is much harder than being in school and we don’t get to see our wonderful students, which is heartbreaking. We have great students, great staff and great families! Stay well and we will all be together again soon! In the meantime,enjoy this video that teachers put together to bring some positivity to our Archway families. Special shoutout to Mr. Mike Peters for putting this together!
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Team Compassion is their Name
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Our partial care staff continues to amaze us! Archway's adult partial care program (ACT) has been temporarily suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our partial care staff has been checking in on each one of our clients to provide support during this challenging time. ACT Program Supervisor Amy Miller wanted to do more for clients since their worlds have been turned upside down right now, not being able to come to program five days a week. She had an idea to put together Care Packages for clients to include things they might need right now in addition to activities based on their individual interests. Partial Care staff put the Care Packages together and Amy coordinated with Archway's Transportation Department and nurses to schedule visits to clients' homes to deliver the Care Packages and administer medication, provide medication education to foster continued knowledge and awareness. The Care Packages consists of snack items, coping tools, items to assist with encouraging continued positive hygiene routines as well as face masks which allow continued access to essential locations, as online ordering is not always an option.
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HOPE and DISCOVER March Forward
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"
Now as we
March
ed on we
HOPE’d
to
DISCOVER
some luck and fortune, possibly as we stumble over a four leaf clover. Yet, we find, dripping into the month of April, this instead. An empty, long and narrow hallway, usually lit and filled with chatter and laughter seeping from underneath the door, coming from the consumers and staff as we engaged in groups and team building exercises.
Not just our program, but our Nation as a whole, unexpectedly, has been darkened, put on hold, challenged, rearranged by COVID-19—the Corona Virus. But now we challenge you. Take another look at the picture. What do you see? Don’t give up so easily, what do you see? Hint! Look deep into the picture. Do you see that ray of light at the end ‘
of the tunnel’?
That light represents that we will prevail, that God sees, that with Faith and
Hope
, we will
Discover
a way to not only put this program back together, but to make it stronger when we do. Take another look at the picture. That light, light in general, represents clarity and vision. We just have to stay the course.
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To stay that course H&D staff has continued to provide social and emotional support to our program participants and their families, via telephone. Staff does weekly check-ins, motivational interviewing and psycho education, breathing exercises and challenging negative automatic thoughts, a Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) technique. All of us here at Hope and Discover, with the rest of the Archway Family, wish everyone Hope during these times, stay safe, stay strong, and stay focused on the light at the end of the tunnel.
"
-
Jay Montague, Director of HOPE/DISCOVER Programs
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ICYMI: Bringing Just Kids to You Every Tuesday and Friday!
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Our
Just Kids Program
is sending out weekly newsletters called,
“Bringing Just Kids to You!”
to stay engaged with families and provide support through this period of staying at home. The focus is to enable parents to make positive memories with their children by providing easily accessible tools and ideas. These newsletters include an array of information and links to fun activities parents can do with simple supplies that they have at home.
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Welcome to the Archway Family!
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We are proud to welcome new employees to the Archway Family as our organization expands, allowing us to help more families throughout the community. Please help us give a warm welcome to the newest members of the Archway Family!
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Just Kids, Before & After School Care
Makaila Whitehead, Childcare Assistant
Residential Community Homes
Natya Bethel, Direct Support Professional
Danielle Hayes, Direct Support Professional
Dyanne Turner, Direct Support Professional
Janisha White, Direct Support Professional
Shirley Young, Direct Support Professional
The Archway Schools
Jessica Latini, Paraprofessional
Crystal Mooney, Social Worker
Olivia Parry, Paraprofessional
Herve Townsend, Paraprofessional
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We are currently looking for people who are passionate about making a difference in the lives of others and in their communities. Archway offers flexible schedules, an excellent work culture that values a healthy work/life balance, a large affiliate network, with unlimited opportunities for growth throughout southern and central NJ.
Don't miss this opportunity,
apply now
!
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Our top priority is to ensure your health and safety. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all of our community events, fundraisers, and internal events originally scheduled from March through the end of May have been postponed until further notice. We will be in contact with you as soon as the events have been rescheduled.
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Our team is dedicated to providing resources and information that support the wellbeing of our community. We’ve created a
resource guide webpage
with a list of regularly updated resources that we hope will help you during these uncertain times. They are organized as follows: Critical Resources, Hotlines/Support, Family Resources (all ages/abilities), and ‘Explaining COVID-19’ which consists of helpful tools to use when discussing with your loved ones (all ages/abilities). Although some of our programs are temporarily suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak, our staff is available during normal business hours to answer any questions you may have.
For Archway specific updates related to the COVID-19, please visit
www.archwayprograms.org/covid19.
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We Want to Hear From You!
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If you have an idea for content you would like to see in The Bridge, and/or have any questions about our e-newsletter, please email our Communications Department at
communications@archwayprograms.org
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We always have a lot of fun and exciting things happening at Archway Programs! Make sure to stay connected and follow @ArchwayPrograms on social media for all of the latest news and events!
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