On my desk sits piles of thank you notes and emails that I receive, positive messages of touching a person's life. I print the emails and look at them when times get tough as the CEO of a Human Service Provider. It keeps me grounded and reminds me daily of why we are here and what our mission is. It reminds me of those who walk this journey with me each day and it keeps me pushing for the Direct Support Professional Fund (DSP) because ultimately a stable workforce is what helps the individuals we support. It is true that we are a business, but our product is not mass production of the latest fad; it’s a person’s life! We are a community that cares about our people, both those we support and those we employ. There is no more of a rewarding product to be a part of than that. We raise money because 100% of what we support are people. They deserve the assistance they need to be the best person they could be. The Staff deserve a living wage for the vast responsibilities they face daily.
Last year, our first year of the DSP fund, you helped us make a difference in the lives of our staff; which in tun made a difference in the lives of the people we serve. We had over 700 individuals and companies play a part in the DSP Fund and were able help over 400 Direct Support Professionals! We are so thrilled to be able to do that again this year. Our hope is to beat last year's fund so if you can, please continue to give to our DSP fund. It's as simple as going our web page at:
https://www.renarc.org/donate/dsp-support-fund
or sending a check to us at The Arc of Rensselaer County DSP Fund, 79 102
nd
Street Troy NY 12180. All money stays local, going to the Direct Support Professionals. No Administrative fees are taken. Please remember no amount of money you can donate is too small, as the collective of the community adds up.
I would like to celebrate the success of our 2019 Evening On The Lake Event (look below for more details). Words cannot thank the Lake Committee enough for their efforts, going above and beyond. They did amazing things to make the event a success from calling donors, grabbing items from vendors, coordinating the details, wrapping, carrying, calculating, and other things I probably do not even know. Thank you to the Committee Members Lisa Romeo-Mullin, Melinda Colangione, Crystal Ladd, Kathleen Shepherd, Teri McGaughnea; Chrisse Rasmussen; Amber Mulford; Kristopher Malone, Caren Story; Dee Kronau; Kristan Russell; Lisa Anderson; Maureen Kronau; and Tracey Hempel.
Thank you, as well, to the Arc of Rensselaer County community for your support and donations to our event. The event is so much fun and it gives us a chance to celebrate the Arc together. I am humbled that you all see beyond the evening to its real purpose, to raise funds to help better the lives of those we support.
Continually Humbled,
Don Mullin, CEO
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On June 26, Old Daley on Crooked Lake came to life as over 200 guests, supporting the Arc of Rensselaer County, joined us for friendship and fundraising at our annual event
An Evening On the Lake
. Lydia Kulbida hosted the event along with our Honorary Chairperson Keith Algozzine of United Concierge of Medicine. Both Keith and last year's Honorary Chair, Steve Bouchey challenged our guests with a donation match! Over $2,000 more was earned this year than our record breaking event last year. The highlight of the evening,everyone would agree, was Matt Rasmussen singing
Lean On Me
with CEO, Don Mullin. A gracious thank you goes out to all of the businesses, community members, and staff who played a part in making this event a great success. Thank you Lydia, Keith, Steve, and the community for your support.
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The Arc of Rensselaer County Names
Edward Spain The New Board President
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At our annual Board installation dinner in July we welcomed aboard our new panel of officers and members. Edward Spain (left) stepped in as our new President while President Mary Muller moved into the role of Vice President. Remaining in position are Secretary Debra Nuttall, Treasurer James Moran, and Assistant Treasurer Robert Hergrueter. In addition David Borge, Michelle Kearnan, Ani Mooney, Charlette Burgess, Dee Kronau, Chrisse Rasmussen, Diane Dearborn, Lisa Mahar, Mindy Serkez, Sally Dunbar, Julie Martin, Kathleen Sheeran, Kathy Jimino, Deborah Hanish-Schreyer, Jacqueline Tureby, Peter Jones, Sue Rosa, and Edie Hall will serve as our members of the Board. We thank you all for your unlimited time, support, and knowledge you share.
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SAVE THE DATE
Trivia Challenge Night
November 7, 2019
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On July 28 our very own Coffee Cart operator, John Larose, was treated by Night Out For You", a not-for-profit agency whose mission is to "provide a memorable experience for those who are
undergoing cancer treatment, allowing them to remember who they are by forgetting their diagnosis for a few hours." John and his date, long time girlfriend Eileen, were picked up and returned in
a limo at his apartment. From there they spent the afternoon enjoying Consortium Actor's
Tony and Tina's Wedding
; an interactive play that makes the audience be a part of the crazy mayhem of this bride and groom's special day. Knowing that John was on a date Night Out for You volunteers also brought flowers and candy for Eileen and t shirts for both of them. We are so grateful to Night Out For You and their special gift to John. For more information about this organization and how you can show support to them go to their website www.nightoutforyou.org
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Thank You NYSARC Trust Services For Your Continued Support!
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The Arc of Rensselaer County was awarded $15,000 in grants from the Trustee Management Board of NYSARC
Trust Services to support Arc of Rensselaer’s recreation programs so that we can support new recreational opportunities and enrich the lives of more individuals we serve. The Arc has used its recreation funds to support our summer recreation program. Exciting opportunities like seeing a Valley Cats game, a show at Mac-Heyden Theater, Great Escape, Adirondack Animal Land and Safari, and MiSci name a few. The grant also paid for the camper’s T-shirts, which this year prompted a competition on the first day of camp where campers drew pictures or designs that they wanted on their shirts this year. All the campers voted on it the winning picture was put on the camper T-shirts.
NYSARC Trust Services administers supplemental needs trusts (SNT) that can make dramatic improvements to the lives of people with disabilities while enabling individuals to maintain eligibility for public benefits programs, such as Medicaid and SSI. For 2019, NYSARC Trust Services is proud to fulfill its commitment to enhancing the lives of people with disabilities by awarding a total of $2,933,000 in grants to The Arc New York Chapters statewide.
NYSARC Trust Services administers first- and third-party supplemental needs trusts and pooled trusts for income and resource (asset) protection. When protecting settlement proceeds with an NYSARC Community Trust, we can also administer Medicare Set-Aside (MSA) accounts. For more information, please call (518)
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Happy 2nd Anniversary to the
Troy Poetry Club
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What do 2 guys who have a passion for poetry, but have no one to enjoy it with? They start the Troy Poetry Club!
Stephan Roberts(left) and Jim Snay(right) have been writing and performing their poetry for years. Initially they traveled to open mic and poetry slams in Albany then joined an enthusiastic crowd at the Nitty Gritty Slam at a bar on Central Ave. As time passed, the crowd changed as crowds do with time. They found that they didn’t know most of the regulars anymore and didn’t feel the connection with the new audience.
In May of 2017, the Troy Poetry Club hosted its first open mic. From conversations they shared with their writing teacher, Allison Paster-Torres, the decision to start hosting their own events was a combination of wanting to create a space for poetry that was entirely welcoming to them and wanting to try out a different role in the poetry community. It took a while to find a location that was welcoming. The Troy Boys and Girls Club located at 1700 Seventh Avenue in Troy has hosted every quarterly event since the beginning.
Jim and Stephan organize, host, and emcee as well as read their own poetry. Events typically last about an hour as participants read original works or poetry of their liking. At each session there is also a featured with a featured poet reading their works. In July the Poetry Club featured
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Poet, Paul Muldoon
!
All are welcome and encouraged to read some poetry or just enjoy the work of others. If you are interested in more information check out the Troy Poetry Club's Facebook page!
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