Easter Seals Disability Services

The Lily Pad A bi-weekly e-newsletter for Easter Seals Staff & Board November 20, 2009

NH Celebration of Giving—The big event that celebrates the successes of the past year is right around the corner on Dec. 1 at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, NH. Tickets for staff are $35 and there are limited scholarships available. Please see Betty Burke at bburke@eastersealsnh.org. This year’s awardees are Karen Van Der Beken (Eugene Van Loan III Leadership Award), Cathy Burnham Martin (David P. Goodwin Lifetime Commitment Award), and Charles Peaslee (Nicole Beaulieu Achievement Award).

Farnum Center Funding—The Farnum Center received a grant for $3,500 from the Bishop’s Charitable Assistance Fund for the Adolescent Co-Occurring Program. With these monies, the Farnum Center will be able to ensure that adolescents within New Hampshire who have an identified substance abuse problem as well as an emotional or psychiatric illness are able to receive the help they need. The monies from the Bishop’s Charitable Assistance Fund will be used to increase the number of adolescents receiving services from our program through outreach to the community at-large. We believe the outreach is critical so that teens who face co-occurring disorders and their families know they are not alone and know that there are services available to help them. The Bishop’s Charitable Assistance Fund makes grants to tax-exempt organizations without regard to religious affiliation for projects that help people in New Hampshire meet their basic needs. The Fund is operated by volunteer lay men and women who serve as Directors and who make recommendations to the Bishop of Manchester for grants to any organization in New Hampshire. The Fund raises money through solicitation of individuals, businesses, and philanthropic organizations. An annual accounting of funds raised and disbursement is available at www.catholicnh.org/BCAF.

CVS Grant for ESRI—CVS Caremark recently awarded Easter Seals Rhode Island with a $2,500 grant. The Rhode Island affiliate was chosen from a list of charities provided by CVS Caremark as an incentive to customers who were invited to participate in a survey about pharmacy service. 

WalMart Foundation Supports Easter Seals Veterans Services—The Walmart Foundation State Giving Program has selected the Easter Seals Veterans Services Deployment Cycle Support Program to receive a $25,000 grant. One hundred percent of the monies from the Walmart Foundation State Giving Program will be used to support the flexible spending portion of the program. Easter Seals Veterans Services uses money from the fund to bridge a financial gap when all other sources have been exhausted. The fund is only accessed when veterans do not have the funding to help themselves. The monies are disbursed in conjunction with intensive counseling and job placement assistance so that we may help our returning service members and their families achieve optimal career status and quality of life. In the coming 18 months, New Hampshire’s largest number of soldiers, estimated at approximately 1,800, is slated to deploy. Since Easter Seals launched Veterans Count in 2007, more than 1000 veterans and their families have been served.  Easter Seals Care Coordinators are currently managing more than 700 individual cases and that number is expected to grow to 2000 in the coming year.

Easter Seals New York Celebrates 2008-2009 With Three Successful Annual Meetings!—Easter Seals New York 2009 Annual Meeting Season was a tremendous success! Over 200 supporters joined us in Rochester for our Western Region Annual Meeting on November 2nd, where Honorary Ambassadors from the IRAs were introduced, awards were presented and everyone enjoyed dinner, a slide show and program. Easter Seals New York’s first Million Dollar Round Table Award was presented to the Kessler Family for their continued support of Western Region programs and services. On September 10th, Easter Seals New York City and Long Island supporters came together at the 3 West Club in Manhattan to celebrate a year of success for the Bronx Child Development Center, SCSEP, HANDS program and New York Warriors! Guests had the opportunity to meet and mingle with the 2009-2010 Honorary Ambassadors from the Bronx Child Development Center, the New York Warriors Quad Rugby Team and SCSEP as well as National Easter Seals Ambassador Jessica Segal, from Texas. Award recipients included Tom Kunz and Century 21 who received the Corporate Leadership Award, Jesse Mojica who received the Service Leadership Award, Craig Erlich who was surprised with the Board Leadership Award and Easter Seals New York's very own SCSEP who received this year's Volunteer Leadership Award! On November 12th, guests gathered at the Westchester Marriot in Tarrytown for the Hudson Valley and Long Island Annual Meeting to celebrate the wonderful year seen by the Valhalla, Port Jervis and Monticello Child Development Centers as well as Camp Colonie in Albany! Special guest, Congressman Eliot L. Engel accepted this year's Volunteer Leadership Award for his work on behalf of those living with autism and other disabilities. Dylan, a Port Jervis graduate, presented Congressman Engel with the award on behalf of the thousands of individuals with disabilities who the Congressman supports through the numerous bills he has brought to the forefront of Congress. The Congressman and Dylan were reunited for the first time since 2005 when they protested Medicaid cuts together on the steps of City Hall in Manhattan. Others honored included Mike Essig and Pam Madeiros who received the Board Leadership Award, CVS who received the Corporate Leadership Award and Kathy Halas who received the Service Leadership Award. Attendees also met the 2009-2010 Honorary Ambassadors from the Monticello, Port Jervis and the Valhalla Child Development Centers. To see photos from the events, please visit http://www.eastersealsny.org/.

Easter Seals New York and the New York State Fraternal Order of Police will Distribute Hundreds of Turkeys to Needy Families For Thanksgiving—Easter Seals New York and The New York State Fraternal Order of Police will host the Annual Thanksgiving Community Outreach on Monday, November 23rd at 11:00 AM. Over 200 turkeys, which have generously been donated by the New York State Fraternal Order of Police, will be distributed to local families and individuals in need. Last year, the Community Outreach Program fed thousands of people in the Port Jervis area. This year’s Thanksgiving Community Outreach Program will take place at 88 East Main Street, Port Jervis, New York at 11:00 AM.

EZ Gift of Choice Donates 10% of Holiday Proceeds to Easter Seals New York—Through the end of December 2009, EZ Gift of Choice (www. ezgiftofchoice.com) will donate 10% of proceeds to Easter Seals New York. EZ Gift of Choice is a gift incentive program that allows the gift giver to offer a variety of choices to the recipient through an album of gift options that they receive in the mail! This Gift Incentives Program consists of Unique Gift Albums with name-brand gifts, ranging in value from $30 - $1,000. The recipient then has the ability to choose one gift from a wide variety of items in that album and the product gets shipped to them directly, all without them ever knowing the values of the items displayed! To learn more, please visit http://www.ezgiftofchoice.com/ or email sales@exgiftofchoice.com.

Caught in the Act Winners for November—Congratulations to the 149 paper who received Caught in the Act Nominations and thank you to the people who took the time to nominate them: Emily Krasco (Life Skills Assistant, Harbor Schools, MA) nominated by Connie, Alicia Wilson (After School Coordinator, Valhalla, NY) nominated by Marianne Gribbon, and Lisa Gurney (Visit Specialist, White River Junction, VT).

7th Annual Easter Seal NH Winter Wine Spectacular to Benefit Infants and Children Though Early Intervention Services—For wine enthusiasts and foodies alike, the 7th Annual Winter Wine Spectacular, will be held January 28 at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester from 6 to 9 p.m. This premier wine event, presented by The NH Liquor and Wine Outlets and sponsored by Riverstone Resource LLC will support Easter Seals’ Early Intervention Services, which provides physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy to children with disabilities and special needs from birth to age three throughout the state. The event features a vast selection of more than 1,400 varietals, dozens of winemakers, wine seminars, and fabulous food from the area’s most popular restaurants. Major sponsors of the Winter Wine Spectacular include New Hampshire Magazine, New Hampshire Business Review, NH Home Magazine, 95.7 WZID & The Mill,  Bellman Jewelers, Visual Persuasion, LLC, Ben Franklin Printers, Ameriprise Financial and Law Warehouses.  Proud new sponsors joining the event this year are St. Mary’s Bank, The Orthopedic Center, Apple Therapy Services, G-Force and Bedford Ambulatory Surgical Center. Tickets for the Grand Tasting are $60 per person or $150 per person for full access to both Bellman’s Cellar Select and the Grand Tasting. Easter Seals staff receives a $10 discount! Tickets make a great holiday gift and corporate discounts are available. This event will sell out quickly! If you are interested in purchasing tickets for yourself or for your favorite wine lovers, or if you’d like to volunteer for the event, please call 1-888-368-8880.

A New Look for STS—Over the years, Board (Cliff Harris, most recently) and staff have suggested we include the Easter Seals lily and name on all of our Special Transit Service vehicles. We are now making modifications to the existing fleet, and doing the lettering for all new vehicles. Thanks to Fred Roberge and Larry Marcus for heading up this effort. Click on the photo to check out the new look!

Easter Seals ME 3rd Annual Gala & Auction Raises $60,000—Hundreds gathered at this year’s Annual Gala & Auction to raise money for Easter Seals Maine. The $60,000 raised will support Early Intervention, the All Aboard! Preschool, Vocational Services and the Center for Therapeutic Recreation for Easter Seals clients throughout Maine. The event, which took place November 7 at the Wyndham Portland Hotel in South Portland, included silent and live auctions, a cocktail reception and the exclusive viewing of a video produced by Fox 23, which you can view at www.maine.easterseals.com/whoweare. During the evening’s festivities Larry Gammon presented Randy Billmeier, outgoing Chairman of the Board of Easter Seals Maine, with the inaugural Randy Billmeier Volunteer Award. Billmeier has worked tirelessly for Easter Seals Maine for the past 5 years and has combined his love for photography with this passion for Easter Seals, taking over 11,000 photos and documenting the triumphs of Easter Seals clients and staff.  Easter Seals Maine would like to recognize the generous sponsors of the event including Premier Sponsor, Northeast Delta Dental; Gold Sponsors, Staples and Friendly’s; Silver Sponsors Bernstein Shur, Baker Newman Noyes and Pro Search; Bronze Sponsors Ride Away, Keenan Auction Company, Wyndham Portland Airport Hotel, Pearce & Dow, Day’s Jewelers, The Bennett Law Firm and Fox 23; and Supporters Perkins Thompson Attorneys & Counselors at Law, Saco Biddeford Savings, Bangor Savings, Narrow Gage RR and Maine Indoor Karting.

Click here for useful sites and forms for Easter Seals staff

Employee Benefits Enrollment Guide 2009-2010

Click here to download benefit enrollment forms

Discounts available to Easter Seals Employees

Join your co-workers for these upcoming Easter Seals events!