responsibility - quality spirituality- hospitality -...

St. John of God Basket

Issue 23, January 22, 2018

Jan. 24 Volunteer Brunch (11am to 2pm at Brio)

Feb. 2

Staff Development Day (HWG and ADS Closed)

Feb. 14

Valentine’s Day

Feb. 19

President’s Day (HWG daycare open, all other programs closed) March 8

St. John of God Feast Day

Upcoming Events

St. John of God Community Services - Archbishop Damiano School Staff Newsletter

Rooting for the Home Team “On the Road to Victory”

As the Philadelphia Eagles

advanced further in the NFL

playoffs, the entire Archbishop

Damiano School rallied behind

“The Birds.”

Prior to going up against the

Atlanta Falcons in the divisional

round playoffs, staff, teachers and

students arrived on campus the

Responsibility - Quality

Spirituality- Hospitality - Respect

Friday before, decked out in green

and their finest Eagles gear.

In addition, Maureen Simpson’s

class delivered a powerful

rendition of the Eagles’ official

fight song, which was shared by

NBC10’s social media and quickly

went viral. Between NBC’s two

Facebook posts, the video

ADS students go viral for their rendition of the Philadelphia Eagles fight song.

St. John of God Community Services “Green Day” was all the luck the Philadelphia Eagles needed to win the divisional playoffs and

advance to the conference championship.

Staff Newsletter Issue 23, Jan. 22, 2018

The Hospitality Corner

4-H Driving for Shelter Animals

received 108,000 views, 4,000 likes

and more than 800 shares.

Finishing the regular season with a

record of 13 –3, the Philadelphia

Eagles were considered the top

ADS’s 4-H members will host an

animal shelter drive to benefit the

rescued dogs and cats of Mulligan’s

Animal Rescue in Thorofare.

As with all of their service projects,

the students will collect items that

can be used by the rescue

throughout the month.

Items needed include:

Dry cat/kitten and dog/puppy

food

Canned cat/dog food

Paper towels

Day of Service Benefits 300

Underserved in Camden

St. John of God Community Services

hosted its second annual Martin

Luther King Jr. Day of Service, this

year. Organized by volunteer

coordinator Kristine Merckx, this

year’s service project directly

benefited Cathedral Hall, part of the

Cathedral of the Immaculate

Conception

in Camden.

Cathedral

Hall

provides

free

sandwiches

each day to

nearly 300 people in the Camden

area. All volunteers in attendance

helped to make sandwiches, which

were given out at Cathedral Hall the

following day.

SuperBowl contenders during the

regular season, prior to their

starting quarterback suffering a

season-ending injury.

However, with the entire Greater

Close to 30 volunteers from both

Bishop Eustace Preparatory School

and the community were on hand

to assemble enough sandwiches to

supply Cathedral Hall for the day.

Members from Bishop Eustace also

delivered the sandwiches to

Cathedral Hall.

Bleach,

laundry and

dish

detergent

Clumping

cat litter

Litter scoops

Puppy training pads

Towels

Blankets

Dog and cat toys

Cat carriers

Computer paper

Stamps

Donations will be collected in bins in

the ADS libraries. Following the drive,

the ADS 4-H Superstars will be on-

hand to load up the vans that will

deliver the supplies to the animal

rescue.

The small, non-profit rescues, fosters

and facilitates adoptions for dogs and

cats, including those with special

needs.

Philadelphia region behind them,

including everyone at SJOGCS, the

Eagles advanced to the conference

championship, after beating the

Falcons 15 –10.


And the Award Goes to…

Colleen Family

is this month’s Angulo Award Winner

If you were to ask Colleen what it’s

all about, she’ll tell you it’s about the

connections with the students. And

she would know. A 35 year veteran

at ADS, Colleen has worked in a

number of capacities, serving as a

gymnasium aide, a CBI assistant, an

one-on-one and, most recently, a

classroom assistant. As an assistant

in Lisa Sweeney’s Rm. 2, Colleen says

that she and her colleagues have a

great “flow” in working together.

Over the years Colleen has had the

privilege to form close relationships

with many of the current and former

students at ADS, especially in Rm.2

where she has spent the last four

years with the same class.

As a one-on-one and an assistant,

Colleen says trust is a big part of the

job. Not just with the student, but

also with the student’s family. She

explains that during the day, as a one

-on-one or as an

assistant, you have to

always be on the

lookout for your

student. The more an

aide gets to know their student, the

easier it is to spot when something

is off or they are behaving

differently. It sometimes can make

all the difference.

Colleen enjoys watching the

students grow up through the years

and has even kept in contact with

some after graduation.

There are so many great memories

that she holds dear over the years.

Including one of the times she went

down with the school to

Disneyland, thanks to the

generosity of the Sunshine

Foundation. She loved riding rides

all day with one of her former one-

on-one students. With groups of

students, she would love to ask them

what their Disney wish was and try to

fulfill it during the trip. She even

remembers, one year, a young girl

who desperately wanted Minnie

Mouse’s signature. While the line for

the Disney characters at the park

seemed daunting and the group only

had one day left, Colleen asked an

attendant if there was any way they

could fulfill the student’s request

before they had to leave.

To Colleen’s surprise the attendant

ushered the group to the front of the

line and allowed them all the time

they wanted with every Disney

character. Not only did the student

get her signature, but it is a memory

that Colleen will not soon forget.

Do you Know a Coworker Who is Deserving of Recognition?

If so, simply submit the Angulo form

to Br. Thomas Osorio, OH. Winners

of the Angulo Award will be

announced monthly. Submissions

must be received by the third

week of each month to be eligible

for the Angulo Award on the

following month. Each nominee

selected will receive a gift of

appreciation and a premium parking

spot for the entire month.

Donor News

contribution is

important.

Financial gifts are

an investment in

our mission

enabling our important work, and

every person who visits us on

campus leaves inspired.

Development Department’s top

new year’s resolutions:

Focus on possibilities—explore

and encourage every possibility.

Take responsibility – we can

make a difference.

Make hospitality central to

every interaction.

Build on community awareness.

Invite more people to campus.

As we focus on possibilities,

responsibilities, hospitality and

awareness, it is important to

consider how we might respond

when someone asks, “how can I

help?” We could ask this person to

share their name and contact

information with us. We are always

working to ensure there is a current

list of needs that has been

approved for service. In a

Ringing in the New Year

Article courtesy of Nancy Mansfield, Chief Development Officer

When you have exhausted all possibilities,

remember this – you haven't.

~ Thomas Edison

2018—the year of possibilities.

Sending my very best wishes to you

for a happy, healthy and prosperous

new year full of amazing possibilities!

Thanks to you and our generous

family at St. John of God Community

Services, 2017 was a good year. We

couldn’t have achieved our success

without you! Your dedication, loyalty

and hospitality as well as your focus

on all the amazing possibilities for

our children, clients and organization

sets a very high bar. Every gift and

every achievement is a testament to

our important work and your

contribution toward this work. Your

commitment ensures our children,

students and adult clients can

achieve the possibilities life presents.

As we embrace 2018, the

development office will continue

partnering with staff, board

members, donors, volunteers and

the community to share our mission.

Fundraising is a team effort—it takes

a village. Every gift and every

conversation with a donor, volunteer

or prospective donor, we should

identify what they are interested in

supporting; and, most importantly,

why they are interested in doing so.

I would be thrilled to hear from you!

Please contact me at 856.845.7030

with any suggestions, questions

about fundraising and the fundraising

process. If you know anyone who is

interested in supporting our

organization or has philanthropic

potential, please let them know that

Development is always happy to get

them started.

Thank you again for all that you do!

We could not achieve our mission

goals without you.

Thank you,

Nancy Mansfield

Chief Development Officer



ADS Horticulture Program Takes Home National Honors

Almost a decade after the

Horticulture programs’s conception,

Archbishop Damiano School (ADS)

received national recognition as the

winner of National Association of

Private Special Education

Centers’ (NAPSEC) Award for

Leadership and Innovation in Special

Education for 2018.

This honor directly recognizes the

strides Archbishop Damiano School is

making in teaching sustainability in

the classroom through both the

Horticulture and 4-H program.

The Horticulture program was first

created in 2008 to allow students the

ability to reap the therapeutic and

academic benefits of tending their

own garden plots. It was also during

this time that ADS chartered the first

4-H Club for students with disabilities

in New Jersey.

Much of the

program’s success is

owed to its founder,

curriculum

coordinator and

horticulture teacher

Linda McHugh, and

the countless

volunteers who have

dedicated their time to make this

program what it is, today.

The award was presented at the

2018 NAPSEC Annual Leadership

Conference, in which Linda McHugh

received on behalf of the program.

ADS’s Horticulture program and 4-H

Club have garnered tremendous

success in teaching students with

special needs how to grow, harvest

and prepare nutritious food right in

their own backyard with a focus on

recycling and repurposing.

In addition, ADS’s 4-H Club host a

number of projects, including sales to

benefit the St. John of God

Community Services Emergency

Relief Fund, hosting a drive for the

local animal shelter and creating

upcycled holiday decorations for the

annual Whitall House Holiday Tours.

Last May, Archbishop Damiano

School (ADS) also received the

Innovations for Special Education

from both the NJSBA and ASAH.

Wednesday, 2/14: Valentine’s Day

Saturday, 2/24: Monte Carlo Night

Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser

Walk-A-Thon

Thursday, 11/1: 2018 Hope with Hospitality

Monday, 11/19-21: Dress Down Week

Mark Your Calendars: Development 2018 Save-the-Dates


On the eve of Christmas Day, more

than 300 members of the community

came together for Christmas Vigil

Mass.

To serve the needs of SJOGCS’s

population and families, two masses

are held every year, which are

formatted for children and adults

with special needs. Masses are held

for only an hour and refrain from

kneeling or standing for long

intervals of time.

This year’s mass was led by Father

Hugh Bradley and Deacon Vince

Latini, who also serves as a regular

Coming Together in Joyous Celebration

Led by Deacon Vincent Latini and Father Hugh Bradley of Holy Angels Parish, the mass was held for hundreds of SJOGCS families and community members in the ADS gym.

teacher in

SJOGCS’s Faith

Formation

program. Both

Father Hugh and

Deacon Vince

were aided by

altar servers

Edward Beebe

and Grace

Cairns.

Jeffery Jones, led the procession

playing drums in the manner of the

Little Drummer Boy. Jeffery was

followed by the grandson of Denise

Smith, Angel Martinez, who

presented the Infant Jesus and Jon

Paul Corman as the offertory.

SJOGCS would like to thank all

families who came out in observance

of this joyous celebration.

4-H Members’ Achievement

Recognized by Gloucester County

ADS students and 4-H members

Anthony Desien, Chris Young, Julia

Kutz and Howie Webb were

recognized at the county level for

their achievements as ADS 4-H

Superstars.

They recently attend the annual 4-

H Achievement Banquet at Massos

Crystal Manor along with other

4-H youth across Gloucester

County.

The students were recognized by

both the county and 4-H for their

achievements in the way of

environmental stewardship and

community service.

4-H club leader, Linda McHugh

also received recognition for being

a part of 4-H for 25 years.


Announcements

With the holidays soon

approaching, Denise’s Food

Pantry is beginning to receive a

number of food basket requests

from SJOGCS families.

The stock in the food pantry is

very low with many items near

expiration.

We are encouraging all staff to

please consider contributing a

few items to help replenish the

food pantry.

Items in need include:

· Cereals, Lentils, beans and rice

· Canned goods

· Pasta

· Sauces and gravy

· Instant potatoes or stuffing

· Diapers (all sizes)

· Baby food and formulas

· Pet supplies and food

Please contact Linda Kutz at

extension 1600 or via email at

[email protected] with any

questions.

Food Pantry Donations


A Message From Our Executive Director

Dear Coworkers,

As we begin a new year, we are

beginning to make different and new

innovations that will only assist us in

continuing to provide quality services

to those we are privileged to serve.

As you are aware, in order to provide

a clean and safe environment, we

now have janitorial/porter services

during hours of operation. It is

evident that we take these

precautions so that we may not

spread germs to one another. Going

forward, if there are any questions or

concerns, please contact Steve Aman

for assistance.

In February, our nation celebrates

African American History month. As

part of our observance, we are

sponsoring the annual palliative/

hospice conference. In honor of

African American heritage, the

conference will cover the life and

journey of Sr. Thea Bowman.

She is the granddaughter of slaves.

As a deep woman of faith, she

became the first African American

member of the Franciscan Sisters.

When I read her life story, it was very

evident of her devout faith in God

and how proud she was of her

heritage and traditions.

Please see the ad in this month’s

newsletter for more information.

Also,

earlier

this

month, a

number of us attended the NAPSEC

convention in San Antonio, TX.

It was indeed a very inspiring

convention on many different levels. It

produced different insight on what is

being done with children with special

needs in our field. The highlight was

the award of recognition for our

strides in “Sustainability in the

Classroom.” This is our third year of

being recognized by NAPSEC.

Again, we congratulate Linda McHugh

for her achievements and her efforts

to bring something new and

innovative to our children, and all

volunteers who are an integral part in

the lives of our students. We do,

indeed, have remarkable services that

we provide as a family of St. John of

God.

Again, I wish to thank you for what

you do each day and know of my

gratitude and prayers.

Sincerely,

Brother Thomas Osorio, O.H.

Executive Director

SJOGCS Volunteer Spotlight

Deacon Jerry DeMuro came on

board in early December and has

since become a staple in the

ALPS program.

Working beside Hank Yost,

Deacon Jerry now volunteers

every Friday to help with ALPS

Meals on Wheels program, in

which the staff and volunteers

take the adult clients into the

community to deliver hot

lunches to senior citizens

throughout Westville.

He’s even ran into a few of the

parishioners from the church he

serves, St Joachim Parish, in

Bellmawr.

Deacon Jerry has quickly

connected with the adult

population, joking that he has

already received two separate

marriage proposals from clients.

Through the past two months,

Deacon Jerry says that

volunteering has been a great

learning experience, as it allows

him to experience the day-to-day

with such inspiring individuals.

responsibility - quality spirituality- hospitality -...

Documents