Edition 16 - February 27, 2008

IN THIS ISSUE...

1) WARMING UP AT THE SUNSHINE DANCE
2) RECIPE FOR SUCCESS A MONTH AWAY!
3) OOOT-TOO PART II UPDATE
4) SMILE-TNG RETURNS FROM HOLLYWOOD
5) JOURNEYS FAMILIES WILL BE IN THE HOUSE
6) SMILE FAMILY MEETINGS REVEAL TRENDS
7) SHOW YOUR SUPPORT: NEW GEAR IS HERE
8) MORE WORK TO DO!

WARMING UP AT THE SUNSHINE DANCE

It's an annual tradition: Journeys and SMILE participants come together on the dance floor of the transformed Heartwood Gallery to fight back against winter with hot tunes. Paul Hamilton was the event DJ for the second year, and the general reaction was "The music was even better than last year!"

Attendance was up this year thanks in part to additional options. Those who wanted to spend less time dancing could also take in a movie, network in the computer lab, or hang out and play games in the lounge. It was also a great opportunity for volunteers - including newcomers Laura and Rachel - who don't normally spend time outside of their particular Journeys or SMILE age group to meet the rest of the Friday night community. Click on the dance photo for pictures and video!

RECIPE FOR SUCCESS A MONTH AWAY!

MBNA Canada Bank presents the Recipe for Success Culinary Adventure and Charity Auction for LiveWorkPlay on Tuesday, March 25 at 6:00 PM. The auction has outgrown its former venue at the CHUM Market Media Mall, so for 2008 the event has moved to the ballroom of the Hampton Inn Ottawa (Vanier Parkway at the 417, ample free parking). If you found past auction events too crowded, rest assured there will be plenty of room (and plenty of seats!) to go around this year. Tickets are just $20 and additional information and ticket purchasing is now available from recipeforsuccess.ca.
Recipe for Success 2008 will feature a variety of gourmet delights starting at 6:15 in conjunction with a silent auction that will continue until approximately 7:30. There will be a coffee break and the live auction will start by 8:00. The live auction will feature celebrity auctioneers as well as a number of special guests.

LiveWorkPlay is pleased to welcome The BEAR 106.9 as a new media sponsor for Recipe for Success. Stay tuned for more sponsorship announcements! Click on the picture of the "cooking bee" for a link to the event website!

ON OUR OWN TOGETHER TOO: PART II

On Our Own Together Too is a transitional housing program that provides an opportunity for people with intellectual disabilities to practice living beyond the family home in an apartment setting. Thanks to a grant from the Community Foundation of Ottawa, a total of 18 participants will take party in OOOT-TOO over the next three years.

Rachel and Angela are nearing the end of their tenure as the OOOT-TOO sophomores. During the month of February they had the added challenge of their usual supports being out of the country for two weeks!

Daniel Harris and Fran Childs (familiar volunteer and staff names to anyone in the LiveWorkPlay community) stepped in for a week each and Angela and Rachel continued on without missing a beat. They are currently busy planning various celebrations in the final weeks of their OOOT-TOO experience.

SMILE-TNG RETURNS FROM HOLLYWOOD

This was the first ever SMILE-TNG trip featuring air travel. Even when things go right, the circumstances of travel are challenging, and that's what makes SMILE trips such valuable learning experiences. If you can cope with airport travel, group living, and strange surroundings, suddenly the day to day challenges back home don't seem so bad!

Of course there is also a lot of pleasure to be had, and on this trip that included being treated to gorgeous weather, great food, amazing scenery, the excitement of Universal Studios, and the hit musical Wicked.

To some extent this group was following in the footsteps of SMILE-TOG who stayed at the same HI-Santa Monica hostel two years ago. But there was one big difference: TNG relied more heavily on public transportation, including the LA subway system.

The group had a private bus for a tour of the neighbourhoods of the rich and famous, and one of the surprises of the trip was stumbling upon a photo and video shoot for the LA Lakers cheerleaders. Click on the group photo for a link to all the photo and video evidence!

JOURNEYS FAMILIES WILL BE IN THE HOUSE

Friday, March 7 is the date for the second annual Journeys Parent Night, hosted at Heartwood House. This is an opportunity for Journeys parents to spend time with LiveWorkPlay staff while their children are taking part in the Journeys program.

Last year's session received plenty of positive feedback thanks to useful discussions about transitions from high school, ODSP, and more. New for this year there will also be time set aside for individual discussions.

SMILE FAMILY MEETINGS REVEAL TRENDS

SMILE families recently took part in the annual "Family Meeting" process. The purpose of these meetings is to find out if there are new goals within the family that can be newly supported or better supported by LiveWorkPlay. Not surprisingly a lot of the discussions had to do with housing and related independence issues . Other trends included many families making the decision to support greater financial independence with bank accounts, online banking, bank cards, and credit cards being organized for their adult children with intellectual disabilities.

Said one SMILE parent: "We've been working on this since the LiveWorkPlay Family Conference [Self-Advocacy In Action] of two years ago when we realized our adult child had next to no control or understanding of their own finances. They might always need some help with money, but that's true for everyone. The more they can do themselves, the better off they will be when we are no longer around."

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT: NEW GEAR IS HERE

It was a long time coming, but the new LiveWorkPlay gear is finally here, and although the first batch is almost sold out, new orders are being accepted and the turnaround time once a group order is placed is less than one month!

There are embroidered hats and fleece jackets as well as silk-screen t-shirts. Contact the LiveWorkPlay office for an order form.

Click on our model Paul to see more LiveWorkPlay gear!

MORE WORK TO DO!

After reading this blog you may find yourself wondering how it is possible that so much has happened since the last edition of just one month ago. It takes a combination of dedicated volunteers, staff, board members, families, and community partners to make it happen. And it also takes money, of which there is simply never enough.

LiveWorkPlay has a very short list of personal donors, but you can help change that! Making a donation has never been easier - it can be done as a single contribution, or better still via a monthly deduction. Just $8.33 per month results in a donation of $100 a year! You can also donate to LiveWorkPlay in the name of another person as a tribute or as a gift. Please visit our donation page to set up your contribution today!

NEW! LiveWorkPlay is now registered as a Cause on Facebook. Click here to show your support for LiveWorkPlay or to make a contribution.

We hope you have enjoyed this 16th edition of LiveWorkPlayNews. If you have received an email about this blog in error and/or you would prefer not to receive future LiveWorkPlayNews messages, simply click here and follow the simple instructions. That same web page can also be used by newcomers who would like to join LiveWorkPlayNews, so feel free to share the address with friends, colleagues, and family who might like to subscribe.