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Helping the community welcome and include people with intellectual disabilities, autistic persons, and individuals with a dual diagnosis to live, work, and play as valued citizens.
GAME ON! THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8!
LIVEWORKPLAY PRIVATE PARTY AT TD PLACE!
We heard you, loud and clear. You loved it on June 15, and you want to do it again. So we've moved up our traditional fall celebration to the earliest possible date in September, and thanks to our friends at the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) and TD Place, we've secured the venue for Thursday, September 8!
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!
In addition to your barbecue meal you will also get a ticket for one non-alcoholic beverage like pop or coffee (you can purchase additional beverages including alcohol at the cash bar).
We had promised you some MC duties by Kimothy Walker, who got into a terrible car accident just before the event. Well, she's on the road to recovery and very excited to join us on September 8! Also back by popular demand, Kenny Hayes on the keys!
IMPORTANT: We always ask you to register early, but for these TD Place events, it's no joke. We have to cut off registration well ahead of the event and finalize a contract. So why not just register NOW? Are you really going to change your mind about whether or not you want to go to a TD Place barbecue with everyone at LiveWorkPlay? You know already if you want to go, the price is right if you do, so don't delay, register today!
WHAT A GREAT AGM!
Did you miss the AGM? I bet you thought that an Annual General Meeting sounds boring. Well, those who showed up said they really enjoyed it! The presentations were accessible, professional, and informative, so if you have a rainy day and an hour to spare, you can get up to date on LiveWorkPlay governance and operations - it's the inside scoop! You can experience it as a video, as text, or both!
DID YOU MISS THE JUNE 15 BARBECUE PARTY?
From an epic staff recognition ceremony to a very memorable presentation of the Rob More Good Life Award, to playing soccer and enjoying a cold beverage (not at the same time, bad idea) we had a blast. You can check out some of the fun on video!
THANK YOU FOR HELPING US MAKE A BUZZ!
The LiveWorkPlay Make A Buzz Ottawa 27th Anniversary Party was a two-hour online extravaganza with a live auction that raised more than $5000, another edition of The LiveWorkPlay News (guest co-host Allison Moores), the Top Twelve stories of 2021-2022 (guest presenter Jennifer Harris), Community Partner Awards with guest presenter Ryan Nevitt delivering the awards to PooranLaw (accepted by Cheryl Pooran), CharityacCounts (accepted by Zach Dryman), and Nexus Human Capital (accepted by David Chalmers). Two My Own Home bursaries were awarded to Matt Crouse and Heather Jenkins (presented by Barry Wellar).
The evening culminated with a live performance by Kenny Hayes. The content from the entire show is available online (except for Kenny’s performance, but you can see him live on September 8!)..
SPEAKING OF SUMMER...
We haven't talked about it all that much, because let's face it, nobody really wants to talk about it. The pandemic has of course been very hard on everyone, and for workers and organizations involved in human services, it's been exhausting. Every time one staff member goes into COVID-19 protocol (we still have those - Developmental Services has different rules than regular citizens) it means other staff members working extra hours and extra days.
So, the long and the short of it is, they need to take their vacation days, and many of them need to do it now - not only because they are legally entitled to it, but exhausted workers don't do their best work. Taking a break of more than a couple of days is essential to their mental health and physical health, which is essential to maintaining our high quality standards of service.
This all sounds very obvious, so why mention it? Because it means there are times throughout the summer where we might need the individuals we support to reschedule, and it might not always be something we are able to plan for ahead of time - if just one staff member goes into COVID-19 protocol, and we have some staff on holidays, there's no magic solution to keep running at 100%. We get 0% funding to backfill staff who are out sick or on holidays, so we can only ask for your help in understanding that we are doing our best, and that we need to manage this as a caring community that understands the challenges and will do their best to go with the flow - knowing that these inconveniences are short term and necessary.
The summer months are also a time when many families will be impacted by avoidable tragedies. If you are out on the water this summer, remember to wear a life jacket, 80% of victims of boating accidents were not wearing a life jacket. Remember to never leave children or pets inside a vehicle, and don't forget to wear a helmet when biking or enjoying related activities.
Have a blast this summer, but please take the basic precautions to enjoy yourself safely. We can't wait to see you on September 8!
We hope you have enjoyed this edition of The LiveWorkPlay News. If you like what you see, why not make a donation? We have a new and improved donation form that saves you time and gives you more options!
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