|
MeaningfulLife
January 2021
|
|
MeaningfulLife features stories of accomplishments people have achieved and the Personal Outcome Measures related to these achievements. Personal Outcome Measures are the foundation of everything Empower Simcoe does to support people.
|
|
|
|
A Message from CEO Claudine Cousins
|
|
|
As Empower Simcoe greets 2021, we do so with a sense of gratitude to our employees, volunteers, stakeholders, donors, and most of all, the people and families we support. 2020, has been a year with great challenges, but it’s also been a year of great accomplishments and gratitude for Empower Simcoe. Thanks to the unwavering dedication and commitment of our employees, our essential work continues to ensure the safety, health and emotional well-being of the people we support in these tough times.
We also give thanks for the generous outpouring of support for Empower Simcoe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your generosity this year has touched so many lives and your ongoing support will continue to have an impact for the people and families we support.
A special thanks to our Board of Directors; your guidance and vision have enabled Empower Simcoe to respond to opportunities and challenges in our sector, and to keep focused on Empower Simcoe’s future direction.
On behalf of the Empower Simcoe’s Executive team, I wish everyone a prosperous and Happy New Year.
Claudine Cousins
CEO, Empower Simcoe
|
|
|
Santa visits Empower Simcoe
|
|
|
Just a few days before Christmas, Empower Simcoe CEO Claudine Cousins was delighted to welcome a familiar face to O'Brien House, one of our Empower Simcoe supported living homes. Thank you Santa and Barrie Chamber of Commerce for visiting as part of the #BarrieSantaTour. See the full video of Santa's visit to O'Brien House here.
|
|
Some of you might remember me and some of you are friends I haven’t met yet. My name is Jeanne and everyone says I’m pretty wonderful. I get some help through the Empower Simcoe Family Home Program. They supported me to find my second family when I was little. It’s pretty cool because I have two families to love me. These days, it’s really just like having one big family to adore me. I take great care of all of them and they feel really lucky to have me.
One of the ways they decided to help me in return was to try to get me a sweet new ride. I’m really active, but I need a stroller for longer walks and because I get a bit nervous in new places. My family read about an awesome new stroller and talked to the Empower Simcoe Family Home program to see if we could contribute, but get some help to buy it. They worked some magic and the Empower Simcoe Foundation also helped get me my new wheels.
I’m getting lots of compliments about how beautiful I look in my new stroller, but the part I like best is that I can go all over the place in comfort. When this pandemic gets better, I have a list of people and places I’m going to travel to visit in my new ride. I’m really thankful for all of the help, so I can keep living my best life!
|
|
|
Helping with requests like Jeanne’s new set of wheels is a big part of how the Empower Simcoe Foundation supports people of all abilities. Government funding only covers so much, and where it ends, the Foundation is there to make sure people’s needs are being met. When you donate to the Empower Simcoe Foundation, you’re making sure Jeanne and others like her have what they need to live a meaningful and inclusive life.
If you have not yet made your annual gift to the Empower Simcoe Foundation, please show you care and give what you can.
|
|
|
|
Empower Simcoe Let's Decorate Winners
|
|
During the month of December, we posted photos on Facebook of all our Empower Simcoe programs and teams getting decked out for Christmas. The photos that received the most likes and shares would win a prize. Congratulations to our top 3 Empower Simcoe winners!
First place - Empower Simcoe Developmental Services Professionals Rachel Parry and Danielle Skelton, with honorable mention to Emily and her Santa painting.
Second place - Empower Simcoe's Orillia Supported Independent Living team - Sue Wrigley, Michelle Bernier, Carrie Nixon, Laura Stock, Alex Burke and Nicky Gough.
Third place - Perry, Les, and Ross' Empower Simcoe supported living home.
Empower Simcoe you sure know how to decorate for the holidays! View all the photo entries on our Empower Simcoe Facebook page here.
|
|
|
Charity Day for Transitional Youth Housing
|
|
|
For the last twenty years, Barrie Chiropractic & Health Services Centre has hosted a Charity Day and donated the day's proceeds to a worthwhile cause in the community. This year, the Empower Simcoe Foundation is blessed to receive this donation towards Empower Simcoe's Transitional Youth Housing Program.
"This money will go directly to the youth being supported in the Transitional Aged Youth Housing Program and will serve as a reminder to them that there are people in the community who care and want to see them succeed. It will allow for them to not just find a roof over their head but to help create a home where they feel safe. The joy and security that comes from knowing you are home is one I think most of us take for granted but is not lost on those we support," says Empower Simcoe Housing Access Worker April McKenzie.
Thank you Barrie Chiropractic & Health Services Centre. We're grateful for this incredible support. Pictured above (l-r): Dr. Karen Snow, Chiropractic Health Assistant Donna Brown, Dr. Lorne Papernick, Empower Simcoe Foundation Donor Coordinator Doug Cleverley, Empower Simcoe Housing Access Worker April McKenzie, Dr. Darryl Bossence, Registered Massage Therapist Kimberly Davies, and Chiropractic Health Assistant Nicole Austin.
|
|
|
Estate Planning Webinar Event
|
|
|
Do you know about Ontario's Probate process and the role of the executor for a family with a disabled family member? Probate, or Estate Administration Tax is a tax on the value of estate assets that an Estate Trustee/Executor will be dealing with under a Will. The tax is the cost of authorizing the Executor to deal with those assets. Since 2016 the role and responsibilities of the executor in the probate process has increased. This presentation will provide you with a description of the role of the Executor and the responsibilities for the probate process.
Please join us for this upcoming free Edward Jones Estate Planning webinar event on Wednesday, January 20th, at 6:30pm.
To register, please click on the button below.
|
|
Subscribe to MeaningfulLife and stay up to date with everything that's happening at Empower Simcoe. Inspirational stories of accomplishment, what we're working on as an agency and upcoming events are just a click away. |
|
|
Virtual Volunteering at Empower Simcoe
|
|
Emily and Chelsea have been virtually volunteering with the Bob Rumball Home for the Deaf every week supported by Community Participation Support Worker Abbey MacAulay through our Empower Simcoe Employment and Transition Support Programs. These ladies wanted to spread some holiday spirit by hand crafting these adorable snowmen, then delivering them to the residents at Bob Rumball.
Emily and Chelsea wish everyone a very Happy New Year!
|
|
|
Join us online for Let's Socialize in 2021. Empower Simcoe and MacKenzie Health invite you register now for this free program to support social skills development and understanding of healthy sexuality. Let's Socialize is presented for youth ages 12 - 16 within an environment that allows youth to have fun and make new social connections. Read more about Let's Socialize here.
|
|
|
Meet Leslie, who is supported by the Empower Simcoe Housing First Program. A carpenter his whole life, Leslie also loves hiking and the outdoors. With an eye for craftmanship, it was only natural that he'd discover this new hobby - crafting unique hardwood walking sticks for hiking enthusiasts. Leslie enjoys exploring area forests for downed trees and unique branches with what he calls “faces” on them. His crafting process ensures each walking stick maintains its own distinctive character, and is customized to fit each person's height for the most optimal hiking and walking experience. While Leslie continues to apply his personal touch and skilled workmanship to each stick, he should be ready to start taking individual orders later this spring and summer.
Empower Simcoe's Meaningful Life newsletter will be sure to keep you posted on Leslie's sticks that no doubt will become trusted companions on future nature walks, hikes and strolls in your neighbourhood.
|
|
Children and their grownups are invited to Empower Simcoe's EarlyON Child and Family Centre live virtual circle time every Tuesday and Friday beginning January 5th. Join EarlyON Program Facilitators Judy and Carol on Zoom for a fun interactive circle time filled with songs, rhymes, and stories.
Register here.
|
|
|
|
|
