Hello Everyone and welcome to the Community Connections blog!
What a terrific day we have had. This afternoon we taped our eighth episode of our television program, Abilities United Presents: Community Connections. State Senator Joe Simitian was our first guest and he was wonderful! The Senator talked about the importance of volunteerism and how our participants are making a big impact on our community.
Claire Bohannon, an ILS participant was also a featured guest. Claire is a published author and she talked about the books she has written. She spoke very eloquently about how her Autism has really been a gift. Claire is a very talented young lady and it was terrific to showcase her work.
Terry Eagle, another ILS participant was our third guest. Terry crafts beautiful walking sticks from branches and he showed his work on camera. The walking sticks are incredible works of art and he hopes to help others with his work.
Needless to say, it was an incredible program. Our Abilities United participants have so much talent. It is time for the world to share in their gifts!
Stay tuned for a posting of scheduled air times for the program.
Thanks for reading!
andrea
Abilities United Community Connections activities and announcements
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
What an Awesome week!
Hello and Welcome to the Community Connections blog!
It has been quite a month so far. We are really working hard out in the community; in fact we had 91 service hours this week! At this pace, we will set a new service record for November.
At the Palo Alto Unified School District Science Garden, we are helping prepare for the winter; we harvest vegtables, plant seeds and clean the garden. We started this partnership in October and we love working there!
The Family Giving Tree in Milpitas is gearing up for the holiday season and we are right there helping them out. Our participants are helping with donations, collecting ornaments and preparing holiday gift baskets.
At the Ecumenical Hunger Project in East Palo Alto we are helping with food donations. We sort groceries, make food baskets and stock shelves with groceries. Our participants love helping out with holiday preparations.
As well as working in the community, we also continue our art and music classes at the Community School of Music and Art. The Los Altos Town Crier newspaper even came and photographed us for an article.
Next month we will film our television program Abilities United Presents: Community Connections. We filmed two field shoots this month; one at Deer Hollow Farm and one at the Boys and Girls Club of East Palo Alto. We are doing such a great job at these sites that we have been asked to increase our work days.
After all of this hard work, everyone deserves a great Thanksgiving vacation. On Wednesday, November 23rd we will celebrate with a Thanksgiving Feast.
Enjoy your holiday and thanks for reading!
andrea
It has been quite a month so far. We are really working hard out in the community; in fact we had 91 service hours this week! At this pace, we will set a new service record for November.
At the Palo Alto Unified School District Science Garden, we are helping prepare for the winter; we harvest vegtables, plant seeds and clean the garden. We started this partnership in October and we love working there!
The Family Giving Tree in Milpitas is gearing up for the holiday season and we are right there helping them out. Our participants are helping with donations, collecting ornaments and preparing holiday gift baskets.
At the Ecumenical Hunger Project in East Palo Alto we are helping with food donations. We sort groceries, make food baskets and stock shelves with groceries. Our participants love helping out with holiday preparations.
As well as working in the community, we also continue our art and music classes at the Community School of Music and Art. The Los Altos Town Crier newspaper even came and photographed us for an article.
Next month we will film our television program Abilities United Presents: Community Connections. We filmed two field shoots this month; one at Deer Hollow Farm and one at the Boys and Girls Club of East Palo Alto. We are doing such a great job at these sites that we have been asked to increase our work days.
After all of this hard work, everyone deserves a great Thanksgiving vacation. On Wednesday, November 23rd we will celebrate with a Thanksgiving Feast.
Enjoy your holiday and thanks for reading!
andrea
Friday, October 28, 2011
A new record!
Hello and Welcome to the Community Connections blog!
Wow! We have reached a new record in the Community Connections department. This week we provided a record 105 service hours to the community. This is an amazing feet-it is the equivalent of two full time positions helping in the community. Thank you to all of our participants for this accomplishment. It took a lot of persistence and hard work. Way to Go!
We also started a new partnership this week. Every thursday we are volunteering at the Palo Alto Unified School District's Science Garden. It's a great opportunity for us because not only are we helping out in the garden, we are learning all about science. The garden provides materials for classrooms in Palo Alto. We think this will be a great work site and are delighted to help out.
On Friday, October 28, the Adult Day Program held their annual Halloween dance. It was a huge success with a DJ, great food and lots of scary costumes.
Stay tuned for more excitement!
Thanks for reading.
andrea
Wow! We have reached a new record in the Community Connections department. This week we provided a record 105 service hours to the community. This is an amazing feet-it is the equivalent of two full time positions helping in the community. Thank you to all of our participants for this accomplishment. It took a lot of persistence and hard work. Way to Go!
We also started a new partnership this week. Every thursday we are volunteering at the Palo Alto Unified School District's Science Garden. It's a great opportunity for us because not only are we helping out in the garden, we are learning all about science. The garden provides materials for classrooms in Palo Alto. We think this will be a great work site and are delighted to help out.
On Friday, October 28, the Adult Day Program held their annual Halloween dance. It was a huge success with a DJ, great food and lots of scary costumes.
Stay tuned for more excitement!
Thanks for reading.
andrea
Thursday, October 13, 2011
What a camping trip!
Hello and Welcome to the Abilities United Community Connections blog.
They’ve done it again! Abilities United participants, instructors and family members once again braved the elements and went camping at Foothill Park last week. This was the sixth camping trip and it was quite a success.
Participants and staff planned, shopped and prepared all of the meals; including the S’mores! The weather was perfect and everyone had a blast eating out in the open by the campfire.
According to participants, this was the most activity-filled trips to date. Hikes, yoga classes, tae kwon doe, community safety classes, photography, bike buds and scavenger hunts were just a few of the activities.
In all, over sixty people participated in this hugely successful event. After having so much fun, preparations are already underway for next year’s event.
Stay tuned!
And thanks to Drew Thorne for helping with this blog post!
andrea
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
A new partnership
Hello and Welcome to the Community Connections blog!
It has been a very busy month for the Community Connections program. In mid September we started a new partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula. We will be working at one of their sites in East Palo Alto, helping the teachers prepare the classrooms for the after school programs. We will be working there every Wednesday. They even made us our own name badges with the Abilities United logo on it! It should be a really interesting work site and we are all very excited to help them out.
We are also getting ready to take classes at Foothill College. Several of our participants will be taking a class at the college. They applied to the program and were accepted so it should be a true learning experience.
Stayed tuned for more upcoming events! It promises to be a terrific Fall!
andrea
It has been a very busy month for the Community Connections program. In mid September we started a new partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula. We will be working at one of their sites in East Palo Alto, helping the teachers prepare the classrooms for the after school programs. We will be working there every Wednesday. They even made us our own name badges with the Abilities United logo on it! It should be a really interesting work site and we are all very excited to help them out.
We are also getting ready to take classes at Foothill College. Several of our participants will be taking a class at the college. They applied to the program and were accepted so it should be a true learning experience.
Stayed tuned for more upcoming events! It promises to be a terrific Fall!
andrea
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Three New Vans !
Hello Everyone!
Yea! The Community Connections program has three beautiful new vans. The vans were delivered on Wednesday, September 7 and they are wonderful!
Each van is equipped with a wheelchair lift and seats at least 6 participants. This will make it so much easier for our participants to get to their work sites.
The ribbon cutting ceremony was so much fun and there was a lot of celebration. We want to thank our donors; The San Jose Mercury Wishbook Fund Inc., and their generous readers, HEDCO Foundation and the Bothin Foundation.
Thank you to everyone who participated. It will really help our program move into the future.
Keep reading!
andrea
Yea! The Community Connections program has three beautiful new vans. The vans were delivered on Wednesday, September 7 and they are wonderful!
Each van is equipped with a wheelchair lift and seats at least 6 participants. This will make it so much easier for our participants to get to their work sites.
The ribbon cutting ceremony was so much fun and there was a lot of celebration. We want to thank our donors; The San Jose Mercury Wishbook Fund Inc., and their generous readers, HEDCO Foundation and the Bothin Foundation.
Thank you to everyone who participated. It will really help our program move into the future.
Keep reading!
andrea
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
The Vans are coming!
Hello and welcome to the Community Connections blog!
We have great news! Last spring our program received three new vans to transport our participants to their volunteer work sites. It took awhile to customize the vans to accommodate our participants, but they are finally ready.
The vans will hopefully be delivered to our program the week of September 7. We are planning a big event to celebrate the wonderful donation. Everyone is invited to take part in the celebration at the Abilities United Admin Building on Wed Sept 7 at 2:30 PM.
Hope to see you there!
Thanks for reading.
andrea
We have great news! Last spring our program received three new vans to transport our participants to their volunteer work sites. It took awhile to customize the vans to accommodate our participants, but they are finally ready.
The vans will hopefully be delivered to our program the week of September 7. We are planning a big event to celebrate the wonderful donation. Everyone is invited to take part in the celebration at the Abilities United Admin Building on Wed Sept 7 at 2:30 PM.
Hope to see you there!
Thanks for reading.
andrea
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Gearing up for Fall!
Hello and welcome to the Community Connections blog.
We are working really hard and getting ready for our fall schedule. In September, we will return to our work at the Palo Alto Zoo and Menlo College (they were both on hiatus for the summer). Our participants will also start their forth year of classes at the Community School of Music and Art. We will be taking Marimba classes as well as the art classes.
This month we put our latest television production of Abilities United Presents: Community Connections on to You Tube. You can view the program by following the attached link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4MlyuthcaE
The program features the Mayor of Palo Alto, Sid Espinosa and two Abilities United participants. We also show videos of our work out in the community.
In our educational series, the Red Cross will be presenting a lecture on Emergency Preparedness to our participants.
Another fall event is our Agency wide Aquathon, to take place on Saturday September 10. It should be a really fun event again this year.
Keep reading for the latest news on all of our events. And thanks for reading!
Andrea
We are working really hard and getting ready for our fall schedule. In September, we will return to our work at the Palo Alto Zoo and Menlo College (they were both on hiatus for the summer). Our participants will also start their forth year of classes at the Community School of Music and Art. We will be taking Marimba classes as well as the art classes.
This month we put our latest television production of Abilities United Presents: Community Connections on to You Tube. You can view the program by following the attached link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4MlyuthcaE
The program features the Mayor of Palo Alto, Sid Espinosa and two Abilities United participants. We also show videos of our work out in the community.
In our educational series, the Red Cross will be presenting a lecture on Emergency Preparedness to our participants.
Another fall event is our Agency wide Aquathon, to take place on Saturday September 10. It should be a really fun event again this year.
Keep reading for the latest news on all of our events. And thanks for reading!
Andrea
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
500 Recorders !
Hello Everyone and Welcome to the Community Connections blog.
August has been a very productive month. We took on a gigantic project at the Community School of Music and Art. Each summer, we help clean and organize their musical instruments. It's a month long project because we have 500 recorders to clean!
Our participants take the instruments apart, wash them in bleach and re-assemble them. Then they set up a very efficient production line.
"We rely so much on the Abilities United participants," notes CSMA staff member Susan McInnis. "We wouldn't be able to do this project without their help. We are forever grateful!"
In total, we have cleaned over 1500 recorders! What an accomplishment!
Dr. Earl Whetstone came and gave a dental presentation in July and in mid-August we will tour Moffet Air Base in Mountain View as part of our educational program. We are learning so much in these educational lectures.
This fall promises to be a very busy time. Keep reading for the latest info on all of our events.
Thanks for reading.
Andrea
August has been a very productive month. We took on a gigantic project at the Community School of Music and Art. Each summer, we help clean and organize their musical instruments. It's a month long project because we have 500 recorders to clean!
Our participants take the instruments apart, wash them in bleach and re-assemble them. Then they set up a very efficient production line.
"We rely so much on the Abilities United participants," notes CSMA staff member Susan McInnis. "We wouldn't be able to do this project without their help. We are forever grateful!"
In total, we have cleaned over 1500 recorders! What an accomplishment!
Dr. Earl Whetstone came and gave a dental presentation in July and in mid-August we will tour Moffet Air Base in Mountain View as part of our educational program. We are learning so much in these educational lectures.
This fall promises to be a very busy time. Keep reading for the latest info on all of our events.
Thanks for reading.
Andrea
Thursday, July 21, 2011
We are famous!
Hello Everyone and welcome to the Community Connections blog!
Last week I mentioned that we filmed the next episode of our television program Abilities United Presents: Community Connections.
In the program we featured two field shoots; one at Hiller Aviation Museum in Redwood City and the other at Foothill Park in Palo Alto. Both segments turned out really well and highlight all of the terrific work our participants are doing out in the community.
We interviewed some of the staff at each location and it was so inspiring to see our participants add so much to the community.
To follow are the links to view the field shoots on You Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U5qWoR1wFc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3___yRUpJY
Please keep watching and thanks for the support.
andrea
Last week I mentioned that we filmed the next episode of our television program Abilities United Presents: Community Connections.
In the program we featured two field shoots; one at Hiller Aviation Museum in Redwood City and the other at Foothill Park in Palo Alto. Both segments turned out really well and highlight all of the terrific work our participants are doing out in the community.
We interviewed some of the staff at each location and it was so inspiring to see our participants add so much to the community.
To follow are the links to view the field shoots on You Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U5qWoR1wFc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3___yRUpJY
Please keep watching and thanks for the support.
andrea
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Lights ! Camera ! Action !
Hello and welcome to the Community Connections blog.
What an exciting week we are having! Tuesday afternoon we filmed another episode of our television program: Abilities United Presents: Community Connections. It was a huge success. Sid Espinosa, the Mayor of Palo Alto, was our first guest and he talked at length about the incredible impact our participants have had on the community. He thanked us several times and said that our volunteer work is crucial to the growth of the community.
Julie Paulson, an Independent Living Skill participant, was another terrific guest. Julie talked about growing up in Palo Alto, being an employee at Safeway, her volunteer work with Assemblyman Jim Bealle and all of the other great programs she is involved in.
Nick Golick, an Employment Services participant, showed two pieces of his original art work and talked about how he became so creative. His pieces showed off his incredible talent and great eye for color.
In between guests, we showed two field shoots; one from Hiller Aviation Museum and the other from Foothill Park. The segments showed all of the work we are doing out in the community. The videos will be posted on You Tube.
It was an incredible show and we are excited to show it to the public. It will air on the Media Center channel as well as in South San Francisco and San Jose. More details to come.
Thanks for reading!
andrea
What an exciting week we are having! Tuesday afternoon we filmed another episode of our television program: Abilities United Presents: Community Connections. It was a huge success. Sid Espinosa, the Mayor of Palo Alto, was our first guest and he talked at length about the incredible impact our participants have had on the community. He thanked us several times and said that our volunteer work is crucial to the growth of the community.
Julie Paulson, an Independent Living Skill participant, was another terrific guest. Julie talked about growing up in Palo Alto, being an employee at Safeway, her volunteer work with Assemblyman Jim Bealle and all of the other great programs she is involved in.
Nick Golick, an Employment Services participant, showed two pieces of his original art work and talked about how he became so creative. His pieces showed off his incredible talent and great eye for color.
In between guests, we showed two field shoots; one from Hiller Aviation Museum and the other from Foothill Park. The segments showed all of the work we are doing out in the community. The videos will be posted on You Tube.
It was an incredible show and we are excited to show it to the public. It will air on the Media Center channel as well as in South San Francisco and San Jose. More details to come.
Thanks for reading!
andrea
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
A very productive June
Welcome to the Community Connections blog!
We can't believe that June is almost complete-we have been so busy that time is just flying by!
This month we have been busy working at several sites such as the Collective Roots Garden, Nine Lives Cat Foundation, Redwood City History Museum, Hiller Aviation Museum and many others. At the Community School of Music and Art we started our annual recorder cleaning project. Each summer we are responsible for cleaning and re-assembling 500 music recorders for the school. It's a huge project but our participants really enjoy the work.
We had so much work to do at Foothills Park in Los Altos that we have to add a second group! And at Deer Hollow Farm we are working with a variety of animals.
On center we continue to help out the Mother's Milk Bank with shipping materials. Next month we will start a greeting card service with delivery to local nursing homes.
This summer promises to be very busy and we film our next television program in July.
Stay tuned for the latest updates and thanks for reading!
andrea
We can't believe that June is almost complete-we have been so busy that time is just flying by!
This month we have been busy working at several sites such as the Collective Roots Garden, Nine Lives Cat Foundation, Redwood City History Museum, Hiller Aviation Museum and many others. At the Community School of Music and Art we started our annual recorder cleaning project. Each summer we are responsible for cleaning and re-assembling 500 music recorders for the school. It's a huge project but our participants really enjoy the work.
We had so much work to do at Foothills Park in Los Altos that we have to add a second group! And at Deer Hollow Farm we are working with a variety of animals.
On center we continue to help out the Mother's Milk Bank with shipping materials. Next month we will start a greeting card service with delivery to local nursing homes.
This summer promises to be very busy and we film our next television program in July.
Stay tuned for the latest updates and thanks for reading!
andrea
Monday, June 20, 2011
A Volunteer Celebration !
Hello! Welcome to the Community Connections blog.
What a wonderful day it was for the Community Connections program! Today we celebrated our 4th Annual Volunteer Recognition Luncheon at Su Hong Restaurant in Palo Alto.
Seventy-five people attended the event, including the President of Board of Directors of Abilities United. Everyone was awarded a framed certificate for their hard work in the community.
The food was terrific and everyone had a great time. It was wonderful to celebrate all of the success of the Community Connections program.
Our participants contribute over 2000 service hours to the community every year-over 50 service hours per week. That's a big contribution to our community.
Thank you to everyone who helped make this year such a success. We couldn't have done it without our wonderful staff, participants and community.
Stay tuned for more updates about our incredible work!
Thanks for reading.
andrea
What a wonderful day it was for the Community Connections program! Today we celebrated our 4th Annual Volunteer Recognition Luncheon at Su Hong Restaurant in Palo Alto.
Seventy-five people attended the event, including the President of Board of Directors of Abilities United. Everyone was awarded a framed certificate for their hard work in the community.
The food was terrific and everyone had a great time. It was wonderful to celebrate all of the success of the Community Connections program.
Our participants contribute over 2000 service hours to the community every year-over 50 service hours per week. That's a big contribution to our community.
Thank you to everyone who helped make this year such a success. We couldn't have done it without our wonderful staff, participants and community.
Stay tuned for more updates about our incredible work!
Thanks for reading.
andrea
Sunday, June 12, 2011
A new partnership!
Hello Everyone and welcome to the Community Connections blog!
This has been an exciting and productive month. Last week we started our work at the Deer Hollow Farms in Los Altos. It's a great new partnership and we are really excited to be working there. We are in charge of working with a different group of animals each week. We will be helping care for the animals and making sure the farm runs smoothly.
We are also gearing up for our 4Th Annual Volunteer Recognition Luncheon. It will be held at Su Hong restaurant in Palo Alto on Monday June 20. We expect to have over 60 people in attendance and it should be a really fun event. Stay tuned for an update!
Our Make My Day program continues to make people in the community very happy. We have surprised several community members with flowers, cards and cookies for their impact in the community and everyone is having a good time.
In another big event, we will tape our next television program Abilities United Presents: Community Connections in July and one of our guests will be the Mayor of Palo Alto, Sid Espinosa. It promises to be a terrific episode.
Stay tuned and thanks for reading!
andrea
This has been an exciting and productive month. Last week we started our work at the Deer Hollow Farms in Los Altos. It's a great new partnership and we are really excited to be working there. We are in charge of working with a different group of animals each week. We will be helping care for the animals and making sure the farm runs smoothly.
We are also gearing up for our 4Th Annual Volunteer Recognition Luncheon. It will be held at Su Hong restaurant in Palo Alto on Monday June 20. We expect to have over 60 people in attendance and it should be a really fun event. Stay tuned for an update!
Our Make My Day program continues to make people in the community very happy. We have surprised several community members with flowers, cards and cookies for their impact in the community and everyone is having a good time.
In another big event, we will tape our next television program Abilities United Presents: Community Connections in July and one of our guests will be the Mayor of Palo Alto, Sid Espinosa. It promises to be a terrific episode.
Stay tuned and thanks for reading!
andrea
Friday, May 27, 2011
Our new television program!
Hello Everyone!
Welcome to the Community Connections blog!
We had a really exciting day this week. Today we filmed our 15th field shoot at the Hiller Aviation Museum in Redwood City. We have been working at the museum all year and so we decided to use it in the next episode of our television program, Community Connections.
Every friday we go to the museum and clean the exhibits, wash the windows, help with office work and clean the inside of a model airplane. Today our participants were filmed while they were working.
"I love working at the museum with our participants," notes Adult Day Staff Chris Barcelona. "It's really great to see how productive they are."
The Volunteer Coordinator at the museum agrees, "We couldn't do it without them," he replies. "We count on them every week."
It was a lot of fun to be filmed and we are excited to see the finished product. We will film our in-studio program at the end of June.
Stay tuned for more broadcast details. And thanks for reading!
andrea
Welcome to the Community Connections blog!
We had a really exciting day this week. Today we filmed our 15th field shoot at the Hiller Aviation Museum in Redwood City. We have been working at the museum all year and so we decided to use it in the next episode of our television program, Community Connections.
Every friday we go to the museum and clean the exhibits, wash the windows, help with office work and clean the inside of a model airplane. Today our participants were filmed while they were working.
"I love working at the museum with our participants," notes Adult Day Staff Chris Barcelona. "It's really great to see how productive they are."
The Volunteer Coordinator at the museum agrees, "We couldn't do it without them," he replies. "We count on them every week."
It was a lot of fun to be filmed and we are excited to see the finished product. We will film our in-studio program at the end of June.
Stay tuned for more broadcast details. And thanks for reading!
andrea
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Here's to our Health!
Hello Everyone!
Welcome to the Community Connections blog!
In addition to all of our community service work, this week we are focusing on our personal health. We had a nutritionist from the Palo Alto Medical Foundation come and present a lecture on health and nutrition.
The presentation was very informative. We learned about correct portion size, healthy eating habits and fun ways to exercise. The nutritionist even brought food models to show us what types of foods are healthy.
Everyone asked good questions and learned a lot from the lecture. It was especially helpful to learn about how much sugar is in soda and other drinks. We all set goals so that we can work on getting healthier.
In addition to our educational program, we continue to add new partnerships to our list of work sites. We are now helping the Mother's Milk Bank in San Jose and Deer Hollow Farms in Los Altos in addition to our over thirty volunteer locations.
It should be an exciting summer as we gear up to work at several other new sites.
Thanks for reading!
andrea
Welcome to the Community Connections blog!
In addition to all of our community service work, this week we are focusing on our personal health. We had a nutritionist from the Palo Alto Medical Foundation come and present a lecture on health and nutrition.
The presentation was very informative. We learned about correct portion size, healthy eating habits and fun ways to exercise. The nutritionist even brought food models to show us what types of foods are healthy.
Everyone asked good questions and learned a lot from the lecture. It was especially helpful to learn about how much sugar is in soda and other drinks. We all set goals so that we can work on getting healthier.
In addition to our educational program, we continue to add new partnerships to our list of work sites. We are now helping the Mother's Milk Bank in San Jose and Deer Hollow Farms in Los Altos in addition to our over thirty volunteer locations.
It should be an exciting summer as we gear up to work at several other new sites.
Thanks for reading!
andrea
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Celebrate Art!
Hello and welcome to the Community Connections blog!
What an incredible celebration we had today! We celebrated the wonderful art work of our Adult Day participants at our 4th Annual Art Reception held at the Community School of Music and Art in Mountain View.
It was such a terrific gathering. We started with a tour of all of the art created by our participants. There were so many beautiful pieces on display. Everyone put so much work into their projects. All of the pieces were for sale and the money will go directly to the participants.
After the art tour, we had an awards celebration; everyone received a beautiful certificate and recognition. We also dedicated the reception to Priya Sadrozinski.
Everyone was so excited and happy. We finished up with a terrific buffet of cheese, crackers and cookies.
It was such a memorable event. Congratulations to everyone! You are a very talented group!
Thanks for reading.
Andrea
What an incredible celebration we had today! We celebrated the wonderful art work of our Adult Day participants at our 4th Annual Art Reception held at the Community School of Music and Art in Mountain View.
It was such a terrific gathering. We started with a tour of all of the art created by our participants. There were so many beautiful pieces on display. Everyone put so much work into their projects. All of the pieces were for sale and the money will go directly to the participants.
After the art tour, we had an awards celebration; everyone received a beautiful certificate and recognition. We also dedicated the reception to Priya Sadrozinski.
Everyone was so excited and happy. We finished up with a terrific buffet of cheese, crackers and cookies.
It was such a memorable event. Congratulations to everyone! You are a very talented group!
Thanks for reading.
Andrea
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Gearing up for another television program
Hello Everyone!
Welcome to the Community Connections blog.
This has been a busy spring and we are getting ready to tape another episode of our television program, Abilities United Presents: Community Connections. This year our theme will be volunteering and community education. We plan to film our field shoots at Foothill Park in Los Altos and at Hiller Aviation Museum in Redwood City. We are really excited to show everyone all of the great work we are doing at these two locations. Our in-studio program will air in June and we are hoping to get Assemblyman Jim Beall on the program; one of our participants volunteers in his office.
As part of a new project, we are working with the Mother's Milk Bank in San Jose to put together their shipping materials. We get to do some of the work on center and so all of our participants get to help out.
Hopefully during the month of May we will start new partnerships with El Camino Hospital and Deer Hollow Farm. We are working really hard to put these partnerships together and are really excited about helping out.
We will also hold our 4th Annual Volunteer Recognition Luncheon in June. Everyone loves this event because it recognizes all of the excellent work our participants are doing out in the community.
Stay tuned for more exciting updates!
Thanks for reading.
andrea
Welcome to the Community Connections blog.
This has been a busy spring and we are getting ready to tape another episode of our television program, Abilities United Presents: Community Connections. This year our theme will be volunteering and community education. We plan to film our field shoots at Foothill Park in Los Altos and at Hiller Aviation Museum in Redwood City. We are really excited to show everyone all of the great work we are doing at these two locations. Our in-studio program will air in June and we are hoping to get Assemblyman Jim Beall on the program; one of our participants volunteers in his office.
As part of a new project, we are working with the Mother's Milk Bank in San Jose to put together their shipping materials. We get to do some of the work on center and so all of our participants get to help out.
Hopefully during the month of May we will start new partnerships with El Camino Hospital and Deer Hollow Farm. We are working really hard to put these partnerships together and are really excited about helping out.
We will also hold our 4th Annual Volunteer Recognition Luncheon in June. Everyone loves this event because it recognizes all of the excellent work our participants are doing out in the community.
Stay tuned for more exciting updates!
Thanks for reading.
andrea
Monday, April 18, 2011
A Huge Congratulations !!
Hello Everyone! Welcome to the Community Connections blog.
It has been an Incredible week for us! This past saturday, our Community Connections volunteers were honored at the Marine Science Institute during their annual Earth Day celebration. They received the Browlee Service award for outstanding community service. This is quite an impressive accomplishment!
As part of the award, the volunteers received a beautiful plaque and a very generous check! What an incredible day it was! Our participants took part in all of the Earth Day activities; including going out on a 2 hour boat ride.
Our group has been volunteering at MSI for over three years and has logged hundreds of volunteer hours.
Way to go Community Connections participants! Everyone is TERRIFIC! Thank you for all of your incredible dedication and hard work!
andrea
It has been an Incredible week for us! This past saturday, our Community Connections volunteers were honored at the Marine Science Institute during their annual Earth Day celebration. They received the Browlee Service award for outstanding community service. This is quite an impressive accomplishment!
As part of the award, the volunteers received a beautiful plaque and a very generous check! What an incredible day it was! Our participants took part in all of the Earth Day activities; including going out on a 2 hour boat ride.
Our group has been volunteering at MSI for over three years and has logged hundreds of volunteer hours.
Way to go Community Connections participants! Everyone is TERRIFIC! Thank you for all of your incredible dedication and hard work!
andrea
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Expanding Volunteer Service
Welcome to the Community Connections blog!
Our Community Connections participants are once again really working hard out in the community. We are busy creating new partnerships all of the time. Right now we are getting prepared to work at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View. We will be working in the library there which should be a lot of fun.
We will also start working at Deer Hollow Farm in Los Altos. As soon as we are trained, we will be helping with all of the different animals. It's really exciting for all of our participants to learn how to care for animals.
In a new venture, we are creating a program that will bring volunteer projects to our Middlefield campus so that participants who stay on center get a chance to do volunteer work as well. We have partnered up with the Mother's Milk Bank in San Jose. Each week we drive to their office in San Jose, pick up rolls of bubble wrap, bring it back to our campus and prepare the bubble wrap for shipping. When we are finished, we take the cut-up bubble wrap back to the Mother's Milk Bank so they can use it for shipping. Everyone in our program is able to take part in this work project and it makes everyone feel great to be a part of the team. Hopefully we will have more on-center projects like this in the future.
In May we will celebrate the art work of our participants with a reception at the Community School of Music and Art. All of their work will be for sale and it will be wonderful to recognize the accomplishments or our participants.
We will also start planning for our 4th Annual Volunteer Recognition Luncheon to be held in June.
Stay tuned for more exciting news and thanks for reading!
Andrea
Our Community Connections participants are once again really working hard out in the community. We are busy creating new partnerships all of the time. Right now we are getting prepared to work at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View. We will be working in the library there which should be a lot of fun.
We will also start working at Deer Hollow Farm in Los Altos. As soon as we are trained, we will be helping with all of the different animals. It's really exciting for all of our participants to learn how to care for animals.
In a new venture, we are creating a program that will bring volunteer projects to our Middlefield campus so that participants who stay on center get a chance to do volunteer work as well. We have partnered up with the Mother's Milk Bank in San Jose. Each week we drive to their office in San Jose, pick up rolls of bubble wrap, bring it back to our campus and prepare the bubble wrap for shipping. When we are finished, we take the cut-up bubble wrap back to the Mother's Milk Bank so they can use it for shipping. Everyone in our program is able to take part in this work project and it makes everyone feel great to be a part of the team. Hopefully we will have more on-center projects like this in the future.
In May we will celebrate the art work of our participants with a reception at the Community School of Music and Art. All of their work will be for sale and it will be wonderful to recognize the accomplishments or our participants.
We will also start planning for our 4th Annual Volunteer Recognition Luncheon to be held in June.
Stay tuned for more exciting news and thanks for reading!
Andrea
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Make My Day!
Hello Everyone!
Thank you for reading the Community Connections blog! We have had a few very exciting weeks and we are busy at work volunteering out in the community.
Two weeks ago the Palo Alto Weekly heard about our Make My Day program and came and did a story on our work. It was so exciting to be photographed and interviewed. Our participants had picked up the flowers, arranged them on center and then delivered them with a card and cookies to Dan Logan in Palo Alto. It was such a celebration and Dan was so very happy.
Our participants really love this work.
We also started our first volunteer project at our own building. All of the participants are involved in this new project. We are putting together shipping materials for a non profit agency in San Jose. We size up the bubble wrap and make it ready for shipping. In one day alone we filled eight garbage bags full of usable bubble wrap. We were so productive and everyone felt great about getting so much work done!
We will also start another new partnership next month....so stay tuned!
Thanks for reading.
andrea
Thank you for reading the Community Connections blog! We have had a few very exciting weeks and we are busy at work volunteering out in the community.
Two weeks ago the Palo Alto Weekly heard about our Make My Day program and came and did a story on our work. It was so exciting to be photographed and interviewed. Our participants had picked up the flowers, arranged them on center and then delivered them with a card and cookies to Dan Logan in Palo Alto. It was such a celebration and Dan was so very happy.
Our participants really love this work.
We also started our first volunteer project at our own building. All of the participants are involved in this new project. We are putting together shipping materials for a non profit agency in San Jose. We size up the bubble wrap and make it ready for shipping. In one day alone we filled eight garbage bags full of usable bubble wrap. We were so productive and everyone felt great about getting so much work done!
We will also start another new partnership next month....so stay tuned!
Thanks for reading.
andrea
Friday, March 4, 2011
Marching into Spring!
Hello from Community Connections!
Spring is on it's way and the Community Connections program is busier than ever. During the month of February we averaged over 50 service hours per week! During two of those weeks we had over 60 service hours. That's quite an accomplishment.
We are really enjoying our work at the Hiller Aviation Museum. It's really interesting to clean the exhibits; we learn a lot while we are working. We are also helping to take care of the Lodge at Foothills Park in Los Altos. Hopefully in April we will start another partnership with the Mid Peninsula Open Space Project.
Our television program, "Abilities United Presents: Community Connections" is also doing quite well. It airs several times a week on the Media Center Channel in Palo Alto and on CreaTV in San Jose. We will be filming another episode in June.
Some of our upcoming events include starting a volunteer work site at El Camino Hospital, participating in an educational series presented by the YMCA and working with Castilleja High School on a community service project.
Stay tuned; it promises to be a very exciting Spring!
Thanks for reading.
Andrea
Spring is on it's way and the Community Connections program is busier than ever. During the month of February we averaged over 50 service hours per week! During two of those weeks we had over 60 service hours. That's quite an accomplishment.
We are really enjoying our work at the Hiller Aviation Museum. It's really interesting to clean the exhibits; we learn a lot while we are working. We are also helping to take care of the Lodge at Foothills Park in Los Altos. Hopefully in April we will start another partnership with the Mid Peninsula Open Space Project.
Our television program, "Abilities United Presents: Community Connections" is also doing quite well. It airs several times a week on the Media Center Channel in Palo Alto and on CreaTV in San Jose. We will be filming another episode in June.
Some of our upcoming events include starting a volunteer work site at El Camino Hospital, participating in an educational series presented by the YMCA and working with Castilleja High School on a community service project.
Stay tuned; it promises to be a very exciting Spring!
Thanks for reading.
Andrea
Saturday, February 5, 2011
New Partnerships!
Hello Everyone!
Starting this monday, our Community Connections program will be partnering up with the College of Adaptive Arts in Redwood City.
Our participants will be taking a ceramics class on monday mornings. They will be joining other members of the community in this class and it promises to be a lot of fun.
We will continue our art and music classes at the Community School of Music And Art in Mountain View as well as the ceramics class at CAA.
In addition to CAA, we also have started two new volunteer work sites. Last friday we began working at the Hiller Aviation Museum in Redwood City. We clean the exhibits, work around the planes and perform other important tasks. It's a lot of work but we love learning more about airplanes and aviation.
We also started working at Foothills Park in Los Altos. We help the park rangers with a variety of jobs including cleaning the welcoming building, landscaping and general park cleanup. It will be wonderful to work out in the park as we move into spring.
February is a very busy month for Community Connections but we are loving every minute of it!
Thanks for reading.
Andrea
Starting this monday, our Community Connections program will be partnering up with the College of Adaptive Arts in Redwood City.
Our participants will be taking a ceramics class on monday mornings. They will be joining other members of the community in this class and it promises to be a lot of fun.
We will continue our art and music classes at the Community School of Music And Art in Mountain View as well as the ceramics class at CAA.
In addition to CAA, we also have started two new volunteer work sites. Last friday we began working at the Hiller Aviation Museum in Redwood City. We clean the exhibits, work around the planes and perform other important tasks. It's a lot of work but we love learning more about airplanes and aviation.
We also started working at Foothills Park in Los Altos. We help the park rangers with a variety of jobs including cleaning the welcoming building, landscaping and general park cleanup. It will be wonderful to work out in the park as we move into spring.
February is a very busy month for Community Connections but we are loving every minute of it!
Thanks for reading.
Andrea
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Make My Day!
Hello Everyone!
The Community Connections program has some very exciting news to share!
Our participants are becoming entrepreneurs! They have started their own flower and card delivery service.
Michaela's Flower shop in Palo Alto has donated flowers and every other week we pick up the flowers, arrange them on center and then deliver them to community members. If you know of anyone who could use a thank you, a little cheering up or a get well wish, let us know and we will deliver a hand made card and beautiful bouquet of flowers.
The participants love creating the cards and have a great time making others smile. It's also a good experience in learning how to run a business.
Please feel free to contact us c/o andrea@abilitiesunited.org to place an order!
And thanks for supporting our program!
andrea
The Community Connections program has some very exciting news to share!
Our participants are becoming entrepreneurs! They have started their own flower and card delivery service.
Michaela's Flower shop in Palo Alto has donated flowers and every other week we pick up the flowers, arrange them on center and then deliver them to community members. If you know of anyone who could use a thank you, a little cheering up or a get well wish, let us know and we will deliver a hand made card and beautiful bouquet of flowers.
The participants love creating the cards and have a great time making others smile. It's also a good experience in learning how to run a business.
Please feel free to contact us c/o andrea@abilitiesunited.org to place an order!
And thanks for supporting our program!
andrea
Friday, January 21, 2011
Our work continues!
Hello Everyone!
It's almost the end of January and we have had an incredibly busy month in the Community Connections program.
We returned to Collective Roots Garden in East Palo Alto. The weather has been gorgeous and we are delighted to be out in the garden, working with the plants and vegetables. We have been transplanting seedlings, harvesting vegetables and cleaning the garden. Our participants love working outside and it's fun to learn about growing our own food.
In January we also started working at Second Harvest Food Bank in San Mateo. We put together food baskets, separate fruit and vegetables and stock shelves. The warehouse that we work in is really big and we end up meeting a lot of very friendly people each time we work there.
In our educational program several participants traveled to the Exploritorium in San Francisco to visit the exhibits. They spent the afternoon learning about science and adventure and had a wonderful time.
In February we will start working with two new partners....so stay tuned to see where we end up!
Thanks for reading.
Andrea
It's almost the end of January and we have had an incredibly busy month in the Community Connections program.
We returned to Collective Roots Garden in East Palo Alto. The weather has been gorgeous and we are delighted to be out in the garden, working with the plants and vegetables. We have been transplanting seedlings, harvesting vegetables and cleaning the garden. Our participants love working outside and it's fun to learn about growing our own food.
In January we also started working at Second Harvest Food Bank in San Mateo. We put together food baskets, separate fruit and vegetables and stock shelves. The warehouse that we work in is really big and we end up meeting a lot of very friendly people each time we work there.
In our educational program several participants traveled to the Exploritorium in San Francisco to visit the exhibits. They spent the afternoon learning about science and adventure and had a wonderful time.
In February we will start working with two new partners....so stay tuned to see where we end up!
Thanks for reading.
Andrea
Monday, January 10, 2011
We're off to a great start!
Welcome to 2011 Everyone!
We are well into our third year of our Community Connections program and we are off to a terrific start for 2011.
The year began getting back to all of our partnerships after the holidays. The NCEFT Horse Ranch was especially happy to have us back as they are under construction and needed a lot of help in the barn!
We also have a lot of work to do at Haven House in Menlo Park. The shelter was overwhelmed with donations over the holidays and it is our responsibility to organize and separate all of the donations.
At the Inn Vision Homeless Shelter on the Veteran's Hospital campus in Menlo Park, we have been busy unloading food trucks, sorting groceries and making food baskets. It's a lot of work but well worth the effort!
We also returned to the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo. We are preparing food for the animals, cleaning cages and doing general upkeep at the zoo. We have even been asked to help out at one of their large parties.
In our educational program, we are holding math and reading classes at the Mountain View Community Center. It's great for our participants to be in a classroom setting out in the community.
As you can see, we are off to a great start for 2011. Stayed tuned as we will have a lot more to report!
Thanks for reading.
Andrea
We are well into our third year of our Community Connections program and we are off to a terrific start for 2011.
The year began getting back to all of our partnerships after the holidays. The NCEFT Horse Ranch was especially happy to have us back as they are under construction and needed a lot of help in the barn!
We also have a lot of work to do at Haven House in Menlo Park. The shelter was overwhelmed with donations over the holidays and it is our responsibility to organize and separate all of the donations.
At the Inn Vision Homeless Shelter on the Veteran's Hospital campus in Menlo Park, we have been busy unloading food trucks, sorting groceries and making food baskets. It's a lot of work but well worth the effort!
We also returned to the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo. We are preparing food for the animals, cleaning cages and doing general upkeep at the zoo. We have even been asked to help out at one of their large parties.
In our educational program, we are holding math and reading classes at the Mountain View Community Center. It's great for our participants to be in a classroom setting out in the community.
As you can see, we are off to a great start for 2011. Stayed tuned as we will have a lot more to report!
Thanks for reading.
Andrea
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