Creating opportunities for adults with disabilities since 1974
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OCTOBER 2022 E-NEWSLETTER

A MESSAGE FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Hello Friends of Vocational Visions,
 
Do you know anyone who would like a fun, meaningful job, with the chance to work with some of the best people they could ever meet? We are looking for someone who wants to make a difference, someone who doesn’t want to sit behind a desk, someone who likes every day to be different, challenging, and exciting. We are looking for some dedicated people who would like to help improve the lives of people with disabilities by bringing their life experience, talents, and skills to Vocational Visions. Do you know anyone like that? We would love the chance to speak with someone who is looking for work that has value. 

Each one of our programs focuses on the diverse needs of the amazing people we serve. We want to give every person in our programs the opportunity to learn new skills, to develop their talents, and to be fully participating members of their communities. To accomplish this, we need to find more caring, committed staff to help us continue our mission. We have so many great staff, but they can’t do it all. In Orange County, the need is great, and we want to give every person with a disability the chance to work toward their goals and enjoy the lives they choose. If you know anyone who would be a good addition to our team (or if that person is YOU), have them give us a call at 949-837-7280, or email hr@vocationalvisions.org. We would be happy to speak with them about how they can enjoy a fulfilling career improving the lives of others.

As I write this, Thanksgiving is less than a month away. I hope everyone can enjoy the holiday with their loved ones, especially after the challenges of the past couple of years. Whether you are planning to travel or stay close to home, from everyone at Vocational Visions, we wish you a safe and happy Thanksgiving!
DONATION APPRECIATION
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
ST. JOHN PAUL II COUNCIL #16488
The Knights of Columbus Council #16488, from the San Francisco Solano Church in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, dropped by for a very special delivery this month. Over the past year, as part of their Faith in Action community outreach program, they have been raising money through (mostly) pancake breakfasts at their church. The money was being raised for three Orange County organizations whose mission is to make people's lives better: 

Three of their members stopped by with the donation - John Briones, Grand Knight, Mark Lundquist and Richard Chiarilli (both Past Grand Knights). They presented us with a check for $3,000.

Richard and John had not been to our facilities before so we gave them a quick tour of both buildings.
While most of our program participants were out in the community, they did get to observe several of our DTAC Pala program participants who were on-site. Our participants eagerly engaged with our visitors and showed off their program. Our visitors came away feeling uplifted by the smiling faces and happy interactions they experienced and were very complimentary of Program Manager, Chelsae Mansfield. They commented that they could see right away how engaged and invested Chelsae is.

Mark shared that putting faith into action means finding ways to help everyone in our community through time, talents, and treasures. While their donation represents a treasure, they are eager to find a way to share their time and talents with VV. Being that they are masters of the BBQ, they are looking to host an enjoyable event with food at VV in the future. We look forward to it. Thank you to KOC Council #16488 and to the parish members who donated. We are honored by their support of our mission.
HOUSE OF CHAMPIONS CLUBHOUSE
Our House of Champions Clubhouse, or Clubhouse for short, is our weekend social and recreational program. We currently serve 70 participants total. We meet Fridays from 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm and Saturdays from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. For a typical Friday session, we average 40 participants in attendance. Saturdays are even busier with an average of 60 participants attending.

These past few months, we have had some awesome parties such as our summer BBQ with OC Elvis.
We enjoy monthly games of bingo. Here are Iain, Scott, Travis, Guy, and friends.
The upcoming weeks will be jam-packed with more excitement. We will have our monthly birthday party on November 5th and celebrate Friendsgiving on November 19th.

This December, along with fan favorite OC Elvis, some of the clowns from Clown Alley Laguna Woods will join us for our first weekend. Here is a collage of photos from the last time Clown Alley visited Clubhouse for our St. Patrick's Day celebration.
There is no such thing as too much celebrating in Clubhouse. Check out our November and December 2022 schedules.
Santa will be dropping by on Saturday, December 17th, during our holiday feast. 
Now is the perfect time to join Clubhouse. Members pay only $50.00 per month. That breaks down to less than $1.20 per hour. Any questions? Feel free to call our Clubhouse Supervisor, Melody Downey, at 949-837-7280, extension 327, or stop by during Clubhouse hours. We are located in the Alambre building.
GARRETT HUGHES

This month, we are shining our participant spotlight on Garrett Hughes who joined us in 2021. Garrett participates in our Supported Employment program and is excited to share a bit about himself with everyone.
My name is Garrett. I like to exercise every day. I take long walks down to Dana Point to check out the scene. When I come home, I work on my journal entries and write as much as I can. I write all of my personal goals in my journal. 

I love listening to music from all different genres. My favorite genre is classic rock. The groups I like to listen to most consist of Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Queen, and Aerosmith. I have Sonos speakers in my room.

I enjoy my Becoming Independent Zoom sessions where I learn about different cultures. I also have an app on my smart phone called Duolingo. I am working on improving my social communication and foreign language skills (mainly Spanish). 

I think classic cars are pretty cool. Here is a picture of me next to a red classic Mustang at the Yountville Car Show in Napa Valley.
Here's another picture of me during that same trip to Napa Valley sitting in an outdoor chair at a restaurant called Rutherford Grill.
In the future, I would like to start a Twitch streaming channel where I can provide commentary on video games. I am passionate about video games because they can offer a safe, fun, and excitable alternative path in life. 
I currently work at Kisco Crestavilla, a senior living community in Laguna Niguel. I have been there for 18 months now. I really appreciate my VV job coach Richard (Ric) Valdez because he assists and supports me. Recently, I shared with Ric that I got a note of praise from one of the chefs at work. Ric was so proud of me that he shared it with VV and they made a nice recognition slideshow for me. It feels good to be acknowledged for my hard work.
Thank you, Garrett, for giving us a view into your daily life. We are inspired by your commitment to setting and meeting goals. We hope you had a fabulous 🎂 birthday last week!
This photo, showing HRS program participant Homaira, was taken during an in-home visit made by VV staff. A part of this visit focused on a fall pumpkin craft activity. Homaira has been with Vocational Visions since 2006. It's always wonderful to see her bright smile.

As we notice the crisp air of the early mornings, and adjust to the sun setting earlier and earlier, remember that change can be a beautiful thing. It is often just what we need.
OCTOBER CALENDAR
National Disability Employment Awareness Month - Entire Month
Down Syndrome Awareness Month - Entire Month
Learning Disabilities Awareness Month - Entire Month
World Cerebral Palsy Day - October 6, 2022
World Sight Day - October 13, 2022
Blind Americans Equality Day - October 15, 2022
Invisible Disabilities Week - October 16 - 22, 2022
VV Board of Directors Meeting - October 26, 2022
NOVEMBER CALENDAR
Alzheimer's Awareness Month - Entire Month
Epilepsy Awareness Month - Entire Month
Diabetes Awareness Month - Entire Month
National Family Caregivers Month - Entire Month
National Stress Awareness Day - November 2, 2022
Daylight Saving Time Ends - November 6, 2022
World Kindness Day - November 13, 2022
VV Board of Directors Meeting - No Meeting This Month
Thanksgiving * - November 24, 2022
Day after Thanksgiving * - November 25, 2022
* Vocational Visions is closed on this day
SHOP FOR SUMMER & EARN DONATIONS FOR VV
Click on this link to smile.amazon.com to go right to the page to select Vocational Visions as your charity for Amazon purchases.

Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchases to us as long as you shop at smile.amazon.com.

Click here for instructions to activate AmazonSmile on your Amazon mobile phone app.

We have 105 Amazon shoppers that have selected VV as their charity of choice for AmazonSmile purchases. That is a net gain of one over the previous month. In the month of September 2022, we had 217 qualifying purchases. Are you taking advantage of AmazonSmile? It is a wonderful and easy way to help further our mission.
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BUY GROCERIES AT RALPHS
EARN DONATIONS FOR VV
VV is delighted to report that we received a check for $62.45 from Ralphs as a donation resulting from 14 households who shopped at Ralphs from June 1 - August 31, 2022. We are thankful for the two new households that recently signed up. Why did Ralphs reward us for those 14 household shoppers? Because those shoppers care about what we do at VV. They linked their free Ralphs Grocery Store shopper's card account to Vocational Visions as part of this program:


Then, they swiped their shopper's card (or entered their associated phone number) whenever they shopped at Ralphs and Ralphs made a quarterly donation to us on their behalf. It was that simple.

Can you imagine if 100 more grocery shoppers decided to take advantage of the Ralphs Community Contribution Program and chose us as their charity of choice? We could potentially raise over $400 per quarter. And all it would take from you is a couple of minutes to sign up and then grocery shopping at Ralphs using your rewards card like you probably already do. Click on the link above or the image below to sign up and make a difference in an unassuming but important way.