Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! I hope that everyone spent this day of love with the one that they love. All of the Participants at the Arc have been doing different things to celebrate this year’s Valentine’s Day.

On Friday, February 10th, the Participants in the Arts and Crafts Club, led by Arc staff Member, Tiffany V., decided to make mini paintings to give away to their fellow Participants and/or parents and guardians for Valentine’s Day. 

 On Tuesday, February 14th, the Arc of San Antonio had our annual Valentine’s Day Dance where some of the Participants wore red clothing. I wore my new purple headband with bouncy antennas with purple head hearts attached to them (purple is my favorite color).  My friends and fellow Arc Participants, Shennah J. and Seth A., were chosen to be this year’s Valentine’s Day Dance King and Queen of Hearts. 

The Arc Staff Members picked two Participants from each room and names were chosen from a container. My mother and I went to the Burger King restaurant and I decided to get two crowns. My friend and classmate, Hope W. and I put some fashion jewels on them. The other Arc Participants and I had a fabulous time dancing and celebrating Valentine’s Day with our friends. I even burned a special Valentine’s Day CD to play at the dance. We would like to say thank you to Tiffany V. for making the fantastic royal sashes for the King and Queen of Hearts to wear.

Inspired by the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation’s “Random Acts of Kindness” Week (Monday, February 13th to Sunday, February 19th), some of us made Valentine’s Day cards for the senior citizens at the Blanco Vista Nursing Home. Later on during the week, some of the Participants and staff members delivered the hand-made greeting cards to very happy people. The other Arc Participants and were glad to know that they made Valentine’s Day very sweet for some of San Antonio’s older residents.  If you would like more information about the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, located at: 951 20th Street P.O. Box 13543, Denver CO 80202, please call: (800) 660-2811 or go to:  www.randomactsofkindness.org.

Also, my classmates in Arc’s new V.I.P. Program (Volunteer Involvement Program)  repackaged dog and cat food and gave it to the Meals on Wheels who support San Antonio’s homebound senior citizens and their pets. If you would like more information about the Meals on Wheels of San Antonio (located at: Christian Senior Services. 4306 NW Loop 410), please call: (210) 735-5115 or go to: www.christianseniorservices.org.

On Monday, January 9th, Ms. Shawntye P.,(a Life Enrichment Instructor) received the Staff Member of the Quarter award for the 4^th Quarter.  My classmates and I are very proud that Shawntye is the staff member in our class. On Friday, January 13th, the Arc Participants remembered the life and legacy of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Participants read a short biography that told of Dr. King’s teachings about equality and his “I Have a Dream” speech. I truly believe that Dr. King would be so proud to know that his dream is slowly becoming a reality. Monday, January 23rd was the start of the Chinese New Year; the year of the dragon. We learned which zodiac sign that we were born under. Some of the other Participants also made Chinese lanterns. We celebrated the Chinese New Year by eating egg rolls and watching an educational video about the Chinese people and their culture. So that was how we finished the month of January at the Arc.

I hope that everyone has a fabulous February

On Monday, January 9th, Ms. Shawntye P.,(a Life Enrichment Instructor) received the Staff Member of the Quarter award for the 4^th Quarter.  My classmates and I are very proud that Shawntye is the staff member in our class. On Friday, January 13th, the Arc Participants remembered the life and legacy of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Participants read a short biography that told of Dr. King’s teachings about equality and his “I Have a Dream” speech. I truly believe that Dr. King would be so proud to know that his dream is slowly becoming a reality. Monday, January 23rd was the start of the Chinese New Year; the year of the dragon. We learned which zodiac sign that we were born under. Some of the other Participants also made Chinese lanterns. We celebrated the Chinese New Year by eating egg rolls and watching an educational video about the Chinese people and their culture. So that was how we finished the month of January at the Arc.

I hope that everyone has a fabulous February

Hello to everyone! I hope that everyone had a happy holiday with their friends and family members and a great New Year’s Day.

Now that all of the Arc Participants are back at the Arc, we decided to talk about what we did on the New Year’s holidays and our resolutions.  During my New Year’s holiday vacation, I drank eggnog and watched a marathon of the 1960′s science fiction television show “The Twilight Zone.”  My favorite episodes are “It’s a Good Life” (where a little boy named Anthony has psychic powers and banishes people to a cornfield) and “A Most Unusual Camera” (where three people steal a camera that takes pictures five minutes into the future).

This New Year’s eve, I was really thankful to not be in the hospital and sick like I was last year.

My New Year’s resolution is to finish writing the children’s story that I’m working on. The story is about a little girl named Holly, who has Cerebral Palsy, and helps Santa Claus deliver gifts around the world.

Also, it’s time for the staff members to vote one of their co-workers as the “Staff Member of the Quarter.”  Every three months, this award will be given to any Arc Staff Member that has a positive work attitude, produces a positive environment for his or her classroom, and is a team player for all of his or her co-workers and the Arc Participants.  The Participants can’t wait to see who wins the next “Staff Member of the Quarter” award.

This is my favorite time of year at the Arc (besides Halloween).

 The Arc staff members and Arc Participants decorate their classrooms for the holidays. The Arc Participants assembled and decorated the Arc’s Christmas trees (one green tree in our gym and one white tree in the office.) Even, Ms. Andrea, the director of day services, helped to decorate the tree. This year, I made certificates for our door decoration contest. Some of my friends and I went around and judged the doors.

 The winner was Classroom # 2 for their “Outrageous Christmas Ornaments.”

 The Arc’s Beauty Club had their Christmas baskets raffle, “Make Yourself Beautiful” Day, with a doughnut and cocoa day.  The proceeds will go towards buying more beauty supplies. The employees from USAA came to The Arc to brighten our day by passing out (very much appreciated) gifts at their annual Christmas party. Every year, an USAA employee will buy a Christmas gift for one participant that he or she has wished for.  I asked for the book named, “Inheritance” by Christopher Paolini. It is about dragons in a magical kingdom. The Participants were entertained by a magician and Santa Claus came down from the North Pole to make a grand appearance. Even the clients from the Pam Stephens’ Center came to join in the celebration. 

The Arc of San Antonio is so thankful to USAA and its employees for making our holiday season, very merry. Also, the caroling group from the San Antonio Songsters (and some of the Arc Participants) gave a special performance.

I hope that everyone who reads my blog has a happy and safe holiday with their family and friends, and I will be back in the New Year!

Right now, the state of Texas’ support for programs supporting individuals with disabilities has many service gaps.  Sometimes, people stay on a waiting list up to ten years to receive services through Medicaid. Despite a dramatic decrease in funding from the local authority and the state, the Arc of San Antonio is committed to providing quality programs dedicated to enriching the lives of the Participants by improving technology, and adding a variety of programs to meet the individual needs of the Participants. The mission of The Arc of San Antonio is to enhance the quality of life for people with intellectual or other developmental disabilities.

The Arc is very happy to accept anything that anyone can give us. The things that we need are: new flat screen TVs, DVD players, Wii games such as “Just Dance”, karaoke, bowling, etc.  Exercise DVDs, (my class really enjoys exercising to Richard Simmons’ DVD’s) movies, gift cards to movie theaters, (the Arc’s classrooms go to the Santikos 14 Theater) and restaurants like, Incredible Pizza, Olive Garden, and McDonalds.  Also, the Arc Participants would appreciate H-E-B gift cards for the Cooking Club, Hobby Lobby gift cards for our arts and crafts projects, and beauty supplies (nail polish, make up, etc.) for the Beauty Club.

If you have any questions about donating these items to the Arc, please feel free to call Ms. Beth Green, Director of Development at: (210) 490-4300 extension 127, or e-mailing Ms. Beth at her e-mail address at: bgreen@arc-sa.org.

I hope that everyone will have a safe and happy holiday season with their family and friends.

Thank you!

On November 2^nd, we learned about the Día de los Muertos or in English, “Day of the Dead.”  This is a holiday celebrated by many in Mexico and by some Mexican-Americans living in the United States and Canada. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died.

On November 22^nd  was the fifty-seventh anniversary of the Humane Society of the United States that was established in 1954. This is the nation’s largest and most effective animal protection organization. To celebrate this day, we talked and read about different types of animals.

On November 18^th, my friends and I celebrated the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday by eating pumpkin pie and being with our friends. My friends and I brought joy and laughter to some of San Antonio’s senior citizens from the Blanco Vista Nursing Home by creating hand-made greeting cards. Later on during the week, some of the other Participants and staff members delivered the cards.

During the month of November, The Arc of San Antonio joined in the ninth Annual “Food 4 S.A. campaign” by having a can food drive. The goal of the San Antonio Food Bank, (located at 5200 Old Highway 90 West) is to collect one million pounds of food and help make this a happy Thanksgiving to thousands of families in need. The food that we collected went to the San Antonio Food Bank. If you would like to help, The Food Bank’s hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. If you would like to volunteer or like to have more information about the San Antonio Food Bank, please call: (210) 337-3663 or toll free at: 1-800-246-9121 or go to: www.safoodbank.org.

So many wonderful things can come from helping people. I’m glad that the Arc gave us the opportunity to do so. I wish that everyone will have a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

This is my favorite time of year at the Arc. The month of October is when the Arc of San Antonio has all of its Halloween activities.

For example, the Beauty Club Participants, led by Arc Staff Members: Shawntye P. and Staci D., had their first Halloween Fashion Show, so that all of their friends could see their creepy and cool costumes. They sold snow cones, Halloween cupcakes, Witches Potion (which are cups of orange flavored sherbet ice cream with Hawaiian Punch), poison apples (caramel apples with gummy worms), and Boo Cups (chocolate pudding with Oreos cookies and whip Cream). The Arc Participants had a classroom pumpkin carving contest to win the grand prize of an ice cream party. The goal was to come up with the most creepy and creative carving. The classroom that won first place was Classroom # 8, led by Arc Staff Members: Rochia D. and Sybil O. with their “Texas Rangers Baseball Fan” carving. Second place winners of the contest were Classroom # 5, led by Arc Staff Members: Staci D. and Julio S. with their “Spooky Hollow” carving. Third place winners were Classroom # 9, led by Arc Staff Members: Carolyn R. and Leon S. with their “Jack Skellington” from the 1993 ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ movie” carving. All of the Arc Participants and Staff Members worked really hard and were proud of their creations.

The Arc Participants had their annual Halloween dance on October 31st. There were Participants and Staff Members that were dressed up as witches, wizards, princesses, monsters, and even a few fairies. I dressed up as a genie princess with a pretend tiara that my friend helped me win while on a class outing to America’s Incredible Pizza. My friends and I took pictures of each other and danced to Michael Jackson’s song, “Thriller” and went down the “Haunted Hallway.”  The Participants decorated their hallway to give their fellow participants a spooky good time.

I love going to the Arc during the Halloween holiday season. They come up with really creative ways to celebrate Halloween and include everyone in the celebration no matter what their disabilities may be.

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Ms. Pam told me that the first Arc of San Antonio was located at 227 West Drexler and the first programs were held at the Center Christian Church and then at the Travis Park Methodist Church.

The first question that I asked Ms. Pam was: How did you feel when you found out that the new Arc would be named after you?

“I was shocked, amazed, humbled and honored. It was a big surprise,” said Ms. Pam.

 What made you choose this field?

“It chose me. I applied for a job at Bexar County MHMR Center in October, 1973. The position was working with children with special needs. I had not worked with children with special needs before, but applied any way… well I got the job! After working there for a couple of weeks, I decided that I would never leave! My career had found me. I went back to college and got my degree in education and psychology. I have worked in the field since that glorious day in 1973! I wouldn’t choose any other job in the world.”

What kind of assistance do you give to people that come to you for help?

“I help families find services for their family members with special needs and I also help them find group homes and day recreation programs.”

What advice would you give to parents / guardians of disabled people?

“To always ask for help and plan for the future.”

She also told me that her favorite memory while working at the Arc is the Participants and staff members working together and supporting each other.

Finally I asked:  what would you like to see happen to the Arc during the next ten years?

“I guess that I would like to see the Arc continue to offer / provide the best services in San Antonio.”

I am so happy that people like Ms. Pam work at the Arc. It’s people like her that makes it possible to learn, to grow, and to be with our friends. I think that they made the perfect decision to name the new building after her.

If you have any questions that you think Ms. Pam Stephens may be able to help you with, please feel free to call her at: (210) 490-4300 extension 120, or e-mailing Ms. Pam at her e-mail address at: pstephens@arc-sa.org.

Thank you