HTR Holiday Shoppe 2011

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WALK FOR THOUGHT

Great news! This year’s Walk for Thought was a huge success! The walk was  on Sunday, March 27th 2011 and this year our walk was at the State Capitol. We met at the West Steps of the Capitol on 10th St., between L & N Streets. Team Easter Seals had over 65 participants and raised over $14,000 for HTR!  This does not include the 14 HTR clients who will be registered under the scholarship fund.  Scholarship $$ was raised during the month of February at local Chevy’s restaurants to support survivors who were unable to afford the registration fee.  We were able to raise $728, which supports 48 local survivors!

WALK FOR THOUGHT

Great news! This year’s Walk for Thought is coming up. Save the date on Sunday, March 27th 2011. This year our walk will be at the State Capitol. We will meet at the West Steps of the Capitol on 10th St., between L & N Streets. Make sure you, your family, and friends join “Team Easter Seals”. This will be my third year of “walking” the event “with a walker”. So join me in raising awareness for brain injury, whether it is a Traumatic or Acquired brain injury. Before I forget you can register for the walk at www.biacal.org. Don’t forget to register under “Team Easter Seals.” We want to have a great turnout. I’ll see you at the Capitol on the 27th of March, don’t forget and don’t be lazy!  - Hector

UPDATE!

As of this morning, Team Easter Seals has 65 participants!  This does not include the 14 HTR clients who will be registered under the scholarship fund.  Scholarship $$ was raised during the month of February at local Chevy’s restaurants to support survivors who were unable to afford the registration fee.  We were able to raise $728, which supports 48 local survivors!

Registration is available at www.biacal.org.  As a participant is registering, it will ask if you want to register as an individual or as part of a team.  Team Easter Seals will be listed.

The event will be held Sunday, March 27th at the State Capitol.  Registration begins at 8:30am, and the Walk begins at 10:00am.  There will be music, local speakers, and a raffle with lots of great prizes.

CHEVY'S FRESH MEX FUNDRAISER

Save this date:  Wednesday January 26th from 4pm-9pm. Chevys of Elk Grove will host the annual scholarship fundraiser for the Brain Injury Association Of California’s, 4th Annual Walk For Thought. Chevys of Elk Grove is located at 7401 Laguna Blvd; they will donate 25% of the proceeds to the fundraiser. So, be sure to invite all your family and friends to enjoy Chevys fabulous cuisine.

The Walk for Thought is important because it makes people aware of TBI’s and ABI’s. In case you didn’t know TBI stands for Traumatic Brain Injury and ABI stands for Acquired Brain Injury. So, be sure and save this date for our scholarship fundraiser, and please attend. If you plan to attend, please be sure to print the flyer below and bring it with you. It will need to be attached to each bill. Also, please email Meghan Burke at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with a RSVP with the number of people attending.

Download the flyer here!

Help To Recovery Holiday Gift Shoppe

People shopped, ate treats, and enjoyed some Holiday cheer. Over $1,300 was raised and all proceeds will go to our Service Learning Project, A Chance For Bliss. This small, non-profit animal sanctuary is located in Penryn, California, and provides extraordinary care to animals in need. Thank you for joining us in spreading some Holiday cheer!!

Watch this video to learn more about A Chance For Bliss and how Easter Seals Supports their cause!

Where Was Deanna - Tuesday, November 30, 2010, Easter Seals Superior California HTR program went on our monthly excursion to A Chance for Bliss.  It’s an animal sanctuary, in Penryn California.  Anthony drove the bus while Jasmine rode shotgun.  Jasmine made the trip fun for everyone, by keeping our spirits up with a sing-along and trivia. When we arrived at the sanctuary we were greeted by Woody, but Deanna was nowhere to be seen.  Rachel arrived a short time later; she promptly joined Woody and put us to work.  Rik and Joe, our “manure valets,” went to work immediately; they must have picked up tons of odoriferous horse poop.  Jim and Jill were inseparable and that was just fine.  Anthony and Ron V. promptly commenced bathing a virtual plethora of Boston Terriers.  I kept Kevin and Tom busy by helping me grind flax.  I think everybody did a stellar job, you see we were kind of shorthanded this trip.  I guess the weather must have kept some clients home.  Deanna showed up a little later, she had been meeting with the photographer, in order to get the A Chance for Bliss calendar ready.  By the way Easter Seals, at 3205 Hurley in Sacramento, is holding its annual Holiday Shoppe. All the proceeds will benefit A Chance for Bliss.  So, don't forget to do your affordable Christmas shopping here at Easter Seals.  You will be supporting a non-profit animal sanctuary.  Remember take a tip from the dogs don't judge us by our walkers or our canes. Sniff our feet maybe, and then you can judge us by what's in our heart. - Hector.

Thanksgiving - On Tuesday, November 16th 2010, Easter Seals Superior California celebrated its annual Thanksgiving feast. There were gastronomical delights befitting royalty. I’m getting ahead of myself, first let me tell you about all the programs that showed up. The Ace-Its showed up, 1 2 and 3, the FILS were here, the Work Center and of course HTR. Bingo was available for those who wanted to play the numbers game. Movies were available in HTR for those who wanted to relax and view a flick, as well as indoor games, with arts and crafts. I chose outdoor games, with the weather cooperating, I figured it would be an excellent option. It was a great day for bocce ball. Let me get back to the food, we were given sodas wow! Everybody got turkey of course with stuffing and all the fixings. Then, get this we got pie! It was gastronomical heaven. But, what made the feast so great was the friendliness of all the clients. Everybody seemed to be smiling and having a genuine good time. I even saw Sue Harris and Gary Kasai at the feast. I overheard Gary kid Lisa about “Traveler” the USC horse. You see Lisa attended USC while Gary went to UCLA, I guess there is still a bit of a rivalry. They kid one another every chance they get. Before I forget the Holiday Shoppe opens in December for your shopping pleasure. There will be plenty of affordable gifts, free gift-wrapping as well as gift baskets and complimentary snacks for shoppers. We hope to see you then. Remember all the proceeds from the Holiday Shoppe go to A Chance For Bliss animal sanctuary. HTR does volunteer work at A Chance For Bliss every month. - Hector

Who Wore Pink? - On Friday October 15th 2010, HTR held its first annual Breast Cancer Awareness Day. Most of the clients as well as the staff wore pink, one client even dyed his hair pink. Breast Cancer affects everyone. Michelle adamantly and eloquently stated the fact that men can get Breast Cancer also. I did not know that, what I do know is everybody has a mother, sister, aunt or daughter. Breast Cancer knows no boundaries; it does not care if you are black or white rich or poor. We should not rest until this disease is eradicated from the planet.

On a lighter note HTR clients have been taking outings to the pumpkin patch to buy pumpkins for our pumpkin decorating contest. Do not worry we will just paint the pumpkins; we are not very good with anything sharp. The judging will be at our annual Halloween party, this Friday the 29th of October.

On Friday October 22nd 2010, Lawrence was awarded person of the week, for his increased flexibility. And a drum-roll please......I am happy to announce, HTR has a new activity coordinator. Anthony Kumar who we all love and respect was promoted to activity coordinator. I am sure he will do great at his new position. I know that at times we can be challenging to say the least still I join all of HTR in wishing him the best of luck. Well I guess now we need a new rehab-aide. - Hector

Al Gets Cake - On Tuesday September 28th, 2010 Easter Seals Superior California HTR program took its monthly trip to A Chance For Bliss. Anthony drove the bus while Jasmine led the clients in a singing and sit-dance marathon. Everyone was laughing, participating, and having a great time. What I remember most about the ride was Jasmine laughing at the phrase, “who does that”, go figure. We sang happy birthday to Al on the bus, we might have been a little off key. When we arrived we were greeted by Deanna, Rachel, and the sight of a new gate. John and Ron V. got busy bathing dogs, Anthony helped them bathe dogs later but first he had to cut cheese. You see medication for the dogs is hidden in small pieces of cheese. Rik and Marcellos were brush cleaners while Al got to supervise because it was his birthday. Jim got to work outside; you see he was polishing saddles. Jill was on his lap the whole time. Steven, Tom and I got to grind flax seed. You should have seen us grinding flax seed. We had three grinders working; it was a regular assembly line. Flax is mixed into all animal food; it is supposed to be good for their coats as well as keeping them regular. So that is why Vince’s manure valet service is in such high demand. Vince is our best valet. Al got to supervise because it was his birthday. The best part of all, there was a birthday cake for Al it was both decadent and delicious. Before we got to eat the cake Deanna had to drive Paddington to the Veterinarian. I think the dog hurt a tooth, I hope he is okay. Remember take a tip from the dogs; do not pre-judge us by the color of our skin. Dogs do not care what color our skin may be. Dogs can just sniff our feet and know if they like us. -  Hector

 Day At The Beach - On Wednesday September 22nd, 2010 HTR held its first annual end of summer celebration with a day of fun at Lake Natoma. The day started at 9:00a.m.  It was great for us because Paratransit picked us up at home and dropped us off at the lake. It was a picnic atmosphere with Kayaking, Fishing and plenty of games for everyone to enjoy. The first kayakers to try their luck in the water were Ivonne, Ron H., and Joe A. There was a little cold water where they sat, but cold water never hurt anybody. Joe liked the ride so much that he forgot to smoke, and anybody that knows Joe will know it is a miracle. Next up were Al and Tom. Tom was a natural with the oars and the kayak. Following them were Pam and Lawrence.  Lawrence stated that he had so much fun he would try it again. You could tell by Pam’s huge smile that she was having a great time. Trent and Marcellos were the last kayakers to ride. They both had silly grins on their happy looking faces. In fact, Trent said he was ready to go again. You should have seen Michael, he could not stop smiling and laughing all day. I think he enjoyed fishing. Rik wanted to catch a big fish so he could show his brother. Jim was telling a whopper of a fish tale and laughing about the one that got away. John, Ron V., Norman and Anthony played oodles after fishing. I think Michelle caught the only fish. Susan was casting like a pro while Tony told every staff person that he loved them. Lynda and Derek were all smiles and that was fantastic. J.D told me that he once lived on the edge of the river and panned for gold there .Scott started a card game playing poker, while Justin started a blackjack game. Justin looked like a real fisherman with his fishing vest on. Lisa and Les played scrabble, while April and Alia lay down on the grass. Before I forget I must commend Scott for not smoking for the entire outing. For lunch HTR feasted on pizza and a special salad made by the cooking groups, we also got watermelon. I want to thank the volunteer instructors Michelle and Shelly for helping us on the kayaks; also to our volunteer Courtney for taking so many pictures. I will say HTR staff out did themselves with this outing. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine myself in a kayak. I am confined to a wheelchair but there I was paddling in a kayak, it was exhilarating. Thank-you HTR for an unbeatable outing. - Hector

On Wednesday August 11^th, 2010 a very select group of individuals from HTR got to go on a pampering session to The California Academy of Paul Mitchell. Jasmine drove the bus while Crystal rode shotgun. The salon was on Arden Way. It took Jasmine longer to park the bus than for us to get there. Not that it was that close, let’s just say hmmmm .

Lisa got a French manicure, Pam got a regular manicure. Her nails looked simply lovely. Steven opted for a facial; he told me it was so relaxing. Steven told me that they offered him a Laser treatment, but he declined, smart man. Derek,  Scott, Tom, and myself Hector all got haircuts .Tom had stated to me that he really looked forward to this outing, because he was not only getting a haircut but getting them all cut. Tom and I both got shampoo and conditioner; it was so relaxing I almost fell asleep. The only reason I stayed awake was Crystal and Jasmine were going from chair to chair taking pictures. They kind of went shutter crazy with before and after pictures, but it was great to have them come back and forth. You see my hairdresser seemed kind of scared, so every time Crystal or Jasmine came by I would tell him not to worry if he makes a mistake my hair will grow back. It did not work; he was still kind of tentative.

I can only speak for myself, but it felt great to be pampered and fussed over. On the way back to program we looked so clean cut we looked like we were going to a wedding or something. But, what I can honestly say is Derek sported the best looking moustache I have ever had the gusto of witnessing.

It was a relaxing outing, Thank You to Crystal and Jasmine.

- Hector

On Monday, July 26th , 2010 the United States Of America celebrated the 20th  anniversary of the Americans With  Disabilities Act. The law protects anyone with a mental or a physical disability against discrimination of any kind.  I was a part of a group selected to represent H T R at the Capitol for a birthday celebration. It was our job to collect resources, and give a presentation on what we learned at the Capitol. There were so many exhibits to visit and learn how much this great country has changed for the better. You should have seen the look on Al’s face; he was quite incredulous, with all of the employment opportunities that the State Of California has to offer to people with disabilities. Al told me he has plans to work for the State Of California within a couple of years. You almost had to drag Scott away from the companion dog exhibit. I could see he was enthralled by the exhibition of the companion dogs. Steven and Ron commented to me, that they had never seen so many wheelchairs in one place. Trent was surprised by every right we were afforded by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The high point of my day came when I almost saw the Governor. Well, in actuality, I never came close to see him, but he does work at the Capitol and I did see the Capitol .We then saw the exhibit put on by Access leisure. You could see Lawrence’s eyes light up when he tried out the sports chair, he even stated that just trying out the sports chair made the visit to the capitol worthwhile. Rik was giving disc-golf suggestions to the exhibitor. Access Leisure also had a hand-cycle on display, which I promptly tried in front of everybody. I want to thank Crystal and Prem for taking us on such an informative outing, so thank God for the A.D.A. and God Bless America.  - Hector.

07/04/2010

Born On The Fourth Of July

On Friday, July Second 2010 Easter Seals Superior California, celebrated our annual Fourth Of July barbecue. It was a great event, with all the programs of Easter Seals participating. I got to see friends from ACE-IT’s and FILS. I even saw Victor from ACE-IT 2; it was awesome. There was a talent show in the work center. My favorite act was the hula dancers from FILS. But the audience seemed to like        the Blues Brothers from ACE-IT 1. But Jim really brought the house down, with his harmonica solo; the audience was moving and grooving to his music.

And then there was the food; they had Hot-Dogs! They also had Cheese-Burgers. I loved the Pork and Beans and the Watermelon! There were cookies and juice. I want to thank all the staff for working tirelessly to make the barbecue perfect, and especially Tiffany Malone who seemed to be running around in circles to make sure everyone got fed.  I did not even see her eat. I hope she did.

This great country was born on the Fourth of July, 1776 so Happy Birthday and God Bless America.  - Hector

04/19/2010

On Monday April 19 2010, the Help To Recovery Program went bowling. The Easter Seals bus, with Jasmine driving, took us to Country Club Lanes. The bowling alley was A.D.A. accessible so we had a great time. Jasmine and Crystal took us lunch so we had a picnic inside the bowling alley. Dan and Lynda racked up so many strikes it was almost impossible to beat them. On the other lane Norman and Vince seemed to be in a league of their own, schooling us on how to bowl and make strikes. I went to the snack bar. And guess what they had? Hot-Dogs! I was in hog heaven. I quickly polished off two Dogs, wait a minute I was talking about bowling. Bob and Marcellos showed everyone how to get spares. I did not bowl very well but I had a great time, I even got to eat lunch with Lisa and Norman. By the way anybody that knows me, knows I am crazy about Hot-Dogs! I think everybody that went bowling had a great time, because everyone seemed genuinely happy on the way back from the bowling alley. -Hector

On March 19^th, Sacred Heart Church had their annual Lenten Soup Dinner. This is a charity collection dinner. Guess who one of the beneficiaries was this year? None other than the Help To Recovery Program here at Easter Seals Superior California! Staff that attended and gave a presentation of HTR services were Prem, Meghan, and Crystal. Wow! The donations collected were in the amount of $455.00, which is a double Wow! There was much needed therapy equipment bought with the money that will allow clients to work on increased range of motion, strengthening their arms, and giving them upper body support. I would like to take this time to thank everyone from Sacred Heart Church who donated, and especially to Tila and Lisa for nominating HTR for this very special event. -Hector

This year at the walk for thought it was great. Over 500 people showed up. More than $40,000 was raised for Brain Injury Awareness. This year 15 clients and all the staff attended, but more importantly was all the family that came. Crystal even took her mother, go figure. Again donuts somehow showed up, you see the Easter Seals booth was next to the Highway-Patrol booth. The officers were very helpful, they were giving safety tips. The C.H.P. even showed people how to install baby seats. The officers were so nice; they even gave away junior officer badges to everybody.  Last year the walk took me two and a half hours. Bill and Carolyn Slowski could have lapped me. But this year with Theresa, Crystal, and Crystal's mother inspiring and pushing me, I did the walk in one hour and thirty two minutes. I still finished last place but I finished.  So remember to take a tip from Bill and Carolyn Slowski: It is not if you finish first, it is not even if you finish, if you try you are a winner!  I will see you again next year bye for now. -Hector

On Tuesday February 23rd 2010, Easter Seals Superior California Help To Recovery Program took our monthly jaunt to A Chance For Bliss. It was an overcast day, but it was a fun trip nonetheless. You see Anthony drove the bus, Karen our R.N. and Jasmine our Rehab-aide rode shotgun. It was Karen and Jasmines first trip to the animal sanctuary.  When we got to the sanctuary we were greeted by Deanna and Woody. For the first time I can remember they had no work for us. It was great because we got to play with the doggies. I got to play with my new favorite dog Jill, I call her Chili-Dog. She just jumped on my lap and did not want to get off my lap for anything. We met a new baby goat named Valentine. She was only 13 days old. Heather fell in love with that goat; they could not be separated until we left. However, I did serenade Valentine while she was on my lap.  The most memorable part of the trip for me, was when Jasmine our Rehab-aide told me about her weekend, she told me her boyfriend was trying to annoy her by saying Huh every chance he got. You see, that's what I always do to everybody.  Remember take a tip from the dogs, don't pre-judge us by our skin color sniff our feet a little, then you judge what is in our heart.  -Hector

On Tuesday, January 26th 2010 Easter Seals Superior California Help To Recovery Program made a trip to A Chance For Bliss in Penryn, California. The trip there was fun. Jeremiah and Rik reminisced about having lived in Placer County. Jeremiah even commented that his daughter was born there.  When we got to the sanctuary Al our cashier presented Deanna and Woody a check for one thousand five hundred fifty two dollars and ten cents. This was a record amount that we earned from our Holiday Shoppe.  Later Steven, Jeremiah, Tom, and Rik helped Deanna and Woody to clean feed buckets. It was quite a sight to see; they were in the shower and bathtub washing and drying buckets. Anthony and John cleaned brushes. Marcellos, Susan, Les, and Hector worked in the kitchen.  The highlight of our day was hearing Maxi the dog bark. When she barked she sounded like she was saying merp merp, you see, Merp is the name some of us affectionately call the rehab aide named Prem.  The following day Steven, Marcellos, Anthony, Les, and Hector received shirts from  A Chance For Bliss, all you could hear in the classroom were the choruses of Wow T –Shirts and thank-you.  Remember, take a tip from the dogs do not pre-judge us by our speech impediments judge us by what we say, not how we say it.  -Hector