Spook-tacular Live-Stream!

Hey everyone, this week’s social distancing reminder is an invitation to the Nelson Cares LIVE-STREAM SPOOKTACULAR happening next Friday night!

Hi folks,

In honour of Community Inclusion Month, we are going to try something different this Spook-tober…

We are going to have our most excellent DJ, Lucas, return for a live streaming Halloween music event on Friday October the 30th! The event will take place on zoom, and the log in is the same for any self-advocacy meeting (see poster below) Lucas will be sharing tunes while the rest of us can use the chat bar to converse and the video to show off our costumes and react together. Maybe folks will feel like dancing in their house or just listening is fine too.

Either way, please feel free to dress up, dance in your room, or have a little house party with your pod and enjoy the tunes together!

Hope to see you there, it begins at 6:00.

Matthew Wilson-Birks, Advisor, The Nelson Self-Advocacy Group (Click here to find us on Facebook), Nelson CARES Society

Community Inclusion Month!

Hey everyone, October is Community Inclusion Month! With the ongoing response to COVID-19, we are celebrating a little differently this year — check out Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran as he proclaims October Community Inclusion Month, an event that has in past years included the Pathways Inclusion Chain:

How are you celebrating Community Inclusion Month this year? Let us know in the comments!

Great News! Highlights and Halloween

It’s been a fantastic fall at Community Connections – and we thought we’d share some of our favorite highlights from this past month in Community Support to round out all our Community Inclusion month fun!

Roy left everyone full to the brim after feasting on his spectacular bounty of breakfast food – check out the perfect pancakes these guys turned out!

There were a few birthdays, but celebrating Kim’s out to lunch was an extra thrill – everyone managed to keep it a secret that they knew about his birthday until the lunchtime surprise!

With Halloween at the end of the month, everyone’s attention turned to costumes and how to dress up for the occasion – Teri-Kay rocks a royal look, while Jaclynn went all-out as a classic character.

There was also time for getting in a healthy amount of exercise – Graham is almost always smiling, after a kick-butt workout is no exception!

Those who absolutely love walking were treated to wonderful walking weather at the very end of the month!

What a way to spend October!  Looking forward to sharing more costume photos from our Facebook page very soon!  Stay tuned…

Have a favorite picture of your community?  Send it to us with a story about the photo and we will post it on the website!

Calling all Story Tellers…

Calling all story tellers – CLBC is looking for SELF ADVOCATE STORIES for the next edition of CLBC MAGAZINE!  Authors will be paid $100 for their story and photo to appear in the magazine.  Check it out:

The CLBC Editorial Board is looking for stories from self-advocates for the upcoming winter 2018 edition of the Celebrate Diverse Abilities magazine. The theme for next edition is “Empowering People with Diverse Abilities- stories of Inclusion and Equality.” The Editorial Board is aiming to publish the magazine at the same time as International Day for Persons with a Disability on December 3. They want to recognize this important day and celebrate the contributions and successes of those with diverse abilities.

They are looking for 250 word stories that show examples of inclusion and equality in people’s lives. Stories could be about a part of someone’s life, like employment or friendship or community connection, and how this has created inclusion and equality. Story submissions will be accepted until November 14 and selected authors will be paid $100 for their story and photo to be published in the CLBC Celebrate Diverse Abilities magazine. (Preference will be given to authors who have NOT yet been published in Celebrate Diverse Abilities magazine.)

Please share this with any self advocates you know who may be interested in submitting their story. Interested authors can email their submission, with photos, to CLBC’s Self Advocate Advisor at Jessica.Humphrey@gov.bc.ca.

What a perfect way to continue on with October’s Community Inclusion Month celebrations!

Know someone who would like to tell their story?  Please pass this info along!

A Spooky Infusion for Community Inclusion

It’s getting spooky around Kelowna today as things kick into high gear for the Halloween Social – check out Amit’s Update for this week’s info!

We welcomed a few new faces today – this is Casper, and he is friendly.

And this is Casper’s cousin, Fred.

Is being friendly a family trait?  TBD.  Swing by for the social to meet Fred and find out!

Don’t forget to visit the batcave to add your dream onto our dream board before Halloween – it’s filling up fast!

Have you picked your costume?  Let us know in the comments!

A Spooky Infusion for Community Inclusion

It’s getting spooky around Kelowna today as things kick into high gear for the Halloween Social – check out Amit’s Update for this week’s info!

We welcomed a few new faces today – this is Casper, and he is friendly.

And this is Casper’s cousin, Fred.

Is being friendly a family trait?  TBD.  Swing by for the social to meet Fred and find out!

Don’t forget to visit the batcave to add your dream onto our dream board before Halloween – it’s filling up fast!

Have you picked your costume?  Let us know in the comments!

COMMUNITY INCLUSION MONTH: Pics from the Pumpkin Patch!

Pumpkins galore!

Along with Community Inclusion Month, October can sometimes mean cooler weather and shorter days, along with Thanksgiving turkey comas and staying in curled up by a cozy fire…

Not this year!

A beautiful fall day!

Our Pumpkin Patch-ers headed out last weekend for a day enjoying the McMillan Farms pumpkin patch, corn maze, pumpkin smash, and a hay ride. While out and about, they were able to enjoy a balmy day of sunshine with an extra helping of fresh air.

We can’t imagine a better way to celebrate the very best part of inclusion – connecting with each other!  Thanks to everyone who joined us, it was a great afternoon.

Sunscreen and sunglasses for everyone!

Nothing but smiles and blue skies!

 

Getting ready for the hay ride!

We’re so glad that Joanne, our fantastic Management Support Team Assistant, joined us out and about on the Farm for the sunshine and fun!

Super big thanks to our Home Share Coordinators (Brenda, Karen, and Thea) for their hard work organizing this event – and especially for the delicious snacks, warm beverages, and spook-tacular “go” bags!  And an extra big “thank you” to Thea for sending along her great photos to share.

Guest appearance – spook-tacular critters!

Missed heading out to McMillan Farms with us last weekend? Not to worry! There’s still plenty of time to check it out between now and Halloween…things will just get spookier towards the end of Community Inclusion Month! Check their upcoming events out on their website.

COMMUNITY INCLUSION MONTH: Pics from the Pumpkin Patch!

Pumpkins galore!

Along with Community Inclusion Month, October can sometimes mean cooler weather and shorter days, along with Thanksgiving turkey comas and staying in curled up by a cozy fire…

Not this year!

A beautiful fall day!

Our Pumpkin Patch-ers headed out last weekend for a day enjoying the McMillan Farms pumpkin patch, corn maze, pumpkin smash, and a hay ride. While out and about, they were able to enjoy a balmy day of sunshine with an extra helping of fresh air.

We can’t imagine a better way to celebrate the very best part of inclusion – connecting with each other!  Thanks to everyone who joined us, it was a great afternoon.

Sunscreen and sunglasses for everyone!

Nothing but smiles and blue skies!

 

Getting ready for the hay ride!

 

We’re so glad that Joanne, our fantastic Management Support Team Assistant, joined us out and about on the Farm for the sunshine and fun!

Super big thanks to our Home Share Coordinators (Brenda, Karen, and Thea) for their hard work organizing this event – and especially for the delicious snacks, warm beverages, and spook-tacular “go” bags!  And an extra big “thank you” to Thea for sending along her great photos to share.

Guest appearance – spook-tacular critters!

Missed heading out to McMillan Farms with us last weekend? Not to worry! There’s still plenty of time to check it out between now and Halloween…things will just get spookier towards the end of Community Inclusion Month! Check their upcoming events out on their website.

COMMUNITY INCLUSION MONTH: Calling all DREAMERS…

October is Community Inclusion month – a month to celebrate all the wonderful ways we include others in our lives, and how rich our lives are as a result.

What better way to appreciate our diversity than by sharing our dreams?

So, starting on Tuesday, October 16, and for the rest of October we are showcasing the dreams that make us who we are by creating a gigantic DREAM BOARD to post on our wall.

Check out the DREAM BOARD in progress!

EMPLOYMENT dreams!
EMPLOYMENT dreams!

SKILLS dreams!

TRAVEL dreams!

SOCIAL dreams!

Here are some of the first dreamers in action on Tuesday!

Getting it all out on the table

Graham and Amit dreaming up something SOCIAL

Brittany and Crystal ready to take off and TRAVEL

Our DREAM BOARD is set up for anyone to add their dreams in, anytime they want – stop by and add in your dreams between now and October 31!

Special thanks to Lindsay for the pictures – check out CCSS’ Facebook page for more.

Here are some other ways to celebrate Community Inclusion Month 2018 across BC:  https://www.communitylivingbc.ca/whats-new/celebrating-community-inclusion-month-2018/

COMMUNITY INCLUSION MONTH: Calling all DREAMERS…

October is Community Inclusion month – a month to celebrate all the wonderful ways we include others in our lives, and how rich our lives are as a result.

What better way to appreciate our diversity than by sharing our dreams?

So, starting on Tuesday, October 16, and for the rest of October we are showcasing the dreams that make us who we are by creating a gigantic DREAM BOARD to post on our wall.

Check out the DREAM BOARD in progress!

EMPLOYMENT dreams!
EMPLOYMENT dreams!

SKILLS dreams!

TRAVEL dreams!

SOCIAL dreams!

Here are some of the first dreamers in action on Tuesday!

Getting it all out on the table

Graham and Amit dreaming up something SOCIAL

Brittany and Crystal ready to take off and TRAVEL

Our DREAM BOARD is set up for anyone to add their dreams in, anytime they want – stop by and add in your dreams between now and October 31!

Special thanks to Lindsay for the pictures – check out CCSS’ Facebook page for more.

Here are some other ways to celebrate Community Inclusion Month 2018 across BC:  https://www.communitylivingbc.ca/whats-new/celebrating-community-inclusion-month-2018/

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