Thursday, June 14, 2007

SMILE Picnic at St. Paul's UCC - German Township

Sunday mornings at Jacob’s Village are fast-paced, pre-scheduled, and followed to a ‘T’. Everyone is getting ready for the day and preparing for Church. Mike and Wanda are regularly picked up by their respected transportation provider, but on this day Wanda didn’t feel up to going and staying after Church to help with KP Duty for the St. Agnes Catholic Church Summer Social dinner. The others are driven to Church by the Home Coordinators at different times for Bible Study and morning worship service at Westwood General Baptist Church. Debbie is always brought home after Church from spending weekends with her mother; and when everyone returns home right after the noon-hour, most of the time, there is an outing planned of some sort. Usually the residents are rushed around to grab a quick bite and prepare to leave again. On this Sunday, June 03, 2007, Wanda, Donna Kay, Debbie, Michael, Scott and Home Coordinators Gloria and Joe were invited to be a part of a SMILE picnic on the grounds of the St. Paul’s U.C.C. in German Township beginning with a blessing at 1:00pm. As the Jacobs Village bunch arrived, a pitch in dinner inside the Church’s activity room on the ground floor was being setup. Fried chicken was being furnished by the organizers Nina Fuller, David and Theda Girth, while the Administrative Director, Brenda Walters was unable to attend. Gloria and Joe handed over the Jacob’s Village’s contribution of potato salad and two bags of chips that were mixed in with the other dishes that included: bread, beans, corn, pasta, all types of salads and desserts. A tasty lunch it was and everyone had all they wanted, especially desserts. Arrangements were made to have Mike dropped off at St. Paul’s and he arrived after everyone else had finished eating but not before the food was put away. Games were held outside for the children behind the shelter house at the East end of the parking lot and a good time of fun was had. There were 8 children present playing games with about 16 adults, minus the Jacob’s Village bunch, total in attendance. SMILE on Down Syndrome is a support group in Southern Indiana and the tri-state for parents with a child born with Downs Syndrome. They provide resources, educational meetings, and social events for parent networking. SMILE is an acronym from the words making up the necessary characteristics for the required care for a child afflicted with Downs Syndrome: Support, Management, Information, Love, and Encouragement. Formed in 2002, Evansville’s Buddy Walk celebrates National Down Syndrome Awareness Month in October. This year’s event will be September 29, 2007, at the Vanderburgh County-Scott Township 4-H Fairgrounds. Jacob’s Village has been a supporter of SMILE on Down Syndrome’s Buddy Walk since they opened with services in 2004.

Ann Coy Time for May

Tuesday evening, May 22, 2007, Ann Coy visited Jacob’s Village in the Women’s Home for her monthly activity. Ann always provides a spiritual message during her visits and this time was no different; Pastor Kevin McKinney, Senior Pastor at the United Methodist Temple was her special guest. Pastor Kevin had a guitar in hand and a good guitar player he was. As it has been said many times in the past, any musician soon becomes a FOJV. After introductions were made, a blessing was given for the night. Ann always likes to start her evenings out with a small word association type of roll-call song depending on the nearest holiday or season. This time, naming a favorite part of Spring or Summer time was in order for everyone in attendance. With his guitar, Pastor Kevin strummed out ‘This Little Light of Mine’ and all residents of Wanda, Donna Kay, Debbie, Mike, Michael, and Scott sung along. Pastor Kevin read Scripture from the books of Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? John; Chapter 12: verse 36, While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light. Ephesians; Chapter 5: verse 8 For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light-- John; Chapter 1: verse 9 If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us - our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. As you may have well guessed, the theme for Ann’s visit this month was: ‘What kind of light do you give off?’ Light is referenced in the Bible many times and is filled with examples of what kind of light is expected to come from each individual. As the spiritual and prayer time came to a close, it was time for the ever popular snack time. On this evening, Ann had watermelon, strawberries, Aussie muffins, milk, and Sprite. Always healthy, according to Ann, and sometimes unexpected, the snack treats Ann brings along with her are always liked and usually they leave a question with the residents. Is that all there is, aren’t there any more?…Not until next time… For the craft project this month, Ann had a maroon foam 8” cut-out Cross kit for everyone. This kit required sticking added designs to it, putting your name on it, and gluing a magnet on the back so it could hang on the refrigerator. The Jacob’s Village residents always looks forward to Ann’s once a month themed activity with the special guests, snacks, and craft projects that she has planned. And this time, the residents send a big heart thank you out to Pastor Kevin McKinney, Senior Pastor at the United Methodist Temple for blessing Jacob’s Village with his presence and guitar playing talents.

Hadi Shriner's Fest - Car & Bike Show

Saturday afternoon, May 19, 2007, Wanda, Michael, Scott, and Home Coordinator Joe left Jacob’s Village at 1:30pm to pick Mike up from work at 2:00pm. They had planned to attend the fourth annual Hadi ShrinersFest that was being held in downtown Evansville on Riverside Drive overlooking the Ohio River-Front. The Hadi Shrine Club and Restaurant is located on Walnut Street right across from the riverfront and members of the Shrine Club were manning a couple information booth tables handing out literature, brochures, selling t-shirts, 10lb bags of Vidalia Onions, and having many contests where winners were rewarded door prizes. There were many stands selling car paraphernalia such as models, matchbox cars and motorcycle accessories along with food and drink booths. On display at this year’s ShrinersFest were 256 specialty cars and trucks, 152 motorcycles, auto venders and assorted entertainment venues. The entertainers included Blue-Grass and Folk Music Bands across from the front of the museum on the East end of the drive, clowns mingling in with the crowd up and down the strip, small twin-engine Cessna airplane gliders flying overhead with advertising banners behind them. A couple planes were producing a smoke and fog and sky writing names. Added attractions for the fest this year were tours of CJ’s Bus and ‘Hadi Hopping’, a car bouncing contest. CJ’s Bus is a modified school bus with a children’s activity center inside. CJ was a little boy that was killed in the Nov. 06 Newburgh tornado. In his memory, the bus will be available for tornado ravaged areas to provide a safe place for children to occupy their time while adults help with clean-up of the tornado damage. The ‘Hadi Hopping’ event is where a car’s suspension is manipulated, adjusted and hydraulically enhanced causing the car to jump-up off the ground. Although this kind of modification is legal, adjusting the suspension while the car is moving is not; therefore, participants were not allowed in the car while it was bouncing. It looks a little odd…and doesn’t look normal; acting as if the car is a robot. A Cadillac won this event by out jumping a half-a-dozen other cars by getting its wheels 33 inches off the ground for the winning height. Michael and Scott really enjoy every kind of car show, but 60’s & 70’s Muscle Cars are a favorite, and usually, The ACE of Clubs, Area Chrysler Enthusiasts have some representatives at most of the tri-state car shows. This day was no different; the good looking paint jobs on the themed nicknamed Chrysler, Plymouth, and Dodge cars were all there. Although, every car make, model, and year are all well taken in. The Jacob’s Village bunch was also there with over 7,000 others that were in attendance throughout the day, a good time was had by all on the Ohio River front.

EVV Otters 3rd Annual Benefit Baseball Game

‘Take me out to the Ball game, take me out with the Otters, that’s exactly what the Jacob’s Village bunch of Wanda, Debbie, Donna Kay, Mike, Michael, Scott, home coordinators Gloria, and Joe did Friday evening, May 18, 2007. The Jacob’s Village bunch arrived in the parking lot about 6:00pm to see the 7:05pm baseball game between the reigning Frontier League champion Evansville Otters and the Southern Illinois Miners to benefit Jacob’s Village. This was the Otters’ one and only exhibition game of the season at Bosse Field and the Miners are a 1st year, new expansion team with the Frontier League out of Marion, IL. This is the 3rd year the Evansville Otters have sponsored a benefit game for the Jacob’s Village mission which is: Dedicated to Enriching the Lives of Adults with Developmental Disabilities. This year, with a campaign concentrated advertising blitz via TV, Radio, and Newspapers, the attendance was about 3,500 and the amount from the proceeds of ticket sales was just under $12,000. Compared to last year, the attendance for the game was better by 500 or more which resulted in more for the proceeds figure. It was a nice and comfortable evening, weather wise, to spend at the ‘ol Ball Park. The ‘Talk of the Town’ Clown Association had five clowns there for the first four or five innings before having to leave for another appointment, adding smiles, laughter, and their usual hi-jinx to the delight of the crowd. Cletus, one of the clowns, positioned himself by the Jacob’s Village bunch that was sitting right above the visitor’s dugout down the 3rd base line making balloon baseball & bat hats and balloon bracelets to fit around ones’ wrist. Previously selected to throw the first pitch of the game out, Wanda was pumped up, excited, and feeling good. There were many flashes from cameras going off to catch her in the moment, and a good representative of Jacob’s Village she was. With the home town Otters on the field, umpires in position, and the Otter Belle Ball Girls, dressed in retro-40ish style color coordinated tan and maroon accented uniforms; the game was set to begin. In between each inning, the Otter Belles set up an assortment of games and activities in the teams’ bullpen area or props around the bases to run around. Throwing an item at a target or dropping items off at the bases within a certain time are a couple of examples of the types of games played. A fan favorite, individuals wearing Sumo Wrestler costumes, brought many hearty laughs. A good time was being had by all in attendance while roaming vendors were calling out and dealing drinks, peanuts, popcorn, and crackerjack snacks. Door prizes were also given away with a matching ticket number that was called out over the PA speaker system. Although it was a low scoring game, it was an exciting 3 hours of family fun. There were 11 hits and 19 strikeouts by a combined use of 12 pitchers. No home-runs on this night, but 4 doubles, 1 triple, 1 stolen base, 7 double plays per each team, one error, and not one player or manager was ejected or tossed for arguing the ump’s disputed calls. The first runs of the game didn’t cross home plate until the fifth inning and it was tied-up after the sixth. Throughout the remainder of the contest it was all knotted up, until the bottom of the ninth inning when an Otter player had a one out base-hit, run-scoring single to give the hometown Evansville Otters a 3-2 win over the Southern Illinois Miners. Along with all the festivities, this game was an introduction to Frontier League baseball, and a rousing welcome to Bosse Field for the Miners’ team first game. Bosse Field is the third oldest ball park in operation in the U.S. behind Fenway Park in Boston and Wrigley Field in Chicago. And to top it off, the game was to benefit Jacob’s Village; it was a win-win game for everyone involved. During the 7th inning stretch, Deana Johnson, General Manager of the Otters presented Cheryl Kuchna, Executive Director of Jacob’s Village, a check in the amount of the proceeds from the game; followed by the time honored tradition of singing ‘Take me out to the Ballgame’. Hopefully, this game will continue to draw more and more spectators and become a bigger, better event each and every year. Maybe we can reach a capacity filled Bosse Field crowd and double those numbers for the 4th annual EVV Otters benefit game in 2008…see ya at the ‘ol Ball Park.

St. Peter's UCC Mother/Daughter Banquet - Presentation

St. Peter’s United Church of Christ invited Karin Macke, Program Director of Jacob’s Village, and resident Scott to give a program about Jacob’s Villages’ Mission of ‘Enriching the Lives of Adults with Functional and Developmental Disabilities’. Since the invitation was so close to their annual Mother/Daughter Banquet in honor of Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 13, St. Peter’s decided to invite all the residents of Jacob’s Village to join them for their pitch-in dinner Friday evening, May 11, 2007. Home Coordinators Janice and Barry had just started their shift Friday afternoon and had to prepare Wanda, Donna Kay, Debbie, Mike, Michael, and Scott to be ready for a dinner and presentation with Karin upon their return home from work. The Jacob’s Village bunch arrived at 5:45pm and met Karin inside the Church. There were about 22 church and family members in attendance for the dinner and with the 8 from Jacob’s Village, it made for a full room in their small activity room. Greetings were made, a blessing of the food and Mother’s Day was given Rev. Karen Lipinczyk, and a line for the covered dishes on the counter was formed. The meal consisted of a choice between ham or fried chicken for the meat, tea, lemonade, or water for your drink and all you could eat from a variety of dishes that was brought in. Many types of salad dishes, an assortment of pasta, potato, and rice recipes, a large choice of homemade desserts, boy…Church pitch-in dinners are offered like a giant smorgasbord. It’s a shame, pitch-in dinners are so few and far between. A good time of filling, emptying, and refilling plates were had by all and if not for the timed presentation following the dinner, the dishes would have been cleaned out. Compliments are given out to the members and friends of St. Peter’s U.C.C. for providing a tasty, delicious, and satisfying meal. A few men joined the rest of the group in the sanctuary following the cleanup of the dinner for the Jacob’s Village presentation given by Karin and Scott. St. Peter’s U.C.C. and Jacob’s Village has been building a good relationship since Rev. Karen’s first Pastoral visit back in July of 2006. Most of St. Peter’s congregational members and friends knew the concept behind Jacob’s Village, but Karin and Scott began the presentation as if no one knew and gave them the basic info. As they relayed the facts of the existing and developing programs, criteria for residency, it’s always good to reiterate that Jacob’s Village is a work in progress. There was a good question and answer time with all the residents giving a brief testimony of their likes of the place. There is a good bunch of charter residents to begin the mission with and a family is being built. The Jacob’s Village bunch sends a big heart thank you out to St. Peter’s U.C.C. for a wonderful evening.

Fiddler on the Roof

On the week-end of May 4, 5, & 6, 2007, the Mater Dei High School Theatre Department transformed Kempf Auditorium into a Russian village and presented ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ for their Spring Musical. For the second year in a row, Debbie Haton, teacher and sponsor of the Mater Dei High School’s National Honor Society, furnished tickets for the Jacob’s Village residents to attend the matinee final performance Sunday, May 6, at 2:00pm. Wanda, Debbie, Donna Kay, Mike, Michael, Scott, home coordinators Gloria and Joe arrived in plenty of time before the show began to have a group photo taken of them in the lobby of Kempf Auditorium. The Jacob’s Village bunch was some of the first to arrive; after posing for a photo and receiving a program, they had their choice of seats in the 375 seat auditorium. The last two rows on the right side were designated wheelchair accessible seating and that was the area for us. Looking around, they didn’t see a bad seat in the facility. The story line for ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ focuses on a Russian Jewish family set in the early 20th Century. A Dairyman and his wife’s five daughters are struggling with some of the daughter’s marriage plans in a challenging time. The family is being torn apart by new ideas and customs that go against religious traditions. In their small Russian community the politics were changing as well as the World’s landscape around them. There were a few popular songs that were sung, a unique language dialect that was spoken, and very elaborate costumes that were worn. The choreographed dancing numbers appeared to have required extensive training sessions for the cast. The ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ cast consisted of 35 students from grades 9-12 and had many others that made up the behind the scenes stage and production crews. Period costumes for any production do not come cheap. For Mater Dei, seamstress Alison Moore, volunteers her time in providing all costumes for their productions. What can’t be found from costume companies, rummage sales, Goodwill and Salvation Army stores or used costumes from the Evansville Civic Theatre, she hand makes herself. Although all High School theatric productions have good directing qualities over the cast and settings, and all the students act out their characters remarkably well; the favorite ones the Jacob’s Village bunch like to watch are comedy’s and whimsical, feel-good musicals. As good as ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ is and was well performed by the Mater Dei High School Theatre Department; it requires a lot of reasoning and thinking…and who would have thought there would have been a Fiddler on one of the prop roof’s throughout the show. The Jacob’s Village bunch really enjoys the opportunity to see shows that are provided by the generosities of some individuals. They are all Friends of Jacob’s Village who take their time out to think of the residents; thank you Debbie Haton for your treat.