December Newsletter community catalysts of california 2008 Happy Holidays from Community Catalysts of California! Reminder: Please don’t forget to turn in your nominations for the James’ A Jenkins Award of Excellence and PRIDE Award of the Year for 2008. This is your opportunity to recognize those who you believe have truly gone above and beyond and who lead the way with their consistently great example. These are due December 12. Please see your Office Manager/Assistant if you have any questions. Employee Anniversaries 15 Years Shelley Cook - FSO 14 Years Barbara Padilla - STK Janice Tucker - ALTA 9 Years Lisa Nodal - COAL Linda Smith - FSO 8 Years Priscilla Renfro - FSO 7 Years Claudio Lopez - UK Kathrine Peterson - UK 6 Years Debra Prince - STK 5 Years Silvia Cazares - EC Kamilah McDonald - STK Guadalupe Meza - EC 4 Years Phillip Menchaca - STK 2 Years Electra Gemmill - UK 1 Year Nicole Barber - STK Christian Clement - FSO Andrea French - MDO Amanda Mahabir - MDO Anna Nino - FSO Southern California San Diego & San Marcos San Diego San Diego would like to welcome Sarah Butterworth, new Office Manager, to Community Catalysts of California! Christopher McKelley, who is transitioning from being the Office Manager to being an Employment Specialist with the Supported Employment program, will be working with Sarah as she learns her new position. ? ? ? ? San Marcos San Marcos would like to welcome our newest staff, SL Personal Attendant Nicole Winter, SL DSA Bob Dawson and IL DSA’s Melissa Tubuly and Heidi Rassatt. They have all been with us for the last few months and according to their Case Manager, Teresa Grenawalt, are doing a fantastic job with their perspective clients. SE welcomes Jeana Davis as our new Employment Specialist. Community Coffee Creations is now serving special holiday coffees. Our Barista’s are being kept busy creating the coffees and keeping the cart clean. Great job to SE Case Manager Jessica Young, Coffee Cart Supervisor Ron Clayton, and SE consumers Jacob D., Demra H. and Jami S. The San Marcos Advisory group had a great time at our 4th Annual Benny Bowl. SE Client Steve B. took home our Benny Pin for having the highest bowling average for the 3rd year. IL consumer Susan M. showed us her best bowling posture while knocking down the pins. Our clients are busy planning the holiday party. This year they chose to have it at Boomers Entertainment Center where our SE/IL client Kelly M. currently works as a dining attendant. Be on the lookout for those pictures in the January newsletter. NortherNcaliforNiaStocktonStockton Stockton has been busy getting ready for the holidays, which of course seems to have crept up on us too soon, again! The Stockton staff and consumer’s are planning a Holiday get together for December 19th. We are looking forward to a lot of fun spending time with everyone as 2008 quickly closes in around us all. The Stockton CAC is selling beef jerky sticks to raise money for a future trip. They also just recently held a raffle for three gift baskets that were donated by several Stockton employees. They have several other ideas and plans for 2009 that they are working on as well. More will be shared in the future as their activities progress and develop. November appeared to be a baby month for the Stockton office! Or, should we say grandparent month, instead. SL Direct Service Supervisor, Phillip Menchaca, who already has “grandpa experience” with his adorable granddaughters, welcomed his first grandson, Ethan Antonio Caldero. He was born on November 11, 2008 and weighed in at 8 lbs 10 ounces! Congratulations to Phillip and his family! Vanessa Orr, our Financial Support staff in the Stockton office, has also crossed over into grandparent-hood this past month. Only Vanessa is a rookie, with this being her first grand baby! Vanessa’s family welcomed Carson Robert Orr on November 22, 2008. Carson weighed in at 6 lbs 9 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long. We wish all of the Orr family the best for a wonderful future! Also in the pending rookie category for grandparent-hood is Judy Powell, Stockton SL Case Manager, who recently received some very exciting news that she will become a first time grandma some time around the first of July 09, as her son and his wife are expecting their first baby. Knowing Judy, she has already begun quilting a very special blanket for her new grand baby! Best wishes to all! Lastly, Stockton ILS Case Manager Chris Korelin, also has a new member of her family who joined them in November. No, no grand babies yet! Although, in regards to feeding and toileting, there are some similarities between all babies, human or not. Chris and her family bought an Olde English Bulldog puppy, who they named Wilson. It is hard to believe how something so very cute can be so very stubborn at times! Chris’ son, Kevin, is planning on buying Wilson a skateboard for Christmas, in hopes that he will be a talented “bully” and master the skill of riding it. Wilson Korelin Carson Robert Orr Ethan Antonio Calderon Redwood Coast Ukiah & Plum House Ukiah Everyone in Ukiah is excited about the upcoming holiday season! Many consumers spent time with family on Thanksgiving. Those who stayed home gathered at Henny Penny restaurant for dinner. Plum House staff and consumers cooked at home and had a fun, relaxing day. Several Consumers have been participating in Special Olympics bowling. November 9th was the qualifier for the finals, Lloyd P. and Stephen W. took 2nd and 3rd place. Congratulations guys!! The finals will be held on December 6th. We would like to thank Karen Garcia, Sharon Knivila, and Darryl C. for participating in the annual special Olympics soup off. They did a great job dressing up and decorating! Happy Birthday to Stephanie Ontko and Kenneth W.! ? ? ? This is Lloyd on the front page of the paper. Central Valley & Southbay Merced & Santa Clara Merced Merced would like to say welcome to new staff, Josephina Frias, Social Rec. Aide for Los Banos. Also, welcome to Fresno’s new Office Manager Alexandria Underwood. Merced consumers and staff attended two plays this month, one of which was “Little Women”. It was a very good play; a real tear jerker! ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Santa Clara CAC had a bowl-a-thon in October and we raised approximately $300 dollars! Great job!! CAC is also currently having an opportunity drawing for a chance to win a holiday dinner for 4. The consumer’s are selling raffle tickets for a $1. Welcome to our new DSA Darlene Matthews, Office Manager Lori Ann Harvey, and a returning employee Stefanie Rux. On Monday, November 24, 2008 we expanded our office to include the space next door. It has been quite the challenge getting everything together - our phone lines were a pain to get re-cabled, our internet has been down - and just moving offices in general; however, we are very excited about the end result! We are currently getting ready for our consumer holiday party which will be held here, in the atrium of our building on Saturday December 13th. We will be having dinner, playing white elephant and Santa will be handing out gifts to all the attendees. The consumer’s have the choice to have turkey or prime rib with green bean casserole, garlic mashed potatoes, green salad with a dinner roll, and dessert. Our staff holiday luncheon will be held on December 19th. However, we have not chosen a venue as of yet. We also will be playing white elephant and discovering whom our Secret Santa’s are. All in all it should be a fun way to end the year! Happy Holidays! Have Fun & Stay Safe! A New Year’s Resolution Resolve to make at least one person happy every day, and then in ten years you may have made three thousand, six hundred and fifty persons happy, or brightened a small town by your contribution to the fund of general enjoyment. --Sydney Smith ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Consumer Anniversaries 15 Years Cora B. - FSO 13 Years Joanne R. - SM 10 Years Emma D. - MCD Michael T. - COAL Hila E. - SD 9 Years Brian C. - FSO Jo Ellen D. - SC 7 Years Gary E. - MCD Darryl C. - UK Aimee M. - COAL Barbara F. - FSO Jania M. - SAL Luis A. - STK 6 Years Irene P. - MCD 5 Years Janice C. - MCD Demetryan G. - MCD Debbie C. - SC 4 Years Darren D. - STK Elbert S. - STK Deryal A. - MCD Samuel D. - STK Karen F. - STK Fernando E. - SAL Jose L. - SAL Nicolasa L. - SAL 3 Years Jaqueline E. - SAL Teresa M. - SAL Flavio P. - SAL Greg C. - SC Gilbert A. - SAL 2 Years Rosemary M. - FSO Lorena M. - EC Caroline V. - SM 1 Year Deborah R. - SC Ashley C. - SAL Shaneez R. - STK Richard R. - SC Jesse M. - EC Charles E. - SC Caroline S. - FSO Managing Stress During the Holidays Magellan Health Services It’s 1:00 a.m. and you just can’t seem to fall asleep. Your head is spinning with a never-ending “to do” list: finish shopping, decorate the house, bake cookies for the company potluck. With so much going on during the holiday season, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Many of us take on too much and have a tough time balancing our schedules. As a result, we feel stressed out during what is supposed to be the most festive time of year. Following are some practical and effective tips for managing stress during the holidays: Prioritize your time: Make two lists of everything you want to accomplish, from chores to leisure time. Put the less pleasant activities that you must do on one list and more enjoyable activities on the other. Then combine the two lists, interchanging “must do’s” with “want to do’s.” This way, you can be productive and still have a good time. Avoid procrastinating: While some tasks seem overwhelming, putting them off until the last minute will just cause more stress. Try breaking big projects into little tasks, and they will feel more manageable. Incorporate these smaller tasks as separate items on your “to do” lists. You’ll tend to accomplish more if you feel as though you’re being productive. Ask for help: There’s nothing wrong with asking for help for those activities that seem unmanageable. Or, try to work with others to accomplish your tasks. Helping one another can help you cut down on the amount of work you must do. Take advantage of “down time”: Plan your shopping trips during times when the stores are the least crowded. If you stop by the mall in the early evening during the week, their down time, you will probably get more accomplished than by going on a Saturday afternoon. Laugh away tension: A good laugh gives your body, heart, lungs, and stomach a healthy workout. It also lowers blood pressure, heart rate, and muscle tension, and can relieve stress just as well as taking a nap does. Try to look for the humor in stressful situations - tell a joke, find reasons to laugh – and you’ll start to feel better. Set limits: Be realistic about what you can do, and schedule time for breaks. It’s important to make time for yourself. Don’t feel obligated to accept every party invitation; be choosy! Spend time with people whose company you enjoy. Make sure your expectations for the holiday season are realistic and practical. If you would like more information, you can call our Employee Assistance Program toll-free number 800-523-5668. Tara Ramirez Community Catalysts of California is proud to announce that Tara Ramirez was been selected to receive the Catalyst P.R.I.D.E. Award~Leading by Example for November 2008. Tara has been with Community Catalysts of California for about 5 months and has made a positive impact on the El Centro area as a Direct Service Aide. Tara was recognized for her on-going excellence and for going above and beyond her call of duty. She is truly dedicated to both her team and her consumers which is very evident in her work. She has been a great advocate for the Day Program in Brawley, has found many sites in the area and has really been a huge part of the recent success of the program. Her positive attitude is encouraging and serves as a great example for us all. Tara is a great problem solver, being resourceful with each situation she is faced with. One of her greatest strengths is her communication. She takes in information with a positive attitude, ready and willing to make changes when necessary and see each step through to completion. Tara’s ability to listen and provide support makes her a great asset to the El Centro team and to Community Catalysts of California. We appreciate the great service and dedication to the vision of Community Catalysts of California that Tara has provided and would like to recognize her for her hard work and for Leading by Example. Thanks for Leading Us In the Right Direction! Consumer Catalysts of the Month December 2008 Travis Bys Travis has been a consumer in our Supported Living Program in the Modesto area since March of 2008. In this time, he has made tremendous progress. Travis is a true example of courage and inspiration. He has many physical challenges and continues to be in high spirits and always has a smile on his face. Travis has been such a blessing to the Modesto Office. The Consumer Advisory Club relies on his support for all of their fundraiser events. His participation has encouraged other consumers to get involved and to make a difference. With Travis’ enthusiasm and wonderful personality there isn’t anything that can stop him from achieving his dreams! Travis is a true leader to follow! Travis is very good on the computer. He knows how to do many different things and has even taught the Modesto staff a trick or two. Travis makes all the flyers and signs for the Consumer Advisory Club on his computer. He also likes school, movies, Karaoke and hanging out with his friends. This summer Travis had the chance to go to the Christian Berets summer camp for a week. Travis utilized the Butterfly Club RFP program to help him achieve this goal. There were also other consumers there from our organization and they all had a great time. Travis is a hard worker and a joy to be around and this is why he has been chosen as our Consumer Catalyst of the Month for December! Congratulations Travis!