V
A look
isions
NOVEMBER 2009
at the people and programs of Opportunity Manor Inc.
Building Strong Friendships
By Jon Hazen, Program Coordinator
For the past 8 years Foster 10 has been the home to four very unique individuals - Steve G., Judy D., Lance T., and Mary W.! These
four initially got to know each other living at Manor 1 with 8 other individuals. Because they were such a perfect fit for each other,
when OMI opened Foster 10 in February 2003 they decided to be house mates. Since then they have been sharing there day to day
life together and making lots of memories. Their success in life both individually and together will go on for many years to come.
Judy Duncan is
66 and is very young
at heart! She loves to talk and once
she knows you she is very caring in her
conversations. Judy loves to listen and
sing to her music, and once she starts
dancing there is no time for talking. Judy
can also keep you up-to-date on the soap
opera scene, as she is an avid fan!
is the youngest of the house
just turning 36 on October 8th. Lance
is a very fast paced guy who loves to
talk, ask questions and learn everything
he can about you whenever he gets the
chance. He love’s TV guides, radio, The
Price is Right and playing games. His
mind is always working and always ready
for a good conversation!
Lance Topp
Judy Duncan
Steve Gerold
Steve Gerold is 47 years young.
He is a shy gentleman when you first
meet him but is quick to open up and
show his caring and fun side. He is a
jokester and loves to laugh. He enjoys
playing card games, going for walks,
watching and playing sports, especially
bowling, and getting out of the house
for activities as much as possible.
is 44 and always
moving. She, like Lance, is a fast paced
gal. She loves to travel and be out in
the community. She has been to many
fun places like Florida, California, and
Montana to name a few. She is easy
going and will try anything at least
once. She is a big UNO fan and in my
3 years of working with her, I think she
is up on me 300 wins to my 50!
Mary Wielenberg
Lance Topp
Mary Wielenberg
Remember Opportunity Manor This Holiday Season
Today we look to the future and are confident with the knowledge that, what we have accomplished over the last 29 years in
preparing individuals with physical or mental challenges to live life as independently as possible will continue as a vital need in our
community. We look to you as part of our future in providing the much needed funding necessary to give our clients the best care and
to continue our standing of great services.
Opportunity Manor offers residential services, social opportunities, transitional education options, adult day services and direct care
to people with disabilities and memory loss; helping them reach and/or maintain their independence. Gifts to Opportunity Manor
provide our company with a source of funds to respond to the ever growing needs of those with physical and mental challenges in our
community. Your gift will give us the opportunity to grow our services and programs in order to meet this growing need.
You may direct your gift to a particular program at Opportunity Manor, or you may make an unrestricted gift to be used where the
Organization finds the greatest need. You may also make a gift to the Opportunity Manor Annual Fund to honor or memorialize a
family member, a friend, a coworker, or a mentor.
Please make your donation through our website at www.opportunitymanor.org.
Remember, in these tough economic times, we need your help more than ever. Please give generously.
Fall Classes Offered
By Amy Inglett, PD
Pathway to Opportunities is continuing
courses in cooking, relationships, driving,
bussing and vocational exploration.
Classes offered on Mondays:
• Making and Being a Good Friend
• Managing Effective Relationships
• Dating
• Sexuality and Intimacy
Classes offered on Tuesdays:
• Beginner Cooking Class
• Intermediate Cooking Class
Classes offered on Wednesdays:
• Bussing and transportation
• Vocational Exploration
• Driving Preparation
Classes offered on Thursdays:
• Advanced Cooking Class
*Pathway will be launching a reading
course in October to help teach those
that do not know how to read.*
Pathway to Opportunities now offers
online viewing of what classes are offered
on our new website. The website is
updated monthly with the current course
catalog and a registration form.
www.opportunitymanor.org
Donations / Grants
for the past quarter:
Donations:
$500 - Kathy Christensen
$100 - Thomas & Laural Kasner
$100 - Judith & Douglas Moe
$100 - Roto Rooter
Healthy Living Grant
By Becka Kurtz, Executive Secretary
In June 2009, Opportunity Manor, Inc was awarded a $5,000 Healthy Living Grant
from the Benton Telecommunications Foundation. Through this grant OMI was able to
make improvements and add to Foster 5’s backyard, allowing the backyard to be more
accessible and useful to the individuals living there. Some of the improvements made
were a covered patio, which allows the consumers to sit outside while protected from
the sun. They have also added a picnic table and grill so family and friends will be able
to come over and socialize with the ladies outside, having barbecues and playing yard
games. On most evenings, the residents and staff often use the picnic table to play board
games or do their art projects.
Residents and staff assisted in planting the beautiful garden which now adorns the
backyard. The individuals living there had a great time making stepping stones with
their hand prints or names on them and decorating them to fit into the garden. Residents
enjoyed many hours of sitting on the new swing and enjoying the garden this summer.
The guiding philosophy of Benton Telecommunications Foundation is to invest in
values, ethics and character formation; to support the efforts of those who are successfully
making a difference in people lives; and to help build the communities in which we live.
The ladies from Opportunity Manor Foster Five would like to thank Benton County
Telecommunications for their generosity. They look forward to continuing to help with
the garden, and watching it grow and bloom over the years.
Kickball Tournament for Guys CLUB By Jon Hazen, PC
On August 22, 2009 OMI held its First Annual Kickball Tournament to raise money
for Guys Club of OMI. There were four teams of more than ten players that participated
on a lovely sunny Saturday. Participants were extremely enthusiastic, scraping knees when
sliding onto bases, crushing kick balls to oblivion from monster kicks to the outfield and
in the end 1 team that reigned supreme. There were many hard fought battles on the
field and in the end the Jaycees of Sauk Rapids ended up taking the title of KICKBALL
CHAMPIONS 09 and the lovely trophy. They were undefeated in 5 games of play.
OMI raised $400 from this fun event and hope to raise two times that amount next year!
Everyone had a blast, and needless to say, can’t wait to do it all over again next year!
Until then … Keep kicking and kicking and kicking to see if your team can take down the
defending champions next year!
“Rumble in the Jungle” a huge success!
By Regan Stommes, CEO
“So far how many James Bond movies are there? The answer is 25 which
is pretty easy. I always thought Autism was one of the main keys to becoming
James Bond savvy”. This is an excerpt from Chad’s speech, the featured
speaker at our “Rumble in the Jungle” Event held on October 1st, 2009 at
Mulligan’s in Sartell.
Chad is a young man who attends OMI’s Pathway to Opportunities
program. He was able to stand in front of 170 people to tell them about
himself, how he has grown and accomplishments achieved through services
received at OMI. Chad is also proud to be able to give back to his community
by volunteering at the St. Cloud Hospital. During his speech he shared his love
of James Bond and stumped the crowd with a little James Bond trivia, even the
jeopardy champ Gary Bechtold. Chad shared that he has written 909 trivia
cards and attendees of the “Rumble in the Jungle” event were lucky to have
heard two of them.
This is the second year that OMI has put together a fun event to raise money.
This year we raised around $9,800, which will be primarily used to purchase a
Whisper Glide Swing, an accessible swing allowing both ambulatory and those
in wheelchairs to be able to enjoy it. The remainder will go toward the cost of
an accessible vehicle for the clients served by OMI.
We were pleased to have the resilient talent of “Revolution of Flame”, who
through the rain and chilly weather performed their fabulous and mystifying
flame throwing. We also provided the “Rumble” at Mulligan’s with “Beats
on the Block”, drummers from the Boys and Girls Club. We were not only
entertained by this inspiring group, but were able to learn how to drum a few
beats and some of the crowd got up to dance to the beat of the drums.
Thank you to everyone that came out and supported OMI by attending this
event. A special thanks to our sponsors and all the volunteers who contributed
to making the event a huge success! Thank you for your continued support, we
hope to see you next year at our 3rd annual event!
Board Members
President: Ann Coffel – St. Cloud Area Legal Services
President-elect: Gary Sabby – T & S Agency, LLC – Owner
Secretary/Treasurer: Pam Rickbell – St. Cloud Hospital
Nick Brandt – Ameriprise Financial
Joel Christian – MN Neurorehabilitation Services,
Senior Behavior Analyst
Charlotte Fisher – Retired RN
Bob Gerold – City of Princeton
Just a reminder to check out
our re-designed website!
Opportunity Manor, Inc. has re-designed
and re-launched our website to be more user
friendly and interactive.
You can now log on to get all the
happenings at OMI! On our website you
will now be able to download our PTO
course catalog and sign up sheet, visit our
press room and view our newsletter and
other articles, check out our calendar of
events and much more!
We look forward to your visit!
Go to www.opportunitymanor.org to check us out!
Camp Confidence 2009
By Christina Evans, PC
This year Foster 1, 2, 5, 9, 11, Manor 1 and Roosevelt 2 attended
Camp Confidence August 25, 26, and 27. After loading up the vans
we headed for camp, stopping in Brainerd to enjoy lunch.
After settling in we were able to head to the Beach for open swim,
paddle boating, water volleyball, throwing around the football, and
visiting with friends from other houses. In the afternoon our group
was able to go for a ride on the SS Michaels, a glass bottom boat,
where we saw a lot of interesting fish and plant life under water. After
supper we enjoyed the scenic views of Camp Confidence on our trip
to the main lodge, where staff and consumers played Magazine Bingo
outside in teams. As night fell everyone ventured back to our camp
sites and made a campfire. We all had fun sitting around the campfire,
while consumers excitedly waited to make their own smore’s.
The following morning we met up at the petting zoo and had the
opportunity to pet pot belly pigs, calf, deer, ducks, and many more
animals. The consumers seemed to appreciate holding the baby
bunnies, feeding the animals, the smells of nature, and getting their
picture taken with things we don’t normally get a chance to see. Other
activities we were fortunate to have the opportunity to participate
in included archery, a pontoon ride, a walk on the trails, fishing and
many more interesting things the camp has to offer. The consumers
also had a chance to pick out their favorite Camp Confidence
souvenirs. The day was beautiful and we all enjoyed laughter.
In the days that followed Camp Confidence had so much to offer,
such as making tie dye items, homemade ice cream, and creating flags
from items found in nature. The last evening at camp we all gathered
for a campfire and of course more smore’s. Many consumers shared
stories of previous camping trips as we were getting ready to end this
years camping experience. Camp Confidence 2009 was again a great
experience and the consumers and staff look forward to next year!
Volunteers Make the Difference!
By Dave Heid, Maintenance Director
This summer Opportunity Manor had the privilege of
working with two groups of CareerOne students, ages
14-17 and 18-24. CareerOne is a program made possible
through stimulus money and assists young students in
learning about a variety of careers and the skills needed to
succeed. Student volunteers are paid $50-$65 for a days
work with no cost to the company they volunteer for. The
students are rated each day on a point system, and if all
requirements are met, they receive a bonus at the end of
the 3-4 week period.
With CareerOne’s help, Opportunity Manor was able
to complete many needed projects, especially at Manor
2. With the volunteers help we removed an old sidewalk
and poured a new and wider accessible sidewalk, rebuilt
a retaining wall, stained the deck, picnic tables and swing,
landscaping, as well as painted all the trim and door frames
on the house. With only two maintenance personnel at
OMI, it would have taken all summer to do these projects
and we completed them with CareerOne’s help in only a
few weeks. OMI is grateful for their help and because of
their hard work, Manor 2 looks great!
OMI also had a third group called CareerTwo assist
us as well. With their help we got many other projects
throughout the company done and the houses all look
great with their help. These volunteers make all the
difference and have assisted us in continuing our high
standard of quality care for our consumers. Thanks to
CareerOne and CareerTwo for a great job well done.
What Happens in Vegas…
By Traci Geurkink, PD
What happens in Vegas doesn’t get to stay there this time because we
are excited to tell you about the Girl’s Fest Trip 2009! On September
14th, a group of 9 consumers and 4 staff left the OMI office in Sartell for
our annual trip. We decided on Las Vegas because of the great fun we had
the previous year seeing a show in Daytona Beach and thought that there
was no better place to see live acts than in Las Vegas.
The gals had an action packed week of live shows, great food, shopping
and amazing sights. Just a few of the sights were atop the Stratosphere
and Eiffel Tower, the laser light show on Freemont Street, the Secret
Garden and Dolphin Habitat, and pictures at the Welcome to Las Vegas
sign. We went to two live shows, with a variety of acts such as juggling,
singing, acrobats and comedy. Connie Roberts even had the opportunity
to go on stage and assist one of the acts by tossing bowling pins at the
juggler! Every year, the gals go out to dinner at a nice restaurant and this
year they went to Benihana’s Steak House which was a show all on its own
when the chefs were tossing knives and lighting the grill on fire. And of
course you can’t go to Vegas without a little gambling; sorry to report that
there were no big winners but still lots of fun!
Girl’s Fest would like to thank everyone that helped make this trip
possible. Without the donations for our garage sale from Opportunity
Manor families and staff, we would not have been able to raise the funds
needed to take such a wonderful trip. We want to give a special thanks to
the Ace Bar and Grill in St. Cloud for putting on the Spaghetti Dinner
which was our biggest fundraiser yet. Through fundraising, we were
able to provide an experience to these women that they would not have
otherwise had.
Golden Opportunities—What’s The Golden News
By Rhonda Sargeant, Director of Senior Programming
Golden Opportunities (GO) is a program of Opportunity
Manor that provides Adult Day Services (ADS) for individuals
experiencing early to moderate memory loss and their families.
This program is located in Sartell and has just celebrated its
3rd year in operation.
At GO, we offer many different activities. Personal
schedules are designed around the individual care plan and the
‘all about me’ questionnaire that participants and their families
help to develop and complete. Through this, we provide a
variety of different activities including: structured exercise,
sensory activities, small and large motor activities, cognitive
activities, and reminiscing. Programming tends to be wrapped
around/focused on maintaining mobility, memory stimulation,
physical exercise (including fine and gross motor skills), and
maintaining personal cares.
In addition to providing programming that is tailored to the
individual, GO provides other services such as personal care
assistance and transportation to and from the program as well
as medical appointments.
Because of our philosophy and composition of services,
families have gained relief for caregivers; the ability to keep
loved ones at home longer; and a welcoming, respectful
atmosphere their loved one can enjoy. With the holiday
soon approaching and in the spirit of giving, Golden
Opportunities will be offering a free day of service
during the month of December to new participants
who enroll in our program.
Golden Opportunities will also be extending their
hours of operation from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. to 7 a.m.-5
p.m., Monday-Friday, in order to strive to meet the
needs of working caregivers.
If you know someone with memory loss or someone who is
caring for an individual with memory loss that could use a day
of respite or a day of rest and relaxation, please let them know
about our program and have them contact Rhonda Sargeant
at 320-240-1900.
NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATION
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
SARTELL, MN
PERMIT NO 280
1908 Kruchten Court South
Sartell, MN 56377
www.opportunitymanor.org
Address service requested
Consumers Enjoy Camp Courage!
By Heather Froelich, PM
It was another great year for the annual OMI trip to Camp Courage. There were 27
consumers and staff who set out for a 3 day 2 night well needed vacation. The first day was
a busy one. Everyone arrived and settled in. Some went swimming or went to the gym, while
others just relaxed. That evening we all met for a group dinner, BINGO, and a movie.
The next day was loaded with excitement and activities such as: swimming, mini golf,
yard games, grilling, visit to the farm, board games, a bon fire, and more. The OMI Camp
Courage trip gives our consumers with physical disabilities the chance to go on a vacation
that offers activities that they can participate in that they would normally not be able to. The
camp is also affordable and fully accessible. The days are filled with events that each person
can choose to partake in. Next year we are hoping to add boating and fishing to the agenda.
A great time was had by everyone and we look forward to next year’s vacation!