December 2018
t h ig
l F g
in k a
Birthdays Daniel P. (In-Home) De’Undrae Wells (29th Ave) Imani Bellamy (29th Ave) Kristine W. (Skillman) Brian C. (Oliver) Kamrice Lockwood (Harmony) Michelle A. (Sheridan) Ajoke Adeniyi (Aurora) Sherri L. (Aurora) Lydia T. (Troseth) Justin B. (In-Home) Emma Peavy (Harmony) Richard Bell (In-Home) Torrie Boehmer (Fairveiw) Kong Vue (1489 Hoyt) Amelia Kaizer (Thomas Ave) Michelle Nash (Oliver) Omaru Jalloh (1489 Hoyt) Kris A. (In-Home)
1 2 2 2 3 5 5 6 7 7 7 8 8 8 11 15 15 16 16
T
Dennis Ogamba (Colfax) Richard A. (Fairview) Peter T. (Fairview) Lisa O. (Aurora) Saidat Adetunji (York) Samera Qadiid (Portland Place) Maycee Dougba (Portland Ave) Megan Hinrichs (Demont) Amarech Tullu (Skillman) Nicole Ballard (1489 Hoyt) Holly Jones (Colfax) Hector Johnson (Portland Place) Jacob Biragbara (Harmony) Adebimpe Ogunleye (Oliver) Stephen Odika (16th Ave) Ruth Barclay (Skillman) Susan F. (48th Circle) Suzanne D. (Groveland) Barbara Clare (Plato)
17 17 18 19 19 19 20 20 22 22 23 24 24 25 25 26 26 28 30
Happy Birthday!
Anniversaries Rashidat Popoola (Troseth) 1 yr, Rebecca Johnson (In-Home) 1 yr, Laurel Robinson (In-Home) 2 yrs, Taoreed Majekodunmi (29th Ave) 2 yrs, Thomas Bottolfsen (11th Ave) 3 yrs, Adebimpe Ogunleye (Oliver) 3 yrs, Mai Her (Plato) 4 yrs, Thomas Ajayi (Oliver) 4 yrs, Phyllis Lee (Sheridan) 5 yrs, Monique Robertson (Sheridan) 6 yrs, Diane Goodlow (Skycroft) 16 yrs, Pamela Carlson (Plato) 17 yrs, totalling 64 years. Congratulations everyone!
Halloween Party 2018 Elvis (Eddie Hughes) was in the building Sunday, October 21 at Wingspan’s Halloween party. He made all the treats, bingo prizes and costumes fade into the background once he started banging out “Hound Dog.” The party rocked and rolled for an hour and everyone who wanted to got to dance or sing with Elvis. Elvis made a point of finding Betty N., the 106-year-old who once had him to her birthday party. She smiled when he crooned to her. And Lynn B. lit up and declared it was her birthday, because the last time she saw Elvis, it WAS her birthday! The excitement was palpable. Finally, Elvis wound down with “Purple Rain” as everyone joined in with him. Before Elvis arrived, 4 people received prizes for costumes: Most Scary: Billy S., In-Home, came in a white t-shirt drenched with fake blood along with red stains all over his face. Most Beautiful: Sharon B., Wentworth, literally glowed as an Egyptian Princess. Who’s Who? Allysa J., In-Home, came as Darth Vader in a full facemask and helmet, leaving us wondering about her real identity. Queen of Halloween: Betty N., Skillman, came as herself but sported a tiara.
Jessi, Sharon, Patti, Katie
Denise, Kyra, Marge
The party was planned and executed by Deb Hofbauer, House Coordinator at 16th and Skycroft. She started the action with several Billy games of bingo and got help from Program Directors, the Executive Director and our new Finance Director. Eric Hemme provided a steady stream of Halloweenish cartoons and songs and dimmed the room to add scariness. Eric’s mom, Joanne, also came to help. ~Maureen Merrill~
Christmas Card-Making and Lunch Twenty clients from Wingspan and their staff got together on Saturday, November 9 at the Plato office to make Christmas cards and eat lunch together. Amid a blitz of glitter, ornament cut-outs, magic markers, and glue pens, seven winning cards were produced. The big winners were Julie, Anita, Robin, Sherri and Lisa, all from Aurora; Tom from 17th, Kevin from Colfax, Scott from In-Home, and Sue from Groveland. Each won between $1 and $10 for their designs. Their art was then given to Pam Carlson to create the 2018 Wingspan Christmas card. The winners got a big applause from everyone else, and the room was full of warm greetings to each other as they arrived, and then laughing, joking and the sound of fun the rest of the afternoon. Thanks, Karen and Carol (In-Home) for putting on this art event. It was a lot of fun! Here are just a few pieces of the beautiful artwork. ~Maureen Merrill~
Julie
Tom
Anita
Sue
Sherri
NON PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT 991 TWIN CITIES MN
30 East Plato Blvd. St. Paul, MN 55107 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Taking Flight
is published monthly by Wingspan Life Resources Executive Director Therese Davis Editor Pam Carlson The mission of Wingspan Life Resources is to help people who are challenged by age, ability or health to realize their own unique gifts, talents and dreams. We fulfill this mission by providing individualized support services that promote personal choice, independence, dignity and fellowship with the community. Please email us your changes to mailing address or email address: Contact mbrannan@wingspanlife.org
Marge’s Fun-Filled Vacation Margaret (Portland Place) and I went to Treasure Island Resort and Casino for a 2-day vacation. We had adjoining bedrooms. Marge thought it was exciting to have her own room to relax and have privacy. After we checked into the resort, we walked around, planning what we would do the next day, then we had dinner at the buffet and ate all kinds of good tasting food and dessert and played a slot machine on the way back to the room. The next morning Marge had a nice relaxing bubble bath before she went downstairs to eat breakfast, and then she wanted to gamble. She was excited, because it was the first time she had gambled and to top it off she won some cash. Next, she was ready to go bowling and she scored 132 points from playing 2 games. She bought her brother a t-shirt to show him she was thinking about him while she was on vacation. We walked to the pool area and sat inside and outside the pool areas relaxing, talking to people, and watching the kids play in the waterpark area. We ate at the different restaurants that Marge suggested inside the resort. In the morning we had breakfast at a little hidden bakery in Red Wing, and Marge brought home some delicious banana bread for her housemates. Marge was nervous, anxious, excited, happy, thankful and energetic while experiencing new things and places. She hadn’t been in a hotel or on vacation since she was a teenager. She is ready to start planning and saving for her next vacation. When Marge arrived home, she immediately went to her room to change into her comfortable clothes and house shoes, so she could sit in the living room waiting for anyone to come through the door, so she could tell them all about her fun vacation! ~Katrice Lee~ Empowering Abilities. Nurturing Spirits. Caring For Life.