January 2024 Newsletter

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ~ Maya Angelou

Editorial 

A brand new day, a brand new year and a brand new opportunity to understand one's purpose in life and to move in the direction of that purpose. We wish you all a very joyous, healthy, peaceful, safe, and purposeful 2024! We also want to thank the many families who sent in their good wishes and thoughtful holiday contributions for our staff.

The CARE philosophy (Compassion, Action, Respect and Empowerment) is at the core of what drives the mission, vision, and actions at Dawn to Dusk. Underlying that philosophy is our unflinching focus on the safety and wellbeing of our participants and we intend to continue to support and enhance this by all possible means. As part of our commitment to ensure quality and safe care for our participants, we invest a great deal of time in training and professional development. Aside from quarterly day-long trainings, we have weekly meetings to ensure reiteration of protocols and debriefing of processes. We are constantly looking to improve what we do and how we do it, and remain focused on the wellbeing of all our participants. On Dec 29, as part of our last training in 2023, we were visited by Chuck Garcia, a leading author and coach, who facilitated a fantastic session on emotional intelligence and communication skills. We spent a great deal of time in activities that prompted reflective responses and empathy; skills that are necessary in our general day to day interactions and more so, when interacting with our participants. What was exceptionally heartwarming is to see the collective energy, intent, and determination of our staff to make each day the best one possible for your loved ones and we are committed to support them in that endeavor.

As we further develop our adult day program and community integration activities, we are excited for all the new programs and services that we're working on.  In 2024, we are expanding our Prevocational Training service offerings (which currently includes 1:1 computer skills training) by extending our connections in the community and additional center activities. We are committed to building our job skills development and employment training program: The D2D 5-10-15 Work Program that will incorporate other DDD services, namely Career Planning, Additional  Prevocational Training and Supported Employment in conjunction with Day Habilitation to help many of our participants develop employment related skills. After the successful implementation of our After CARE program, and the interest of some families, we are considering a new Saturday Program. Additionally, we will continue to offer Occupational Therapy, Piano and Guitar Lessons and Swim Lessons (through Apex Swim club). 

From the humble beginnings of Dawn to Dusk in 2020, we are overjoyed by the growth in services and offerings that are now available to our participants. Sesh and I feel incredibly grateful for our journey together for the last twenty-five years, in particular our partnership and shared vision for the future of Dawn to Dusk Wellbeing Center. We feel overwhelmingly grateful to all the people we have met along the way who are now part of the journey! As we embark into 2024, we look forward to continued enhancements and additions to the services we offer, with a continued focus on excellence and the best possible CARE for the Dawn to Dusk community.

~ Anandi Nagarajan

Life Skills and Growing Independence

During the What's Cooking activity, our participants engaged in various tasks such as scooping, pouring, measuring, mixing, rolling, pressing (using cookie cutters), and practicing knife skills. They were also able to practice important social skills such as sharing, patience, and following verbal and visual cues. As a result, they were able to successfully prepare gingerbread cookies to decorate with their groups and sourdough bread to enjoy in the mornings. It was just the touch of holiday spirit we kneaded 😉

• Gingerbread cookie baking and decorating 

  • • Skills: scooping, pouring, measuring, following verbal and visual directions/cues, mixing, rolling, pressing (cookie cutters), sharing, knife skills, patience

  • Sourdough bread

    • Skills: scooping, pouring, measuring, stirring, kneading, rolling, braiding the coils of the bread to make a designHousehold Chores

In addition, at the end of December, participants were reminded of a critical and enduring task in life: Cleaning! Each participant engaged in cleaning their lockers to get ready for the New Year 2024.

To ensure that our lunch outings are a success, we are developing and reinforcing another life skill: Meal Planning. We encourage our clients to take an active role in selecting their meals by reviewing the menus of their favorite food places beforehand so they can choose delicious, well-balanced, and affordable meals that meet their dietary needs and preferences. 

Self Expression Through Creativity

In Get Creative, participants made gnome ornaments using yarn, wooden beads, and fabric scraps in which we had to wind the yarn around a piece of cardboard exactly 50 times, practiced tying skills to tie the yarn. Worked with fabric glue (as opposed to elmer’s glue), selecting from various fabric patterns to create the gnome hats.

In Music Enrichment this month, small groups had a great time learning and practicing festive holiday songs with Maureen. They learned three songs, Sleigh Ride by The Ronettes, Jingle Bells, and Trepak from the Nutcracker. Our participants practiced various skills and instruments, including 

• a sequenced set of body percussion for Sleigh Ride (by the Ronettes), 

• movement with fast and slow tempo for Jingle Bells, and 

• hand drum techniques for Trepak (from the Nutcracker). 

Our participants performed what they had learned during our D2D Holiday Celebration December 20th.

During our Creative Writing session this month, we discussed the question of "What changes do you hope to make in the upcoming year?" It was inspiring to hear everyone's unique goals, ranging from finding employment to being more compassionate towards others. The diverse range of objectives for the year 2024 made for a truly uplifting experience.

Physical and Mental Health and Wellbeing

We are proud to offer Dawn to Dusk's Health Matters program at our center, which is led by our experienced Nurse Mike. The program focuses on helping individuals improve their overall health and everyday movements through simple yet effective exercises like walking, running in place, or raising their arms. We believe that this program is an excellent addition to our center, and we are committed to promoting a healthy and active lifestyle for all of our members. Participants continued to participate in the Health Matters program in December and engage in daily exercise with Nurse Mike.

Mindful Meditation has also become a MUST at our center. Our participants are able to go through a cycle of different breathing techniques to help improve their overall well-being. This takes place in teams in our quiet room. 

Additionally, Reading and Relaxation is an ongoing activity where our participants take a break from the outside world and ski into relaxation and comfy recliner chairs. 

Leisure and Recreation

In December, the Nature Club had an educational focus on the various animals in our environment. Each participant was tasked with selecting an animal, writing down three defining characteristics of that animal, and then playing a game of charades in which they acted out the selected animal. Everyone had the opportunity to play a round of charades, showcasing their bravery by standing up in front of friends and expanding their knowledge of new animals.

During STEM this month, our participants were able to participate in an experiment that involved the interaction of dish soap with milk and food coloring, creating mesmerizing patterns as the soap disrupted the milk's surface tension and dispersed the colors. 

Over the last month, we've had the opportunity to bond and have fun as a group by playing some of our favorite games: BINGO, Po Ke Noe, and Hangman. One of our fan-favorite games is Jeopardy, which we enjoy testing our learned knowledge from other activities like Life Skills and Book Club.

Community Corner

Despite the challenges posed by winter weather, our community outings have been a great opportunity for our participants to practice a range of important skills. Whether we're window shopping, knocking down pins at the bowling alley, or exploring the local library, we encourage our participants to use effective communication, problem-solving, decision-making, time management, and social awareness skills to navigate their surroundings and interact with others. By engaging in these activities and building their skills, our participants gain greater independence and confidence while having fun and connecting with their community.

This December, for our lunch outings we visited several local eateries that have always greeted us with a warm winter welcome, including Panera Bread, Chipotle, Dusal's Pizzeria, Chick-fil-A, and Nanami Sushi. The program has a positive impact on the community, as participants interact independently within the restaurant setting and receive exceptional care from the staff. A recent email from an outside source has expressed gratitude for how graciously the staff took care of the clients. It's heartwarming to know that others outside of the program notice how well the participants are treated in the community.

Prevocational Programs

We are expanding our prevocational program! 

We are beginning a collaboration with Burlington Coat Factory in East Windsor. Our first visit at the store, piloting the idea, we learned about under-hanging and over-hanging.This required us to find clothes that were hanging over the racks or on the floor. We re-hung and organized clothing according to type and size. Each time we go to Burlington Coat Factory we will be given different tasks to help organize the store.

We are also expanding our relationship with The Franklin Food Bank. We will be going there twice a month beginning in January to work in the warehouse with a variety of tasks from packing dry goods, sorting and bagging fruit and snacks or counting and organizing other items in the warehouse.

We will also be exploring administrative tasks such as addressing, stamping and stuffing envelopes, preparing pamphlets for distribution and organizing photos for display.

Special Events in December

Key of Awesome : “Da-dum-da-dum,” was something our participants could hear when the excellent Jim Gavin joined our center on December 1st for a spectacular percussion concert. Using different percussion instruments like pan drums, cabasas, and tambourines, our auditorium was filled with booming cheer, and happy participants.

Sweet William & Thyme: Roses, tulips, lilies, and more, Dawn to Dusk is highly appreciative to partner with a local florist, who helps teach our participants how to put together floral arrangements. 

Holiday Cards Initiative: Thank you to all who supported our holiday card-making project- it was a huge success! The participants explored dot art, choosing holiday colors with holiday-themed figures, and we also worked with the materials of string art with string stamps as well as a free-flowing string pressed between two papers. We also enjoyed selecting stamps, stencils, and special washi tape to continue with the decorating. We hope that you and your loved ones enjoy the many unique designs we have created. Each pack of cards will include various designs and mediums from the various artists in the program who worked on this project—stamps, stickers, string art, stencils, dot art, and washi tape.

D2D Holiday Party: Dawn to Dusk loves to celebrate holidays and each other, which is why we decided to have a holiday bash! From guessing the holiday songs with a team, to passing candy canes made out of pipe cleaners in a race to beat the others and joining together in unity, singing together like in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, our celebration was pulled right out of a Hallmark movie. Smiles everywhere, holiday cheer, and a wonderful group of individuals who are all on a mission - to be part of something special.

If you have any questions or suggestions about the Day Program, please contact Emily at: emily@dawntoduskwellbeing.com          

Photo Gallery

Enjoy some special moments and smiles in our photo gallery here.