March 2025 Newsletter

“The best minute I spend is the one I invest in people.”~ Kenneth H. Blanchard, The One Minute Manager

Editorial 

Dear Dawn to Dusk Community,

Without a strong and committed team, it is difficult to manage a large Day Program such as ours, leave alone see it thrive. Dawn to Dusk has been blessed with a strong and stable leadership team that works hard to provide the best supports and growth, development and engagement opportunities to our participants and serve them and their families. The team also believes strongly that our best is yet to come which motivates us to keep evolving and making today better than yesterday and tomorrow better than today. As you read through this newsletter and read the content and the associated pictures, you will see the thoughtfulness, teamwork and hard work of our entire team. I also encourage you to read the past issues of our newsletter to see how we have evolved. If you have the time and interest, you are welcome to schedule a tour of our program. As we look to enhance our program further, we are looking for committed and dedicated Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) as well as other professionals to be a part of our Leadership Team. Feel free to reach out if you are interested in being a part of our wonderful team and our growth and evolution.

Wishing you good health and wellbeing always. 

~Sesh Subramanian

Life Skills and Growing Independence

As you may know, the Dawn to Dusk GAP (Graduate Adjustment Period) Program has been transitioning from the GAP program space to spend more time engaging in the activities of our main day habilitation program. The Dawn to Dusk community welcomed the GAP participants with open arms and have been eager to show our new friends around and invite them to participate in the many wonderful activities we host. This month, the GAP participants had the opportunity to share their Task Boxes with the day habilitation program! Each Task Box contains a specific, You Guessed It, task for the individual to complete. These tasks include sorting, matching, counting, item assembly, item discrimination, as well as reading, writing, and math skills, and more. Each box contains exactly the items needed and step-by-step directions for successful completion. The participants have really taken to these new-to-them activities, and it has been really neat to see them channel their attention toward completing these small tasks with greater independence with each task trial. In just four short weeks we have seen the participants grow not only their independence in completing these activity tasks, but also grow more confidence in their ability to complete them without help and in trying out a new Task Box that they have not done before.

Physical and Mental Health and Wellbeing

Many of the participants have chosen to engage in chair exercises during morning Health Matters sessions. These morning sessions run simultaneously with our aerobic Health Matters exercise sessions and incorporate seated movements, stretching and meditation aimed toward promoting the mind-body connection and building body-awareness and self confidence. Hosted by our wonderful activity instructors, these sessions are a fantastic alternative exercise option for individuals who prefer a slower start to their day while still getting their blood circulating and their muscles moving. Each session ends with 5-10 minutes of meditations and positive affirmations for a good day, setting the tone for another great day at Dawn to Dusk!

Community Corner

Community Outings: 

Our February outings took participants to a variety of exciting locations, including Knob Hill Country Lanes for bowling, East Brunswick Square Mall and Barnes & Noble for shopping and exploration, Quakerbridge Mall for a day of browsing, and the South Brunswick Library for a cozy reading adventure. While we eagerly await warmer weather to expand our outing options, we are grateful for these enjoyable trips and the enthusiasm of our participants!

Lunch Outings: 

Participants enjoyed delicious meals at Chick-fil-A, Buffalo Wild Wings, QDOBA, Red Robin, and an exciting new addition—CAVA! One of our teams tested out CAVA this month, and due to its positive reception, we are thrilled to add it to our official list of restaurant outings starting in March. These lunch outings continue to be a great way for participants to explore new flavors, practice independence, and enjoy time together in the community.

Special Events: 

For Sports Jersey Day, held on Friday, February 7th, participants and staff proudly wore their favorite team jerseys in anticipation of the Super Bowl. The day was filled with exciting football-themed activities, including a football toss challenge, a paper football flicking competition, and a fun game to match teams with their mascots. Everyone brought their competitive spirit, and the energy throughout the center was electrifying!

February 13th was another lovely highlight of our month, with participants showing overwhelming enthusiasm by dressing in red, pink, or purple. This was our highest participation event besides Pajama Day! The celebration featured creative challenges like Valentine LEGO building, a heart tower stacking competition, and a lively left-right story game that kept everyone engaged and entertained. The event was a wonderful way to celebrate friendship, creativity, and community, leaving everyone with smiles and fond memories.

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.