01May

CALL FOR ACTION!!

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Please make a phone call to make a difference.

 

We heard powerful words during Assembly Budget Sub Committee #1’s hearing on Monday promising support for the community services to over 280,000 individuals with developmental disabilities that raised hope in our community. Now, we need action; we need the Committee to put forward a Proposal to increase funding to community services.

It is critically important that the Legislature step up and fund the Lanterman Coalition’s request for a one-time, 10% increase in state support for community services.

The community service system has suffered under inadequate and stagnant rates for almost 30 years, and it’s on the brink of collapse. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT.

Please call the individuals listed below and ask them to make sure their Budget Sub-Committee includes the “Lanterman 10% funding support” for Community Services. Starting NOW, we need these calls to be made by next Thursday, May 21.

Assembly Budget Sub-Committee # 1
Chair: Tony Thurmond, District office (510) 286-1400, Sacramento Office (916) 319-2015

Rob Bonta, District Office (510) 286-1670, Sacramento Office (916) 319-2018
David Chiu, Sacramento Office (916) 319-2017
Shannon Grove, Sacramento Office (916) 319-2034
Brian Jones, Sacramento Office (916) 319-2071
Senate Budget Sub-Committee # 3
Chair: Holly Mitchell, Sacramento Office (916) 651-4030
Bill Monning, Sacramento Office (916) 651-4017
Jeff Stone, Sacramento Office (916) 651-4028
Please share this information with your colleagues, friends and family, and let’s hold the Governor accountable to taking care of California’s 280,000+ individuals with developmental disabilities. #KeepThe Promise and #WeAreYou.

Background Info:
• If your salary were the same today as it was in 1991, would you still be in that job? That’s exactly how the State has funded Case Managers to help people with developmental disabilities find the supports they need to live in the community.
• Would you pay a childcare worker the same hourly amount that they earned in 2000? That is how Respite Agencies are currently funded (with exception of mandatory changes due to minimum wage increases).
The State Budget for community services has grown over time and the budget for next year is no different, there is more money being spent on the system, but the payments to service providers are the same. The budget growth for next year is:
• To fund the State mandated increases in minimum wage and the requirement to provide sick leave (positive steps, but only to maintain the status quo) – $62.4 Million
• To fund case load growth for the additional 10,000 plus individuals we will provide services to – $121 Million
• To cover the costs of moving individuals from State run Developmental Centers to the community, a positive move for the individuals if the costs are covered – $42 Million
• To start the closure process for the 1,000 remaining individuals living in State Developmental Centers, a great victory for integrations and support, but the investment is in infrastructure for the movers and not the community – $48 Million
• To payback money to the State General Fund from shortfalls in prior budget years – $61 Million
So, all the increased funds do not solve the fundamental problem. We need the Legislature to demand the support that is necessary to re-build the community supports that let our folks live full, contributing and included lives in their community.

A Look at the Lanterman Coalition’s 10% Increase:
• A 10 percent increase would require $357 Million from the state but would provide $500 Million in improved services;
The difference — $143 million — would come from federal matching grants. Without the state funding boost, California is leaving federal money on the table that could improve many thousands of lives;
• California also risks losing much more federal funding because funds are contingent on a level of service that the state is failing to meet.
Additional Calls – if possible

Kevin de Leon, Senate President Pro Tem – Dem – 916.651.4024
Mark Leno, Senate Budget Chair – Dem – 916.651.4011
Toni G. Atkins, Assembly Speaker – Dem – 916.319.2078
Shirley N. Weber, Assembly Budget Chair – Dem – 916.319.2079

07Apr

St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center Receives Grant from CECO

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St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center Receives Grant from CECO. Margaret Fraenzl Mosaic

During the Annual CECO Awards Breakfast at the San Diego Public Library in March of this year, St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center was presented with a check for art supplies and materials. This donation will support Sophie’s Gallery Art Program for 300 adult students with developmental disabilities who benefit from the program every week.  Sophie’s Gallery Art Program is designed to help our students gain self-sufficiency and inner fulfillment through meaningful work and self-expression.

Specifically, these funds will be used toward the purchase of much-needed supplies and materials for Sophie’s fabric arts, mosaics and fused glass departments. The grant will benefit 300 artists with developmental disabilities the opportunity to make hand-dyed clothing, silk-screened clothing, fused glass décor, and mosaic plaques that will be for sale at our three gift stores and various shows at Sophie’s Gallery and SMSC events. Supplies and materials will offer the students a chance to learn new techniques; hone their skills; teach patience and concentration; provide the opportunity to earn a moderate income; and most importantly, increasing their sense of self.

The San Diego County Employees’ Charitable Organization (CECO) has been the charitable arm of the County of San Diego and San Diego Superior Court since 1956 and strives to ‘lend a hand’ to the community by way of grants to local non-profit programs and assistance to employees and retirees in crisis.

Thank you, CECO! We are deeply grateful to CECO for their caring generosity and ongoing support of St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center and the individuals with developmental disabilities whom we serve.

To learn more about CECO visit their website at http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/ceco/.

CECO logo

04Feb

GREEN MILE Fun Run March 15

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Logo2015

Join SMSC family and friends for a day of active fun!

GREEN MILE FUN RUN

SUNDAY, MARCH 15th

Downtown El Cajon

The GREEN MILE is a fun and safe course designed for individuals with special needs to enjoy with their friends and family.

Cross the big finish line and receive a medal and t-shirt!

Register or volunteer online at StPatricksDayHalf.com

Use the promotional code: ICANWIN and receive 25% off any race registration!

Enjoy finish line festivities including costume contest, live bands, expo booths and more.

 

03Dec

SMSC Program Wish List

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St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center Wish List

Aquatics Department

  • Assorted duct tape and gorilla tapes
  • Small brooms for sweeping (we have push brooms)
  • White board with bulletin board for announcements, pool temp etc.
  • Reusable diapers and long exercise shorts
  • 2 laundry drying racks
  • Plastic shelves system (sturdy for outdoor use)
  • 6 Large size orange PFD’s
  • Head piece for the back board
  • 2 rescue tubes
  • New covers for the shade tarps (the ones we have are too thin and they rip to easily)
  • 2 water wheel chairs
  • 5 lane lines for the pool
  • Lane line reel
  • Cover for the lane line reel


Activity CenterDG1_1245

  • 25 Chairs – Preferably the ones that don’t rip, the harder black ones would be better.
  • Misters for the arcade and garden areas
  • An upgraded TV & Wii to incorporate more exercise activities

 


NPS

  • Two 6-foot magnetic high quality whiteboards with wide chalk ledge.
  • Two 6-foot high quality vinyl bulletin boards.
  • Document Camera for use with the laptop/digital projector.
  • Cherrywood conference table for Room One

 

 

Sophies Gallery

  • Scissors
  • Microwave
  • Shelving unit for painting
  • Sewing machine
  • 2nd Saori loom
  • Yarn in natural fibers
  • Sand paper
  • Face masks
  • Art smocks
  • Acrylic paint

 


BMod 

  • Art supplies
  • 2 more bean bag chairs
  • Room Divider (the blue ones that the other depts. use)
  • Scanner
  • Fax machine
  • Educational Wii games

 

ADC

  • 20- New folding tables (rectangular)
  • Picture frames
  • 2 New microwaves
  • 25 Chairs
  • Supplies- Scissors, crayons, markers, glue sticks for crafts.
  • White Board

 

Garden

  • Assortment of clay pots – $4000
  • 2 Dry Erase boards with stands
  • Supply of soil – $1000
  • Succulent order – $2000
  • Heaters
  • Replacement portable work area canopies


Kitchenkitchen

  • New convection oven
  • Catering equipment and storage
  • Tilt skillet
  • Standing soup kettle

 


Seniors

  • Adaptive Exercise equipment
  • Substantial speakers with microphone
  • Art supplies

 

19Nov

A dreamscape of possibilities . . . will you consider a year end gift?

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                        A dreamscape of possibilities . . .

Tim-Conaway
Tim Conaway at work.

 

Dear Friends,

As an artist and a visionary . . . Tim Conaway has an amazing talent to share. By merely turning pages in the atlas he carries, Tim takes us on a journey as he travels the world through his visionary-art–of-possibilities. From Kentucky to Alaska, Norway to Madagascar, Tim’s beautiful landscapes are drawn from his unique autistic point of view, in a style that he refers to as “dreamscapes”.

 

Using colored pencils, Tim prefers to draw valleys and mountains. However this was not always the case. Ever since he was a young boy, Tim has been fascinated with forms of transportation. His father would take him to the airport and rail yard and tell him all about the makes and models of various planes and steam trains. Tim remembered every last detail. He drew steam trains and airplanes with precision. And listed specific facts such as make, model, passenger capacity, and more.

Tim Conaway Norway Pntg

Norway 2011

Tim has taken a few art classes over the years and was no stranger to the art world. But it wasn’t until he came to St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center that his talent truly evolved. Tim started coming to the Center in 2009 because of Sophie’s Gallery Art Program – an innovative art program that Tim’s family had heard so much about.

While attending St. Madeleine’s, Tim has developed his talent by using other media. His Self Portrait, Guy Lombardo, and Elton John were done using acrylic paint. Additionally, he has ventured away from landscapes on occasion and has drawn areas of St. Madeleine’s campus including our new Gazebo and Sophie’s Vineyard. Tim’s artwork has been on display at the UCLA Geffen School of Medicine, The Museum of Modern Art in Kiev Ukraine, and at Space 4 Art in San Diego.

Tim has also worked in numerous places over the decades including a donut shop, hotel, and restaurant just to name a few. He lives in El Cajon on his own with a roommate and enjoys watching television, visiting with his four siblings, and going to St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center five days a week where he enjoys dancing, recreational activities and, of course, Sophie’s Gallery Art Program.

Celebrating 15 years, Sophie’s Gallery Art Program has been an innovative and unique art curriculum for over 400 adult students with developmental disabilities and has become an active partner in the art community. The art program provides a creative outlet and promotes self-expression. It also builds students’ fine motor skills and provides a way for the students to earn a modest income through the sale of their artwork at public art openings.

Conaway

Tim Conaway 2013

We are asking YOU to celebrate our 15th year of Sophie’s Gallery Art Program with a gift of $100 or more.  However, no gift is too small. Every gift matters in the lives of adults with developmental disabilities. Send your gift TODAY in the enclosed envelope or donate online by visiting www.stmsc.org. 

Thank you in advance for supporting Tim and the other student artists with developmental disabilities who benefit every day from Sophie’s Gallery Art Program at St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center!

Your caring and helpful generosity is greatly appreciated.

 

Warm regards,

DebraSignature-NEW2013

 

 

 

Debra Emerson, MBA

Chief Executive Officer

 

P.S. Will you please consider a gift of $100 or more?  Donations received by December 31, 2014 qualify for a tax deduction. Our Tax ID number is: 95-1957332.

P.P.S. Looking for another way to support the Center? Consider listing St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center as a beneficiary in your estate plan, retirement account, or insurance policy. Contact Kellye Buchanan, Donor Relations Officer, at (619) 442-5129 ext. 332 for more information, or visit us online at www.smsclegacy.org. If you’ve already put us in your estate plan, please let us know so we can recognize your caring generosity as a member of our Legacy Circle.