December 2020 Newsletter

ALL CENTERS, December 14-18
We will have a Christmas-themed spirit week the last week before break!! We’d love to see clients and staff participate in the days/themes listed. Monday will be Christmas Color Day, Tuesday will be Favorite Comfy Hoodie or Sweatshirt Day, Wednesday will be Favorite Christmas Movie Character Day, Thursday will be Winter Hat Day, and Friday will be Ugly Christmas Sweater Day.

Staff Christmas Favorites | Our staff love participating in Secret Santa, Cookie Exchanges and Elf on the Shelf each year. Some centers will also have a hot chocolate/coffee bar this year too. These are just some of the fun staff activities we do for the Fulfill Those Who Serve category of our mission statement.

 


All centers will be closed from Monday, December 21st through Friday, December 25 for Christmas break. We will also be closed on Friday, January 1st for New Year’s Day.


Thank you to these staff members for Maximizing Those Who Struggle, Embracing Those Who Love and Fulfilling Those Who Serve.


Calvin Arteaga, Authorization Coordinator In my free-time, I enjoy spending time with my girlfriend and family. Recently, I just bought the PS5 and have been playing Spiderman Miles Morales.

I am working on going back to school. My ultimate goal is to become a Nurse Practitioner or Cardiology Physicians Assistant. My favorite part about working at Cornerstone is hearing about the client success stories and that they have the opportunity to improve on their goals. The kids here truly inspire me!

My favorite CAC memory is seeing all of the unique painted pumpkins for the Halloween contest we held at the center.
A fun fact about me is that I feel very passionately about any organizations that promote equality.

 

Tori, Administrator Coordinator  Since I have started working at Cornerstone some major dreams have occurred for me.  I bought a house and fostered several kids over the last several years.  This year my biggest dream of becoming a forever mom came true when I adopted two girls, Lilith and Echo.  In my free time, I love reading books, playing with my kids, and hanging out with my family.

My favorite thing about working at Cornerstone is seeing the growth the kids make while they are here.  One of my old clients had a target to stand completely still for a few seconds in preparation for a future doctor appointment where an x-ray needed to be taken.  We worked hard on that target for several weeks.  When the doctor appointment happened the client rocked it!!!  The next day when the client came in you could see the pure joy and excitement on her face.  My second favorite memory is when we went around and collected all of the card programs the kids had mastered out of over a couple of months.  There were two big containers full of programs. The kids and therapists had been working really hard. As a result, we celebrated by having peanut butter balls for the employees. Here is the recipe if anyone would like to make them.

Tori’s Peanut Butter Ball Recipe:

2 cups of plain peanut butter
1 soften stick of salted butter
3 cups of powered sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
Mix ingredients together
Add 3 cups of Rice Krispies
Form into small balls and dip in chocolate

Healthy Rudolph Celery Snacks  | This time of year can be hard to get your children eating healthy and not tons of junk food. With Christmas parties, cookie exchanges, and lots of family get-togethers, these Nutella and peanut butter celery sticks are the perfect and healthy snack idea. See the recipe here.

Food Assistance Availability Map | Click here to view

~ Food pantries are locations where you can pick up groceries to prepare and use at your home.

~ Meal sites serve packed meals ready to take home and eat.

~ Indiana Department of Education school sites – indicated in red – are for students and may be delivered or picked up depending on the site.

Do you ever struggle with gift ideas for your child during the holiday season? A fellow autism mom shares her favorite places and online links that may spark ideas for your shopping list this year.
Read more here.


View past newsletters or subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here.