| Brenda's Bytes by Brenda VanHoutven, Manager of Residential Services | |||||||||||||||
Happenings: From July 5 - 7, students of the Waterloo Fire Rescue program were called to duty. They came out to assist with maintenance and household chores for at the Pastern Trail, Malabar, Westvale and Crimson homes in Waterloo The firefighters volunteered their time to assist with jobs like, sealing a driveway, gardening, trimming bushes, painting, washing windows etc... These firefighters worked extremely hard and were fast, efficient and friendly. We were so thrilled and so were the individuals in care. The firefighters have no idea the impact of their actions. It is often difficult for the staff to maintain all aspects of the home, and give the care needed. With cutbacks that the social service sector faces all the time, these "grunt" jobs are often a cause for concern. Groups like the firefighters have no idea how much their work means to us and to the individuals in care that we serve.
PCL's annual staff retreat was held on June 22nd at the Mill Courtland Community Centre. We were treated to an excellent presentation by Ken Shonk on the importance of humour in the workplace and in our lives. Even with the rain we were able to play some fun games and everyone enjoyed participating in the activities. In the afternoon we had a presentation on stress and how to relieve this in our lives. If anyone is interested in further information from either speakers, please send me an email at the office and I will forward it to you.
As the summer months arrive, several individuals in care will be enjoying heading off to locations throughout Ontario for their summer vacations and we thank and appreciate the staff who have agreed to go with them to support them on these trips in order that everyone is able to enjoy some time away. The ladies from Casey home thoroughly enjoyed their week at the cottage at Sauble Beach.
Lynn P., Kathy S. and Janet W. took in the fun times at Elvisfest in Collingwood with Gerrie and Margie.
Coming Events: The Annual PCL family picnic will be held, rain or shine, August 18 this year, 4:30 - 8:00 pm, at the Moose Lodge on Wabanaki Drive in Kitchener. Free for PCL residents and staff. Others - $5. Hamburgers, hotdogs, salad buffet, drinks and entertainment by PCL individuals in care and surprise celebrities! Please RSVP to Gisele at 519-884-0543 or giseledeno@yahoo.com. This event is always a lot of fun and a great opportunity to meet and mingle with our PCL family. Hope to see you there. Training Some upcoming training that we are in the development process for are Documentation and an in-service around the different types of disabilities and how they affect individuals as they age. Great Staff and Volunteers I would like to send a big thank you out to our volunteer Dave Meyer who has been helping in several of our homes with minor repairs and replacements and some maintenance work. Congratulations to Lisa L. and family on the birth of her new baby daughter, Sophie Elizabeth. Best wishes to the whole family. |
Brenda's Bytes 
