Spring Picnic Showdown

Once upon a time, only a couple months ago, a community gathered in an open field to celebrate and break bread together. The day began so cheerfully. Neighbors greeted each other warmly, while children frolic about. Their giggles mingled with the music playing to welcome all.

Lori and Paula greet each other warmly

The generous people of J.R.’s Log House, Wendy’s, and Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches provided such delicacies as shredded pork & chicken, hamburgers, and sandwiches, on which the community feasted heartily. Such merriment was had that the sky trolls grew envious of their fun and food.

Food and merriment

More food, more merriment

The sky trolls wanted to destroy their joy so they attacked the community with rain. Panicked, the people ran for cover. They gathered under the Danny Cochran Pavilion with heavy hearts. The children cried out “Our day is ruined.” The community had a fearless leader named Sally and she couldn’t stand to see the children sad so she came up with a plan to scare away the sky trolls. Sally had all the people circle around her and she gave them each a job to do.

Sally sharing her plan

Filled with hope again, the community got right to work. They created bracelets, applied temporary tattoos, and painted their nails all in bright colors. For it is known that sky trolls are terrified of bright colors.

Making brightly colored bracelets

Applying brightly colored tattoos

painting nails with brightly colored polish

Once everyone armored themselves in their bright colors, came the moment of truth. The community lined up the the edge of the pavilion, gave a battle cry, and ran out into the rain to reclaim their field. The sky trolls took one look at all those bright colors and bolted.

Scaring away the sky trolls

As soon as the sky trolls vanished, the sun came out and the community celebrated their victory with singing . . .

Greg singing

Barbara singing

Myrna singing

and dancing . . .

All the Single Ladies

Rolling down the River

all through the land!

Now, you know the tale of how Creative Community Services saved Pickneyville Park from the sky trolls. The end.

Too Much Fun

Creative Community Services has indulged in a dangerous level of fun this year. We have already experienced a ton of exciting opportunities and there are more in store this spring. We may drown in all these blessings!

The Harlem Legends at North Gwinnett High School

It all started last month, when CCS partnered with the Michael Douglas Youth Foundation to raise money by selling tickets to the Harlem Legends Celebrity Basketball Show. The Harlem Legends are a group of professional athletes that includes former players from the Harlem Globetrotters, NBA, NFL, past USA Olympians, and other professionals. The show involves a Globetrotter style basketball game against local law enforcers, fire fighters, community leaders, coaches and teachers. We sold tickets to their March 22nd Harlem Legends vs North Gwinnett All Stars show. CCS earned about $500 in ticket sells! Many of our staff members, foster parents, host home providers, and individual went to the show to enjoy a fun-filled evening together.

Our staff (Right to Left: Carisma, India, Kahmara, and Jared) enjoying the Hawks game

Then CCS received some free tickets for the Atlanta Hawks VS Chicago Bulls game on April 2nd. We shared the tickets with our foster families and staff. Even though the Hawks lost, it was an exciting game and everyone was thrilled to be able to go! We definitely pushed the fun limit then.

Our DD Staff and Adults at Zoo Atlanta

While the Therapeutic Foster Care program watched basketball, our adults with developmental disabilities and their staff added to the fun-having with a trip to Zoo Atlanta. The chilly March day tried to calm everyone down but it was no match for the DD program’s ability to make any outing an awesome time. In fact, most of the animals were out and active because of the cooler temps. Everyone had a blast!

All smiles at the zoo

 

Kathy, Greg, and a photobombing panda

Along with the abundantly fun outings, CCS has been overjoyed at the progress we have made in our ongoing fundraiser through the Kroger Community Rewards program. The program allows Kroger Plus Card members to support their local schools and nonprofit organizations, while shopping at Kroger. Thus far CCS has been awarded $309!

If you would like to support CCS through this super easy fundraiser, all you have to do visit KrogerCommunityRewards.com, sign in to your online account, and select Creative Community Services or use our NPO number: 98257. Then every time you use your Kroger Plus Card, CCS benefits from the purchase without taking away from your gas points or adding to your grocery bill!

Clearly, CCS has taken a risk with all the fun that we have experienced. We should probably cool it for the rest of the year but that’s not in our nature. We already have new excitements lined up for May.

Fishing off the dock at Camp Twin Lakes

First, our DD adults and staff will spend a few nights at Camp Twin Lakes! Camp Twin Lakes is a unique nonprofit organization in Georgia with campsites, day camps and hospital-based camp programs designed specifically for people with serious illnesses, disabilities and life challenges. Our adults will be able to enjoy a swimming pool that features a ramp for easy entrance, aquatic wheelchairs, and a swirling waterslide; lake activities that include fishing, sailing, kayaking, rides in the fully-accessible pontoon boat, and beach volleyball; archery that allows campers to shoot a bulls eye with the help of specially trained staff and adaptive equipment; and outdoor adventure activities, such as, a High Ropes Course, a Team Challenge Course, a Zip Line on a hydraulic lift, and a Climbing Tower. Doesn’t it sound epic? The entire DD program is counting down to this trip. To find out more about this fantastic organization, check out their website: http://www.camptwinlakes.org.

Also coming this May is Creative Community Services Annual Spring Family Picnic! This year we will hold the picnic at the lovely Danny Cochran Pavilion in Pickneyville Park. We are looking forward to sharing food, music, games and crafts with our large CCS family. There is no way to rein in all that fun.

Check back frequently for updates and pictures of our upcoming events! Find us on Facebook to see more pictures of our past events.

If you are interested in joining the fun by volunteering at the Spring Family Picnic or donating to Creative Community Services, please contact Paula Fine (770)469-6226 or pfine@ccsgeorgia.org.

Job Openings in Georgia!

Creative Community Services (CCS) work with adults with developmental disabilities who bring cheer to our staff everyday. We strive to promote and teach independence in these individuals. Our goal is provide quality care, while assuring that all individuals actively participate in the community. We are currently looking for compassionate, flexible, reliable and hard-working candidates to fill our Community Assistant (CA) positions in Ball Ground and Canton, GA and a live-in CA position in Gainesville, GA. If you are interested in partnering with us to help developmental disabled adults meet their personal goals, then our CA position is perfect for you!

CAs work one-on-one with the developmentally disabled individual in a variety of ways that are based on the person-centered needs and goals of that individual. Since the goals are personalized to each individual, the roles and responsibilities of a CA differ according to the needs and abilities of the individual served. These responsibilities range from assisting an adult with daily living skills and administering medication to teaching social or job skills and facilitating community outings. Due to the close connection required, CCS strives to pair interested candidates with compatibly matched individuals.

If you are interested in pursuing this opportunity to make a difference in a person’s life, please contact Sidra Rahman Monday-Friday between the hours of 9:00- 5:00 pm phone (770)469-6226 or email srahman@ccsgeorgia.org.

Thanksgiving

‘Tis the season to count your blessings.  Once we in the CCS family started counting our blessings, we became so full of gratitude that we had to share it with you.  We hope this adds a smile to your day.

Our staff feels thankful for:

“Great Families with which to work”

“I am grateful for the fabulous team of Teen Parent Connections Life Coaches. We couldn’t do it without you!”

“I am thankful for the accomplishments of the amazing young presents in Teen Parent Connection!”

“I am very thankful for the fabulous team of people we work with at CCS. I am motivated by the passion, expertise, and team work we see on a daily basis.”

“I am thankful for all of God’s blessings.” – Kahmara

“Stephen and I are thankful for our soon to be born son!!” – Anya

“I am thankful for being to be able to work with the wonderful people I work with and I am thankful for all my family and friends.” – Vicky

“Thankful for life, family and friends.” G

“I’m thankful to work in a place where I can make meaningful impact on the lives of youth:)…and I’m thankful that sometimes that work is really fun!” – Tara

“I am thankful for peace, serenity and blissful guidance!” – India

“I am thankful for family and friends that make serving our children, families and adults possible” – Sally

“I am thankful for good health and grateful to have family and friends who are thoughtful, caring and loving.” – Paula

“I’m thankful for our foster parents who work so hard to meet the needs of our children.” – Angie

“I am thankful that I have the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives.” – Monica

“I am truly thankful for the Individuals that are on my case load. Each one is unique, having their own personal interest, talents, and abilities. They are not just clients, but rather good friends. I enjoy working with them and advocating for their rights and responsibilities as respected individuals and citizens of our society. I am thankful to have a job that allows me this opportunity to serve these individuals.” – Philip

“I am grateful for the opportunities that we (CCS) have to touch the lives of others: that touch, sometimes ever so small, can create a wave of difference!
I am also grateful for my family for the magic of togetherness!
Peace to all!” – Tom

“I am thankful for answered prayers, that I get to work with such kind and gracious people, and that God is always good.”  – Sarah

Individuals in our Therapeutic Foster Care program give thanks for:

“for family.” – R.L

“Being with Ms. A, my foster parent.” – C.T.

“Being with The L’s (my foster parents), CCS, brothers, friends, anime and videos, out of school for this week, salvation and himself!” – C.O.

Individuals in our DD program are thankful for:

All of the support and caring that he receives from his Host Home Parents (the C’s). They have always been there for him. – R.R.

“I am thankful for my mom (Mrs. C) and dad (Mr C). I am thankful to live in a good home and to have good food to eat.” – C.H.

He is thankful for moving into the new home this summer. He is thankful for his friends and enjoys socializing with them. He is always talking about attending the CCS social events. He especially enjoyed attending the North Georgia State Fair this year because he got to see a lot of his friends from his day program and CCS. – W.B.

“My other Individuals are non-verbal, so it is difficult to get a response from them, but I am sure they would all say they are thankful for their staff. I think each and every one of our staff make a huge difference in the lives of our individuals.” – Philip

We feel so bless that we could continue listing what we are thankful for until next Thanksgiving but everyone at CCS would agree that our greatest blessing is being able to serve the precious individuals in our programs.  What are you thankful for this holiday season?

A Spooktacular Afternoon

One Saturday afternoon, you get an irresistible desire to visit CCS so you drive over to Norcross and pull into a parking spot.  From the parking lot you spot a friendly face beckoning from our office doorway.  As you move closer, you realize that the friendly face belongs to a skeletal corpse.  You are terrified but you can’t stop your feet from carrying you forward.  The skeleton opens the door for you and you step into a room full of fog and shadows.  You sense danger lurking in the darkness, as you make your way down the hall. With smoke clouding up your vision, your eyes begin to play tricks.  At least, you hope it’s only a trick of fog and light that makes the webs covering the walls appear to be crawling with spiders.  You make out something metal and sharp gleaming behind the webs. In a panic, you wonder could it be a knife recently used to murder someone?  Is the victim laying beneath one of these tombstones lining your path? Then you see a grotesque face rising up from one of the tombstones.  Is it the murderer looking for new prey or his victim returning for vengeance?  You don’t want to wait around to find out so you charge around the corner, seeking safety in the light radiating from the end of the hall.

You burst into a room.  While it’s brighter than the hall, it’s filled with fog so dense that it swallows you up.  A shadowy figure moves through the fog, heading straight toward you.  The fog is too thick for you to make out who or what is approaching until it’s right in front of you.  Then, you realize that it’s a mullet-haired zombie!   You want to run, to scream but you’re frozen in place.  You begin to quake with fear, when the zombie smiles ghoulishly and says “Welcome to the party!”

We held our annual DD Halloween Party last Saturday and it was totally awesome! Over fifty guests partied with us.  We had dancing and karaoke.  There was a table covered in sweet and savory goodies.  The DD staff awarded prizes for the adult individuals’ costumes in various categories, including “Best Cartoon Character” and “Most Devilish.” Our adult individuals decorated pumpkins and made creepy hands, spiders and ghosts. The whole afternoon was filled with laughter and lightheartedness.  Congratulations to our DD Staff, especially Alison and Marnee, for putting together such a fantastic event!

While it was full of frivolity, the Halloween Party and other events like it accomplish an important goal.  They allow our individuals to build social skills through interacting with each other and our staff in a fun environment.  Upcoming events include the DD Thanksgiving meal, the TFC Holiday party, and the DD Holiday party.  If you are interested in ways to become involved in any of our events, you can email Paula Fine at pfine@ccsgeorgia.org.

Check out more photos from the party on our Facebook page!

STEP

Hello Readers!

A few weeks ago, we gave a brief overview of our services and programs with the promise to eventually dive deeper into them.  Well, we meant what we said so this week we are exploring our awesome STEP program!

Our Successful Transitions Through Empowerment and Planning program prepares teens in our foster homes for their transition into adulthood.  The STEP program is essential because research shows that each year more than 500 foster youth in Georgia are discharged from the foster care system and of the youth aging out of the US foster care system: 46% didn’t complete high school, 51% were unemployed, 25% have been homeless, 40% have become parents, 1 in 4 males and 1 in 10 females have spent time is jail.  STEP combats these discouraging statistics by empowering our youth to live as independent and responsible adults.  The program uses a three-sided approach to avoiding this outcome in our foster children: Pre-transitional Living Homes, Life Coaches, and the Teen Youth Group.

A Pre-Transitional Living Home gives the youth more responsibility and allows them to develop their independence, while continuing to provide a supportive family environment. Our parents include the youth in the daily operation of the homes with special attention placed on practicing practical skills such as cooking, budgeting, transportation, education, and vocational training.

A Life Coach works in partnership with the youth’s current case manager or family consultant by mentoring the youth, teaching life skills, and providing extra behavior or school assistance.  The Life Coach’s objective is to better prepare the youth to live independently by helping them find supportive adult connections, stable housing, school enrollment and/or employment.  The Life Coach guides the youth in identifying and planning for future goals related to education, behavior, socialization, or independence.  Then the Life Coach encourages, motivates and educates his or her youth to help reach these goals.

The Teen Youth Group began after some of our teens shared that they wanted a chance to meet and hangout with other teens living in our foster or pre-transitional living homes. It is a group and not a program because our teens made it clear that they were already in plenty of programs.  The group hangouts center around socialization, therapeutic recreation, and community service.  Sometimes they involve seminars on specific life skills needed to function “in the real world;” at other times they participate in advocacy opportunities through Georgia EmpowerMEnt that help raise awareness in the community about the power of youth voice.  The Teen Youth Group holds four activities each month with one of those four activities allowing for youth and parents to spend time together.  Past activities have included cooking classes, college tours, sports games, family game night, volunteering, dinner and movies.

The STEP program uses these three elements to serve youth in foster homes, group homes, residential treatment facilities, Independent Living Programs, or birth families.  STEP also works with teens who are pregnant or parenting and need assistance with parenting skills including child development, nutrition, empathy, and nurturing parenting skill.

If you are interested in becoming involved in the STEP program, please contact M.C. Bruce at 770-469-6226 or mcbruce@ccsgeorgia.org.

Foster Parent Appreciation Dinner

CCS understands that the sacrifices and contributions made by our foster parents for our children are essential and invaluable.  We can never express our thanks enough.

Our family consultant, Chantale, with a few of our wonderful foster parents

In an effort to show our gratitude, we held a benefit and appreciation dinner in honor of our foster parents on Sunday, September 15th.  The event took place at Fish Tales Lakeside Grille in Flowery Branch with approximately 100 people in attendance.  Our guests enjoyed one of the last warm evenings of summer as they mingled under a tent by Lake Lanier and savored a delicious dinner buffet and drinks donated by Dale and Jessica Ozaki, the gracious owners of Fish Tales Lakeside Grille.  The Fish Tales staff embodied true southern hospitality with their smiling faces and attentive service.  Don Law performed his heartfelt music throughout the night, adding to the revelry of the evening.  As part of the festivities, our guests participated in a silent auction full of exciting gifts, which allowed us to raise funds for our programs.

Thank you Fish Tales for hosting us!

While the parents celebrated on the lake, their foster children had a fun filled night with eight of our DD staff.  The evening started at the CCS office in Norcross, where they feasted on pizza, played video games, and danced to music.  Then they caught a movie at Ventura Cinema in Duluth and returned to their foster parents by 9 pm.

(From left to right) Mary Lott (a foster parent), Sally Buchanan (our founder & CEO), Tracy Joachim (a former foster parent), and Dale and Jessica Ozaki (the owners of Fish Tales)

The dinner was a success because of the support we received from our community.  CCS would like to extend a special thanks for the contributions we received from Dale and Jessica Ozaki, the Fish Tales staff, and the donors of our silent auction:                       – Studio 93 Salon, Marcia Dykes                                                                                              – Edelman Leather                                                                                                                  – Soho Myriad                                                                                                                           – Judy Williams of Premier Design Jewelry                                                                              – Epic Family Life Center, Executive Director Stephanie Wolfe                                              – Elizabetsy: homemade crafted baby gift items                                                                      – Whole Foods                                                                                                                          – Quik Trip                                                                                                                                – Blue Moose Chocolates, Carol Moses                                                                                  – Canoe Restaurant, Owner Ginair McKerrow.                                                                  We would also like to thank our own Paula Fine for organizing the event, our DD staff and interns who provided childcare, and everyone who showed their support by attending the dinner.  We deeply appreciate your willingness to help us celebrate our foster parents.

Welcome to the Creative Community Services, Inc. blog!

Hello, reader!

Creative Community Services, Inc. (CCS) is very excited to present our new blog.  This will be a space for you to learn more about CCS, our programs, our staff, our events, and the issues close to our heart.  Whether you are an individual in our program, an employee of CCS, someone interested in ways to help foster children and adults with disabilities, someone looking for assistance, or simply someone curious about CCS, this blog is the place for you!  Please ask questions and leave feedback in the comment section to help us ensure that this blog is meeting your needs.

For those who are learning about CCS for the first time, let us provide you with an overview of who we are and what we do.

Executive Director Sally Buchanan founded Creative Community Services, Inc in 1982 as a private, non-profit organization focused on providing home-based support for adults with developmental disabilities.  After seeing her success with adults, a House Representative approached Sally about expanding our services to children who were severely abused and neglected so, in 1988, CCS began offering therapeutic foster care services for children.  Over thirty years later our mission continues to be the improvement of the quality of life for children, teens, and adults with developmental disabilities and mental health needs, and their families, by providing direct services and community-based support throughout the state of Georgia.  We give both kids and adults hope by encouraging independent living that results in involved, engaged citizens and community members.  We currently work with 45 foster children and 55 adults in several counties throughout the state of Georgia.  We provide extensive support to those individuals which enable them to develop life skills for independent living. We offer a community approach to ensuring a safe and loving home for every child by bringing together a team of professionals including case managers, therapists, family consultants, therapeutic foster parents, and more.  We also provide community support for families who have their own children coping with mental illness.

The programs we offer include therapeutic foster care, respite care, Successful Transitions Through Empowerment and Planning (STEP), SOAR (Supporting Families – Overcoming Obstacles – Achieving Independence – Reaching New Heights), adventure respite and many more.  Respite and adventure respite provide families caring for our individuals with much-needed breaks from the daily routine through short-term therapeutic care. The STEP program works with youth who are approaching adulthood to prepare them to live independently in the community.  The SOAR program provides comprehensive behavioral intervention services to children, adults, and their families or caregivers to bridge the gap between good parenting and therapeutic intervention.  With all of our programs, our staff creates a plan and goals that are personalized to each individual’s needs.  The programs we provide to our individuals would not be possible without our partnerships with such organizations as Multi-Agency Alliance for Children (MAAC), Teen Parent Connection (TPC), Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program (PSSF), Community Based Alternatives for Youth (CBAY), and other invaluable agencies.

We aim to have a weekly fun event or activity planned for our individuals.  For example, this past weekend our foster kids went tubing and this week our adults will go to the fair.  We also host holiday parties, family game nights, movie nights and many more exciting opportunities for our individuals to hang out with each other and our staff.

If you are interested in volunteering or donating to CCS, you can find out by going on our website (http://www.ccsgeorgia.org/volunteer.html).  An easy way you can start helping CCS right now is through Kroger’s Community Rewards program.  All you have to do is add Creative Community Services (NPO number: 98257) under your Community Rewards program on your Kroger Rewards account and then every time you use your Kroger plus card, a percentage of the sale goes to CCS!  Also, the fundraiser won’t take away from your gas points!

Thank you for your interest in CCS!  We hope you continue to read our posts and learn more about Creative Community Services.