News from The Progress Center

Summer, for some draws up images of lazy days,fishing, sandy beaches, ice tea, and long days. For others is the harvest, planting, weeding, pests and more pests, harvesting, and time to bale hay. Yet universally it seems to me that we all look forward to summer.

The Allure of summer this year at the Progress Center is our new found relationship to Maine's harvest: the Oxford Hills Food Cooperative. This has been such a great project for all of us here at the center. Teaming with local farmers anticipating the harvest and eager to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables that we are part of.

This project is symbolic of a new day for our agency, a desire to be partners with the people and business critical to Maine's economy. Finding ways to help financially support ourselves and those we support. The days of being an isolated human service agency are gone and we are ready and eager to explore and grow as part of our community.

Come join our excitment this summer, visit the farms in our cooperative including our own gardens. Watch for our memos of tours and fun trips.

Wishing many warm days and a great harvest,

Deb

Vision and Planning

This summer the Progress Center team will engage in visioning and planning for our future. We will review all of the information we have collected over the past year, our annual surveys (you can find those on our web site), our employee evaluation results, SNOW results and our quarterly reviews including financial reports, summaries of reportable events, safety and staff turnover. We also will have our facilitator meet with each department to gain insight and input for our next three year plan. All this will culminate in a two day retreat at the end of July where we all gather and finalize our plans.

HOWEVER what is most critical to all of this planning is the agency VISION for the future. The vision is the single most important piece of all we do. While we struggle with just the right words it is clear that at the heart of our Vision is the concept of COMMUNITY and the INCLUSION of all the people we serve. We look forward to this process believing that our vision and plans will take the TPC to the next level of greatness!

Inclusion Fusion

Do you know the Breakfast club? For many months employees and people served at the TPC have gathered in a group they call "The Breakfast Club". This group is supported and facilitated by Larry Jordan and Terry Cole. The focus is community inclusion and networking. Each meeting people share ideas, new great "finds" such as places to volunteer, visit or share a meal. The teams of people who are community focused services enjoy the opportunity to share meals, great breakfast foods and coffee.

The next months will mark a change in this meeting as the group has become so popular that the meetings will happen three times per month offering options for all who wish to attend and to reduce the size of each meeting for more effective networking and sharing. What a great thing to have our Inclusion meetings the most popular in the agency. If you are interesting in more information regarding these meetings call Larry or Terry at 207-743-8049.

Trail Project

Have you heard the latest?

(Volunteers from the Androscoggin Leaning and Transition Center)

The Progress Center is building a small memorial park at the main office on 35 Cottage Street in Norway on behalf of a former consumer, Matt Record. This park is partially funded by contributions of family members and friends donated upon Matt's death in 2006. There is an existing trail from the parking lot of The Progress Center to the Norway Railroad Trail. The section from the Progress Center to the River Trail is only accessible in the summer due to wet lands and lack of adequate clearing. This project will enhance this connecting trail, add wheelchair accessible loops to the trail and build environmentally acceptable bridges. This will be done in three phases over three years.

When completed, the Matt Record Park and Trail at 35 Cottage Street will be available to the public on weekends and evenings. The park will feature picnic tables, sitting benches, a wheel chair swing and small viewing gardens. Wooden plant signs will be created by The Progress Center consumers to help educate and add value to the park. Those served by The Progress Center will utilize the park for fitness, relaxation and gardening projects. It is also hoped that local families, as well as people needing wheel chair access to enjoy nature, will take advantage of the park. This project is quite an ambitious undertaking for The Progress Center and will accomplished in 3 phases over approximately 3 years.

Phase 1 involves clearing the land. On June 6th and 7th we started Phase 1 by removing dead trees, clearing brush and brambles, raking, and in general, we got very dirty and tired but we accomplished our goal. We were very fortunate to have volunteers who joined us from our neighbors at New Balance, students and staff from the Androscoggin Learning and Transition Center, Norway Savings Bank, and Voc. Rehab.

(Volunteers from New Balance)

Donations for the park and trail are always welcome. Donations of expertise, time and/or materials are needed. Please call Priscilla at 743-8049 ext. 233 for more details.

I will be posting before, during, and after pictures on our website so you can watch our progress. www.progresscentermaine.org

Toronto Here we COME!

In July 2008 we have 7, yes 7 employees going to a week long Inclusion Institute Training in Toronto. We are very excited and proud to be part of such a great summer institute. More importantly when we first offered the training option to people here at TPC there was concern that people would not want to travel and be away for a whole week. The excitement and response was overwhelming. We had to have a decision process...what a great problem to have. I am so proud of all of you who wished to go and very excited to all who will attend. We expect a great story upon your return.
For those of us who know inclusion we are very excited to see this list of hosts.

Faculty Hosts:
�John McKnight - Chicago
� John O'Brien - Atlanta
� Mike Green - Denver
� Jack Pearpoint - Toronto
� Lynda Kahn - Toronto
� Gary Bunch - Toronto
� Glen Cochrane - Winnipeg
� Wayne Helgason - Winnipeg
� Gerv Leyden - Nottingham
� Tom Kohler - Savannah
� Lois Schmidt - Ames, Iowa
� Sheldon Schwitek - Kalamazoo
� Heather Simmons - Australia
� Judith Snow - Toronto
� Erwin Wieringa - Holland

We are Growing Thanks Key Bank!

Key

The Emploment Services division of TPC is growing and moving to new space. We are very grateful to Key Bank of Norway, Maine which will now be home to our employment services as well as our Food Cooperative.

Employment services are unique from our other services as they require frequent interface with people out side of our human services contacts. Employment services are offered through Vocational Rehabilitation services as well as DHHS. To keep our focus and perform at our highest level this move made great sense. These offices provide the perfect space right here on Maine Street in Norway.

Thanks to Key Bank for offering very affordable space for nonprofit business. We are indeed lucky to be the new tenants. Many thanks to Terry Twitchell and Linda Rozzo Foutz of Key Bank for their effort and support. We are very excited and hope to invite all our friends to an open house in the near future.

The community is not out there, it is not a destination or an activity. The community is all of us, each person who makes the whole of Oxford Hills. We, all of us at TPC are part of that community and are responsible to make it a warm and inviting place.

Sincerely,

Deb Anthony
The Progress Center

This is the fine print text where you might tell your customers how the item will be shipped and, for example, if they are overseas that there will be additional shipping charges and must contact you.