The SAILORS had an excellent year in sports.  Last spring they played very well and won Bronze in Division One of their Special Olympics basketball tournament.

This June the SAILORS softball team went to The College of New Jersey for a tournament weekend at the Special Olympics Summer Games.  For the first time the SAILORS took home GOLD!

The SAIL Soccer Team just finished their season with a big win!  They were a Division 1 team and won the Silver Medal at the Special Olympics Fall Festival Tournament on Sunday, October 23.  Congrats to our athletes and coaches!

All Special Olympics coaches are volunteers and devote every Monday night to practice and weekend games.  Their time and effort is greatly appreciated!  A big thanks go to the families who support our athletes both on and off the field.  

For the first time, SAIL families planned a Yard Sale at Cherry Hill East to benefit the SAIL program.  This event which was held on June 5 was a HUGE success!  Merchandise for sale came from SAIL members and families, as well as outside vendors.

SAIL participants took charge of the food and beverage tent and helped sell bagels, pretzels, baked goods and water bottles.  SAIL families and JFCS employees were a big help in selling items from a communal JFCS table.  For a first time event we were pleased to bring in over $2,000 in revenue.

Save the date!  Next year's Yard Sale will be at Cherry Hill East at the end of September.  Start saving items for sale for SAIL!

A special thank you goes to Donna Felker and Michaelle Hall for their tireless efforts and devotion to making this event so successful!

This fall the SAIL program began a series of workshops to foster more life skills.  The first series was a four-part cooking class held at the home of a SAIL member.  Sue Bookman, registered nutritionist, taught healthy cooking and eating.  She also educated SAIL members about the importance of sanitation, nutrition and meal-planning.  SAIL participants made a whole meal and then ate their finished food together.  The cooking series was so successful that we plan to do it again in the winter.

Other planned Life Long Learning Series seminars include: photography classes, Building Healthy Relationships workshops and creative arts courses.

Once again JFCS honored those employees and employers who have done an outstanding job at their places of work.  The Vocational Breakfast was held on November 18 at the DoubleTree Hotel.  Over 200 people attended the event to honor this year's awardees.

Our honorees this year were:  

• John Giblin with ARI (Automotive Resources International) 
• Ryan Cullen with Collingswood Manor
• Elizabeth Wickman with PetSmart
• Amy Hayden with Burlington Coat Factory
• Lauren Hill and Melissa Lee with Target of Cherry Hill

Congratulations to those who were honored.  We are very proud of their accomplishments!

ARI employer representatives Joe Holzer, Nancy Gmaz, and Veronica Verlander with honoree John Giblin and JFCS Job Coach Dina Comman

Collingswood Manor employer representative Mary Maloney with JFCS Job Coach Ceil Weber and honoree Ryan Cullen

PetSmart of Marlton employer representatives Jose Nieves and Stephanie Kimble with honoree Elizabeth Wickman and JFCS Job Coach Karen Marks

Burlington Coat Factory employer representative Marguerite Stanton with honoree Amy Hayden and JFCS Job Coach Karen Marks

JFCS Job Coach Betsy Wahlquist with honorees Melissa Lee and Lauren Hill, and Target employer representatives Cynthia Crossland, Shannon Mather, Dan Carroll, Katelyn Matthews, and Tina Santos