Director’s Column

MYS Goes Hollywood!
For years MYS operated as a "covert operation", maintaining a low profile in the Wausau area. Within the last couple of years we have changed our thoughts and promoted ourselves more in our community. We have had a great time "hitting the airwaves" with several projects. First we shot a simple public service announcement on our local cable channel. For those who have seen this, it consist of me thanking our community and all of its providers for the opportunity and the help in working with our area’s youth and families.

Next, we had the great crew from Channel 7 come over and produce a much more professional public service announcement for us. This will air for at least a year periodically on Channel 7 television. This turned out excellent, and we really wish to say extend our sincere thank you to Kindl Midlikowski of Channel 7 for her assistance in propelling this project. Of course, we also thank the excellent crew and management of Channel 7 for their help on this project. We also thank our youth "stars" who came to assist in the "shooting" and offer their support in our efforts.

For our latest project, we have teamed with Dr John Kolhoven, Director of both Northwoods Alliance for Children and Child and Adolescent Services of North Central Health Care. Dr Kolhoven, Kelly Frailing, Beth Alexander and I have created a new adventure called Children & Family Focus. This will be an interview show airing on public access television in Wausau. This weekly television show will draw community service providers, educators, parents, and children together in an informative, educational, entertaining fashion. We shot the first show recently and will soon be scheduled for broadcast on local cable soon.

We will also be involving our youth in the production and camera crews. John and I welcome those of you that would be willing to join us for some great fun, and your own 25 minutes of fame. We would love to schedule you for an upcoming episode and filming date.

Douglas Adams, Director of MYS and co-host of Children & Family Focus

As Hamilton House continues to grow as a resource for young men, we as always finding new ways for the residents to take over the responsibilities of life. This almost always proves to be a learning experience for residents and staff alike. One such example is reported by Hamilton House Program Coordinator Sue Midlikowski:

In keeping with promoting responsibility and new learning experiences, Mark and Sam of Hamilton House will be taking over the duty of making sure fire extinguishers are in good working condition in both houses. This is a check that must be done at least once a month. They will check to make sure the fire extinguishers are in designated spots, the pins are in place and safety tabs are secure, dial readings are correct, give a tap on the bottom and rehang the extinguisher. They will report any problems in this area to Carl Slagle, MYS Maintenance Supervisor.

Sue also reports that one of the guys of Hamilton House has successfully completed a job assessment at Northern Valley Workshop. Sue goes on to report that "This was a very rewarding experience. Aside from the opportunity to experience various types of job tasks and develop new skills, friendships were formed and healthy daily routines established. The paycheck was pretty nice too. This opportunity was made available by the Department of Workforce Development, coordinated by John Kalk, Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor from the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. We look forward to continued involvement with supported community employment opportunities. We commend our young man for his outstanding job performance!"

Sam and Mark continue to show a great deal of interest in animals and animal care. As a result, the guys have been encouraged to volunteer their time at the Humane Society, and have enthusiastically agreed. Lot’s of hard work is needed to care for the animals, currently totaling nearly 100! Volunteers wash and sanitize food and water dishes, as well as cleaning and sanitizing kennels, sweeping, mopping and feeding animals. This also leaves time for walking and nurturing the animals. A chance time with one of the animals after a couple hours of hard work makes it all worthwhile. We’ll try to have a few pictures of the guys’ volunteer pursuits on the web site in the future.

As mentioned in a previous newsletter, Mark is a member of REACT, another volunteer organization that helps out in emergency situations. Mark, along with other members of REACT, spent a week assisting the local Shriner’s in setting up, serving and tearing down for the annual Santa’s Breakfast at the Masonic Temple of Wausau, to be held on November 30^th. This enthusiasitic group of people from the Wausau area makes the event possible each year. We hope to have photos of this event on the web site also.

Activity at Reynolds Group Home continues at its customary high pitch. With six boys currently in placement, and two more likely on the way, it looks like we’ll be at a full house again for the Holiday Season. That always makes Christmas an extra joyful and exciting time. The staff and residents are already decorating the house for Christmas, and are heavily involved in the "wreath making" project. Of course, school and its various responsibilities come first, followed closely by our volunteer activities. Youth Worker Darwin Myles files this report on one of our longstanding volunteer functions:

Kennedy Park Saturdays…
Kennedy Park Rehabilitation Center and Reynolds Group Home have been assisting each other for years. Since 1995, Reynolds Group Home and Kennedy Park Center have been bridging the communication gap between youthfulness and experience for almost a decade. In that span, we have accrued countless hours in volunteer time at Kennedy Park. Recently they engraved our name on a silver medal for the hours we’ve accumulated over the years.
Our residents have been involved in numerous parties, holidays and gift openings. The third Saturday of each month our residents assist clients at Kennedy Park in playing bingo. Each of the boys is assigned a task, and as a collective unit we work together to ensure an atmosphere of laughter and enjoyment for all. Our guys have the benefit of helping manage the residents’ bingo cards, passing out prizes and calling numbers. When bingo is over, we take the residents back to their rooms and join in conversation with them. It proves to be a great experience for our boys, and the residents seem to enjoy and appreciate our efforts.

Through the special efforts of our very own, and talented, Carol Gruening, the residents of both houses are involved in a Wreath Making Project, as reported in last months’ newsletter. As their first ‘money making project’, the guys are taking orders for Christmas wreaths, hoping to earn some extra money for their own Christmas’.

Carol reports that to kick off this project on the morning of November 17, she and Youth Workers Darwin Myles and Maria Chang headed out for "God’s Country" in the Minocqua area, to land owned by Youth Worker Joe Koenig. Joe was kind enough to allow this "Bough Picking Excursion" to take place on his land. In order to make wreaths, it’s necessary to gather the ‘raw materials’ needed for the task.

Stopping first for food, beverages and treats, the 7 residents from two houses were quite anxious to get to the task at hand. Upon arriving at Joe’s land around 11:30 am, the whole crew walked into the woods and divided into ‘cutters’ and ‘carriers’, rapidly filling the large van and starting on the mini van. Then it was time for lunch.

In Carol’s own words, "We finished filling the 2 vans and decided it was chow time. Maria and a few of the residents took on the task of building us a bon fire to roast hot dogs and marshmallows. Well, I think it took all three staff and 7 residents to get this fire going. Everyone knew a different technique. Putting them all together we had one great fire. A few of the residents had never roasted hot dogs or marshmallows on a stick, but as hungry as they were it didn’t take long to learn how to keep that hot dog on without having it fall in the fire. We had some cold hands and feet by then so the fire was enjoyed in more ways than just preparing food.

Everyone kept putting bark and dry materials on the fire, making sure they could enjoy it as long as possible, all taking credit for getting it started in the first place. All too soon it was time to leave. With enough boughs collected, we all joined in putting snow on the fire and mounding up dirt to cover the remaining coals, Darwin teaching outdoor fire safety the entire time.

At 3:15 we head for home. Curtis curled up with Bianco (my dog) and they both slept all the way home. Everyone else is also exhausted. The day was a great success. The residents interacted well with each other, lots of laughs and also hard work, but with combined effort from everyone, both vans were filled to the brim."

Now its time to get on with the business of making wreaths. Carol is planning to have everyone to her place for wreath making and a pizza party real soon! We hope to be sharing pictures of this on the web site real soon. Check it out……

This past month we were notified that Marathon Youth Services was one of several community organizations that would be awarded a grant by Sam’s Club of Wausau, to be used to enhance services to area residents. Sam’s Club has made a gift of $500.00 cash to MYS, to be used as needed. We have determined that the money will be used to help make much needed upgrades to computer equipment. We are always in need of improved technology in our treatment, educational as well as management areas.

Sam’s Club is no newcomer to providing us with assistance. It is not at all unusual to receive a call from the local Sam’s Club, offering surplus food items, charcoal briquettes, etc. Marathon Youth Services greatly appreciates this assistance, and we want to publicly thank them and recognize their community spirit. Thanks much Sam’s Club!

This month I’d like to suggest you check out the site, Alpha Coach at http://www.alpha-coach.com. A dear old friend and colleague of mine, David Aardappel, offers his professional coaching services through this site. While this may or may to be of interest, I’m sure you will find his newsletter, "Guaranteed to be Different!", funny, informative and always inspiring. I’d suggest reading some recent newsletters, and consider signing up for it. Dave would be happy to include you on his mail list.

As a final item this month, we’re sharing the recipe for Holiday Punch, to be served at the Open House on December 19^th. Please come by for a sample and some hospitality.

Holiday Punch
1 qt. Rainbow sherbet
1 package of mini-marshmallows
1 lg. Jar maraschino cherries
1 each, 2ltr. Bottle of Ginger Ale, Sour, 7-Up (3 bottles total)

Soften sherbet and mix with remaining ingredients
Serve cold
Enjoy!

Provided by Youth Worker Mike McCabe