It is really hard to believe that we have been together as a Day Program for 8 months!  We are enjoying the connections with our adults and love seeing growth and happiness in each one of them.  Here is a look at what is happening in the life of Stacey’s Place, Inc.

Staff & Volunteers

We have been graced with gifted people who truly love coming alongside our participants to enrich their lives in the day program.

• Lissa Walls-Ruggieri: We welcomed Lissa this past year as a weekly and special event volunteer and on January 24^th, she joined our team as full-time staff for the Day Program! Lissa has a degree in Special Education and was a classroom and lead teacher for 15+ years at Christ the King Lutheran Church. She has enjoyed connecting with our Day Program Participants.
• Lilly Ray: Lilly continues to work each Friday and loves seeing our adults each week.  She is our creative side and adds fun to our days with song, dance, and videos that bring out the verbal skills in our crew in a delightful way.
• Laurie Tyra: Laurie is a Special Education paraprofessional at South Forsyth High School.  She teaches for us during school breaks and has made a great contribution behind the scenes to our Centers time through curriculum development with our Around the World in 2022 theme.
• Dave Cloud: Dave volunteers each Thursday and while he truly shines in the swimming pool instructing our crew, he is equally talented in the classroom bringing fun ideas to life and engaging with each individual to enrich their day. He also works alongside our adults at The Place each week.
• Kay Owens: Kay continued volunteering for special occasions last year and is always passionate about loving this community.  As a nurse, she has been busy with vaccine clinics.  As that has subsided, she is returning to regular Tuesday volunteering to work alongside us at Meals by Grace.  You will see her pop in with other bright ideas from time to time
• Nancy Tait: Nancy is well known and well loved by our crew.  She is a longtime caregiver and a woman with many, many hidden talents from a life full of adventure.  Nancy is purposeful in greeting each adult as they start each day and often blesses them with seasonal treats and craft items.  She has been a faithful substitute when needed to provide a capable extra set of eyes and hands during our program.

Curriculum

Around the World in 2022

Countries in Focus: China, Russia, Germany, Mexico, Australia, Italy

Each country provides a backdrop for fun, learning, communication, eating, and crafting.  During January & February, we started with China and explored The Great Wall, fireworks, the invention of the compass, the Chinese Lantern festival and many other items and events.  We will continue through each of the countries and investigate items such as the Onion Dome Architecture of Russia, Arctic Animals, Cultural Foods and Festivals, The Great Barrier Reef, Piñatas, Volcanos, and German Architecture (Helen, GA day trip), to highlight a few.

Throughout the year, we will continue Health and Hygiene, Communication & Social Skills, Safety in the Community, and Money skills.

Music Therapy

We are looking to add Music to our repertoire with Lydia Collins, music therapist and owner of Resonating Rhythm.  Lydia was formerly with The George Center of Music Therapy before she opened her own company here in Cumming.  Lydia will bring her musical skills and instruments to us beginning in April.

Community Engagement Partners

• Meals by Grace – Tuesdays; food stocking & special activities from time to time. We made 100 valentine day encouragement cards for their shoppers!
• The Place of Forsyth – Monday and Thursday; We help with gathering unused hangers and putting pricing stickers on their tags – we do hundreds of them each time.
• EPIC – Monthly with Dawson County Parks and Recreation – a community activity program at Rock Creek Park for area day programs.
• YMCA – A weekly swimming class as we did last fall – in the works.

Upcoming Special Outings

In addition to outings like Burt’s Pumpkin Patch, BJ’s Apple Farm, and Amicalola Falls, we also partner with Atlanta companies to create special outings. 

• World of Coca-Cola
• Atlanta Braves Baseball
• Atlanta United Soccer

Growth

We have been interviewing families and adults for the programs at Stacey’s Place, including Residential Living.  We are excited about the opportunities to grow this year. Stacey’s Place Residents may attend our Day Program or have the option to attend another day program or work opportunity.

2021 was an exciting year and we look forward to an even more exciting 2022.