We are excited to have the opportunity to continue to grow our Community Connections program to better serve our community. Currently, we have 19 individuals with developmental disabilities ranging in age from 26 to 72, and let me tell you that our oldest individual is one of the most active individuals we support, so don’t forget age is just a number.
Every day while at Day Program we focus on four core concepts of Community Integration, Pre-Vocational Opportunities, Leisure and Recreation, and Education and Wellness. Every day we have a jam-packed schedule of fun activities ranging from community outings such as going to the library, bowling, visiting our favorite spots around Columbia and Jefferson City, and out-of-town trips, you name it we will try and go there. We love to spend our time out in the community. We also spend our time doing volunteer work for our community such as weekly visits to the Food Bank, Meals on Wheels, and the Ronald McDonald House. We enjoy exercise groups, cooking classes, life skills, games, and of course arts and crafts.
One of the neat things we do here at Community Connections is allow the individuals we support to help create our weekly calendars. Every Friday we all come together and list what our favorite activity of the week was and what is something we would like to do next week. No matter the idea, myself and my team try to find a way to make the idea happen. Last summer we had an individual say they wanted to visit the beach and unfortunately, we live in Missouri and there is not a beach nearby. My team and I decorated the room as a beach and every morning when they came into the room they would say “Don’t bother me, I’m on vacation at the beach.” This is just one of the many joys Community Connections brings to our individuals.
Our new building has given us many new opportunities to grow and develop our programming. We are now able to have two separate Day Program rooms allowing us to divide the individuals into smaller groups based on interests and abilities. This also allows us to support more individuals through our Community Connections program. The new kitchen allows us to have cooking groups and nutrition education and the incredible outdoor space gives us endless opportunities for outdoor activities which everyone is excited for. This space is allowing Woodhaven to provide a new service to support our Veterans through an adult day program. The VA program will provide our Veterans the opportunity to participate in leisure activities, community activities, cognitive therapy, and socialization.
Thank you to Veterans United Foundation, the National Benevolent Association, Elmer A. Sander Charitable Trust, Coil Construction, our Board Members, and dedicated staff for making this dream a reality.