Dates to Remember
G.R.O.W. will be closed:
- Thursday, November 11 - Remembrance Day
- Monday, December 27 - In lieu of Christmas Day
- Tuesday, December 28 – In lieu of Boxing Day
- Wednesday, December 29 – In lieu of New Year’s Day
- Thursday, December 30 – Program Closure
- Friday, December 31 – Program Closure
G.R.O.W. News Covid
At G.R.O.W. we continue to follow the policy and procedures authorized by Community Living disability Services, and public health. As restrictions update, we are welcoming back participants on a staggered, part-time basis. Applications for return to programing are made through your Community Service Worker, and G.R.O.W.
G.R.O.W. participants and staff continue to follow health and safety protocols: wearing masks, physical distancing and diligently washing and sanitizing hands, separate entrances and exits for each house, maintain cohorts and sanitizing high touch areas throughout the day.
We want to thank the staff and participants for their diligence and cooperation.
All participants must have access to documentation required to access community spaces such as proof of vaccination and identification.
To keep everyone safe. If you are feeling unwell, have cold or flu symptoms please do not come to G.R.O.W. Anyone with any symptoms will be sent home.
G.R.O.W. participants hosted a backyard lunch to celebrate and present Karyn Lazareck with her Make a Difference Community Award, as part of the Manitoba 150 celebrations. Alex T. on behalf of the group, made a moving speech in which he shared his feelings and experiences at G.R.O.W. He thanked Karyn for her inspiration and for making a difference in the lives of the G.R.O.W. participants.
Friends of G.R.O.W.
Rachel enjoyed a day at Elmhurst Golf Course. G.R.O.W. had the privilege of hosting the putting contest at Merit’s annual Golf Tournament on September 13th. Rachel did a fantastic job assisting the organizers with operating the putting contest and the proceeds from the putting contest were donated to the G.R.O.W. program.
A big thank-you to Yvette Milner and Merit Manitoba, for allowing us to participate and be the recipients of this great tournament.
Thank you to Julia Lazareck who made a most generous donation to the G.R.O.W. Program as part of her Bat Mitzvah!!
Your support to G.R.O.W. is truly appreciated!!
New at G.R.O.W.
This Fall, G.R.O.W. participants will partake in a Transforming Dance class: “Transforming Movement will provide accessible, affordable, and inclusive dance lessons.”
“Our goal is for all folks in Manitoba facing barriers to have the opportunity to contribute to positive health and well-being through dance while expressing themselves and realizing their potential.”
“Dance and movement are a therapeutic form of exercise - not only for physical health but also mental and emotional health.
Dancers can express their emotions, relieve stress, improve self esteem, and are encouraged to be creative and imaginative.
*Details to follow
G.R.O.W. will be piloting a new program on Saturdays – Gaining at G.R.O.W.
This program is targeted at those who are working or attending school and would like some life skills and social skills enhancement. Launch of the pilot will be later this fall, for more information please do not hesitate to contact Sandy Sheegl at ssheegl@growourway.ca
Staff News
Lovejot Mann has joined G.R.O.W in Winnipeg as the Program Coordinator. She recently completed her advanced fieldwork placement for Occupational Therapy with the G.R.O.W in Gimli program. Lovejot received the award for Professional Excellence in Fieldwork, by the Manitoba Society of Occupational Therapists.
Congratulations!!! and Welcome to the G.R.O.W. Team.
We have hired Michelle Louis O.T. to pilot our Saturday Program. We look forward to working with you!
Congratulations to Cynthia Yamamoto who has won her second Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists Fieldwork Educator Award of Excellence! Cindy is recognized for her exceptional performance in student practice teaching and in student mentoring in the workplace. She represents a gold standard in inspiring students to passionately pursue professional practice. Bravo Cindy!
We are currently accepting resumes for our day program and S.I.L. program. If you know of anybody that would be interested please have them send their resume to Sandy Sheegl at sssheegl@growourway.ca
Board News – AGM September 22, 2021
We were able to have a Board Meeting and AGM in person this year, it was the first time we have meet in person since March 2020.
We are grateful to board members Gary Borger (2 years) and Ken Zaifman (6 years) who have completed their terms on the G.R.O.W. Board. We thank them for their prolific and important work, their contributions, expertise, and their support to G.R.O.W.
G.R.O.W. Welcomed new Board members:
Karen O’Brien is a parent of three adult children and is a clinical psychologist in private practice working primarily with adults, some couples, and older adolescents.
Adam Myers is a lawyer at MLT Aikins LLP, with a focus on medical malpractice defense and regulatory issues. He became familiar with G.R.O.W. while working at Rady JCC as a university student.
Karyn Lazareck was acknowledged at the AGM and presented with the framed picture of inspirational words that were used to describe Karyn. (Only shown on Zoom last year.)
G.R.O.W Day Program
With the amazing weather, exercise outdoors such as walks to the park and Zumba in the backyard are being enjoyed, as well as group work and breaks, allowing the opportunity for different cohorts to see each other. participants have also been taking part in Money Smart activities, such as reading a menu and budgeting for meals when visiting a restaurant. They have been able to apply these skills on our community outings to Boston Pizza and Pappa’s Restaurant.
G.R.O.W has had many wonderful opportunities this summer and will continue to enjoy others during the fall/winter months. Participants enjoyed a few nights away in Gimli, spending time on the beach, shopping and eating at the local businesses, as well as playing board games on rainy days.
Vocation in G.R.O.W.
October is Disability Employment Awareness Month (DEAM). It’s an annual awareness campaign to promote employment inclusion for people with disabilities and celebrate the many and varied contributions of workers with disabilities.
As persons with disabilities face barriers to employment, DEAM provides an opportunity for us to come together, as a community, to create awareness and take action around removing barriers.
Thank you to our past, current, and future vocational partnerships. We appreciate your continued support and dedication. Cheers to inclusion!
Employers are slowly welcoming participants back into their positions. We are happy to share that we have a participant back at his job at the Rady JCC, and a few more that are working on their return-towork plans. Recently we also partnered with a non-profit organization called Computers for Schools and the participant begins their COOP program later this month. His role will entail refurbishing donated digital devices.
Feel free to contact Vocational Coordinator, Lucy Pontes-Botelho at lbotelho@growourway.ca should you have any questions or suggestions pertaining to job opportunities.
G.R.O.W. Supported Independent Living (SIL)
SIL staff and participants continue to work on life skills such as cooking, cleaning, and home management while also heading outdoors to visit Forte Whyte, Sargent Sundae and enjoying walksthrough the Assiniboine Forest. Together they work on the importance of social distancing and diligently washing/sanitizing hands while at home and in the community.
As we say goodbye to Grace Kearley and Kelsey Dilts who have moved onto full-time positions, we welcome Micaela Mandelbaum, Amy Tran and Natalie Johnson to the SIL team.
If you are interested in learning more about SIL, or would like to get involved, please contact Camille at cushy@growourway.ca
Zoom at G.R.O.W.
With more participants returning to GROW, our facilitators have been able to spend more time in person implementing educational programming and activities. As a result, we have decided to reduce the amount of Zoom sessions at the program. Instead of twice a day every day, we are now Zooming only on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. During these times, we are all able to connect as a group and continue on with our fun and educational programming. Participants really enjoy playing Hangman, as well as Scattergories and Trivia. Lindsey White has also been hosting some Zoom sessions to finish our silly song project.
G.R.O.W. Community Outings
Friday Outings
As restrictions continuously update, GROW has been enjoying some indoor activities such as bowling at Uptown Alley, a movie at Silver City St. Vital, mini golf at the Golf Dome and shopping at the Forks.
We also continue to spend time outdoors, weather permitting enjoying walks to the park and Sargent Sundae, lunch and dancing in the back yard, as well as a Splash Dash boat tour. We diligently follow all protocols for outdoor and indoor restrictions.
G.R.O.W in Gimli Program
This summer, we were very excited to offer our Gimli program, just a little differently! We were able to host two 2-week sessions at Balmoral Hall School in Winnipeg. The facility offered everything needed for participants to develop personal goals and learn life skills. Participants had the opportunity to cook for one another and take part in group activities, building meaningful connections in the process. Participants also enjoyed exploring the Wolseley area and our outings to places like the Forks and Assiniboine Park.
G.R.O.W. Outreach
We are pleased to be offering in person outreach sessions, as restrictions allow us to do so. Participants were very excited to see each other and enjoyed activities such as backyard BBQ/games, walks to Sargent Sundae and board game night while enjoying some delicious Chinese food. We continue to social distance, wear masks when required and are diligent with sanitizing and hand washing.
Please see below for our fall outreach session dates and upcoming activities:
- Saturday, October 16 - Boo At The Zoo
- Friday, October 29th - Halloween Party
- Saturday, November 13 - Jets game and Pizza at 91/93 Willow
- Saturday, November 27 - Bowling/Arcade Games at Uptown Alley
- Saturday, December 4 - Flying Squirrel
- Saturday, December 18 - Holiday Flying Squirrel gift exchange/appetizer potluck