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SPIRIT NEWSLETTER - May 1996

Chairperson's Message

It is hard to believe that it is already May, 1996 and Christmas, 1995, seems but a distant memory. Happy New Year, anyway!

The economic climate in the '90s has given us all cause for concern. We are all having to do more with less. K-W Access-Ability has been taking a proactive approach to the funding cutbacks affecting our members. Access-Ability, in conjunction with Project Lift and the Independent Living Centre, held a transportation forum in December so that Project Lift customers could voice their opinions as to how Project Lift might cope with their budget cuts. This opportunity made Project Lift customers feel like they had some control over the changes that will be made. Having some control over a situation makes it less frightening.

Access-Ability is also trying to set up a food co-op whereby our members could save money on groceries. If a large group of people are buying their groceries from one place, the cost to the individual is reduced. Debbie Bergey, a Master of Social Work student, is working on this project, as well as on many others. She will be with us for six months. Welcome, Debbie!

With so many people facing financial, employment, health, and other personal problems, it is vital that we all try to help one another. We may have some difficult times ahead, but if we all work as a team we can still make good things happen.

As always, I would like to say thank you to all staff, volunteers, and Board members who contribute in any way to K-W Access-Ability. Your efforts are appreciated more than you know!

I hope that you all have a great year in spite of yourselves!

Joyce Nieuwesteeg
Chairperson

IN MEMORIAM

We wish to remember those members who have passed away:

Mike Crowley
Carol Hall
Jacqui Spoth
Kim Miller

"All of us are born for a reason, but all of us don't discover why. Success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It's what you do for others."

- Danny Thomas

Executive Director's Address

As we all feel the increasing effects of the new reality of the 90's, it is more important than ever that we come together! More than ever we need to recognize our interdependence. The rallying cry during these times of adversity demands that everyone become involved and that we all work together. This call is not new but the response must be.

No longer can we afford to sit back and wait for someone else to do it. No one else will fix it. As difficult as things may be at the moment, the future is even more uncertain. The onus is on all of us.

Today as never before we need each other! As economic resources disappear and transportation, employment and social services dwindle, we must work together to find new ways.

K-W Access-Ability invites you to join forces together with us in this struggle. We need the efforts of your minds and the strength of your numbers.

If you have any thoughts or ideas on how to address these critical issues, please contact us. We can make a difference.

- Chris B. Hodnett

MEET YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS 1995/96

VIVIAN BERKLEY: Hi my name is Vivian Berkley. I was born in Nova Scotia and attended the School for the Blind in Halifax. I moved to Toronto in 1962 where I lived for 6 years. In 1968 I moved to Kitchener. I am married and have two children.

I work at a school with special education children and have been there for the past 9 years. I also volunteer one day a week at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, and am the president of the Canadian Council of the Blind for the Kitchener District.

Some of my interests include: reading, lawn bowling, 5 pin bowling, floor shuffle board and learning computers at K-W Access-Ability where I have been involved for a number of years.

I am delighted to have been elected to the board of directors of K-W Access-Ability, and I will work to better the client services for all people who are physically challenged.

PETER FRASER: I have lived in Waterloo region since 1971, obtaining a M.Math in Computer Science from University of Waterloo in 1972 and serving as manager for various computer groups at the University of Waterloo throughout the seventies and eighties. In 1991, I founded my own computer software company called Thinkage Ltd., located in Kitchener.

As you may know, I have enjoyed contributing to K-W Access-Ability over the past few years, and attending Board meetings was a natural next step.

Even before I left the university, I helped K-W Access-Ability make better use of some computers that you received through donations. Later on my employees and I set up Internet connections for your agency, providing some training and making sure the system worked. I hope that his has contributed to the services your agency can offer and to the lives of the people you work with. As a member of the Board of Directors, I will do my best to continue with this kind of contributions.

XANTHE MARTIN: I am from Port Perry, Ontario. Although I have lived in Port Perry all of my life, I attended a residential private school in Brockville, Ontario from 1987 to 1994. During those seven years, I took a major interest in debating and public speaking both as a competitor and as an assistant coach. I also participated in various school choirs, theatrical productions and other areas such as Year Book staff and Librarian's assistant.

I am presently studying history and political science at Wilfrid Laurier University. Over the past year, I worked as a volunteer for Laurier Students for Literacy. I also took an active role in the advancement of Laurier's peer support group for students with special needs, called Students Providing Extra Special Help.

FRANK ROVERS: Mr. Rovers is a Professional Engineer and Hydrogeologist. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree in 1970 from the University of Waterloo. In 1972 he received a Master of Science Degree in Civil Engineering with an emphasis in Hydrogeology, also from the University of Waterloo.

Mr. Rovers has had numerous professional articles, papers and reports published. As an expert in civil engineering, hydrogeology and waste management, he has testified before American and Canadian Review Boards and various levels of the judiciary systems.

Mr. Rovers has been a principal of Conestoga-Rovers & Associates Limited (CRA) since the company was founded in 1976. He has held the position of President since 1981.

CRA is a consulting engineering firm with its head office situated in Waterloo with branch offices located in Toronto and Ottawa. Affiliate American offices are located in California, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. CRA employs approximately 400 professional and support staff, including civil, chemical, geological, mechanical and biological engineers; hydrologists, hydrogeologists and geologists; chemists; biologists; and planners. In addition to full-time staff, CRA also retains a number of specialists who have expertise in such areas as systems modelling, statistical methods, soil chemistry, toxicology and industrial hygiene.

Postage stamps keep getting more expensive, but at least they have one attribute that most of us could emulate: they stick to one thing until they get there.

STUDENT PLACEMENT NEWS

Hello! For those of you I have not had a chance to meet my name is Debbie Bergey. I am currently completing a Master of Social Work at WLU. I have been working with K-W Access-Ability for the last 6 months as my practicum placement. While I have learned a lot from my past experiences working with people with disabilities, this placement has been a completely new experience for me. You will hear more about some of the projects I have worked on later in this newsletter.

I have enjoyed thoroughly meeting and working with the members of K-W Access-Ability. Everyone - staff, volunteers and members - has been most helpful and supportive. I am already beginning to realize how much I will miss everyone.

From trips to Kapuskasing and Montreal with the hockey team to makeover night with the "Spunky Ladies" to National Access Awareness week I have had a lot of fun and learned an awful lot. This placement has been one adventure after another and I thank everyone for a memorable six months!!

P.H.I.R.S.T. LINK NEWS

Usually when the summer comes, things tend to slow down in the P.H.I.R.S.T. Link area. A number of students normally cancel their summer sessions in lieu of having a vacation and enjoying the summer weather but not this year! Along with most of our old students, there will be several new people joining us over the summer months. These "newbies" are currently waiting to begin within the next week or two, so we can expect a good increase in our numbers over the next few weeks.

Bonnie Gay will be leaving in June to spend the summer months with her family leaving Jane, volunteers and peer tutors to continue to work in P.H.I.R.S.T. LINK. Bonnie will be sorely missed!

Computer systems have been regularly maintained and updated. New software has been installed. We now have Dragon Dictate for those computer users who need to have voice input. Voice recognition has really improved over the years and currently we have four students actively using our multimedia system with speech recognition. We also have a new Windows-oriented application for use with the internet -- Telix for windows. We have discovered that this new package has many neat features ... making our internet experience a real blast!

Remember -- after June 13th, P.H.I.R.S.T. LINK will be closed Saturdays until September 7th.

The P.H.I.R.S.T. LINK services will continue to be offered throughout the summer months. Our work with Barrier Free has finished until September. The Barrier Free program hired P.H.I.R.S.T. Link to provide 6 deaf and 2 hard of hearing individuals with the opportunity to have hands-on computer experience in the DOS and Unix environment while helping with job search, resumes, and cover letters. We look forward to meeting the next group of Barrier Free participants in September.

- Jane Carr

INTERNET PROJECT REPORT

The Internet services are evolving! We currently have xx subscribers and many more interested in connecting to the Internet through K-W Access-Ability. Rob Yates is our primary Internet tutor. He and Kay Biefer -- one of our regular volunteers, are working hard on developing our Internet services.

We also have some students from Conestoga College who are setting up our new Internet machine which will be using the Linux operating system -- a Unix like operating system. Thanks to Thinkage, Peter Fraser and Ken Dykes we will now have free access the World Wide Web! This is quite an opportunity for us!

A PERSONAL VICTORY - MARY GANNON

Spring into Fitness April 1996: It feels good to say a disabled person has completed this challenge and won the Championship. It was composed of instructor evaluations worth 50 points each, program check worth 300 points, fun work 250 points, instructor evaluation signed by club personnel 150 points, wave lengths 50 points, new body 50 points, absolutely 50 points, energy-to-go 50 points, step fit class (any one) 50 points and Physique plus ++ 50 points; these eight areas had a total of 800 points if completed plus a Spring into Fitness t-shirt as a prize.

Thanks to help received from John (instructor) I achieved this goal as he encouraged and helped me, by saying you've got the lead and might win it.

I was kept in suspense for 3 hours April 26, awaiting the outcome as everyone's points were added: thank goodness no one else completed the challenge, so victory was mine. Yes, another barrier has been broken for the disabled people and I'm proud to say "this is our victory and hope more will take up these challenges, as we can show the non-disabled, that we can do it too!!"

My prize for this Championship was the following: t-shirt from Webco sports, water bottle, towel and 2 balloons with Good Life Insignia, month's free membership, ticket worth $10.00 and 3 Granola bars worth $6.00. I would say overall value of $100.00. This is the story of Mary Gannon, a member here, who has been a member of the King St. W., Kitchener division, of the Good Life Club. They help people with disabilities to feel good about themselves; physically and mentally, also they accept us for the people we are and do not label us.

LATE, LATE NEWS CHRISTMAS PARTY

Our 1995 Christmas Dinner & Dance was one of the best ever! Over one hundred people attended. The dinner, catered by KENNEDY'S of St. Agatha, was superb. Even the most critical gourmets as well as those with the largest appetites were completely satisfied.

The tables looked very festive and attractive thanks to the generosity of Sue Mackie, one of our members. Sue donated all of the flower arrangements. Thanks Sue! Thanks, also to Bob Smith for donating wine for dance prizes.

From 9 to 12 midnight FINE LINE & SPECIAL FRIENDS played for our dancing and listening pleasure. Everyone had a wonderful evening. Special thanks go to Stephen & Deanne Gillies, especially for sticking around with the forgotten Lift customers.

We hope to see everyone again this year, including our guests from Cambridge. Make plans to attend.

UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES

Food Buying Clubs: By joining together the collective buying power of many people the cost of goods can be reduced!! We are attempting to begin a food buying club where members can buy their regular groceries at lower costs. You don't have to buy any more than you normally would or anything different than you normally would. Both health foods and normal supermarket foods can be bought. If you are interested in becoming part of this group, call Debbie at 885-6640.

Good Food Box: The Good Food Box program is an example of a successful food buying group that already exists. The Good Food Box program is intended to bring top quality, fresh produce to consumers in the Waterloo Region. The Good Food Box program is run by the Cambridge Self-Help Food Bank, and is distributed through community groups. Because of the large number of consumers using the service approximately $25 worth of produce can be bought for $15. There are a variety of sizes and types of boxes that are available at a variety of sites in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. If you have 15-20 people that are interested you can start your own site!! If you would like more information please call Debbie at 885-6640.

HELP WANTED: K-W Access-Ability is looking for volunteers to work in the office. If you would like to gain experience with reception and telephone work and gain an insight into the inner working of a service agency, please give us a call at 885-6640.

Desperately Seeking Bingo Volunteers K-W Access-Ability is in need of volunteers to work our Bingos. If you have experience with Bingos or have family or friends you think may be interested in supporting the agency, please give us a call. Fundraising is a new reality of 90's and we need your assistance.

If Bingo is not your thing, but you would like to support K-W Access-Ability, we are looking for members to be involved in a fundraising committee, the purpose of which is to organize fundraising events specifically for members. If you have some ideas and would like to have a chance to contribute, please give us a call at the office.

More Fundraising News

On Saturday May 11th, K-W Access-Ability in conjunction with Conestoga Rovers held a Garage Sale. While the weather was damp, our spirits were high and we were "singing in the rain". Our thanks go out to everyone who donated to the cause and to those who helped with pricing and came out to assist with sales. If you were unable to be involved in this one, don't worry, you'll have another chance. K-W Access-Ability is joining with a group of agencies headed by the C.N.I.B. to hold a Garage Sale on June 15th. If you have items you would like to donate for this one or you would like to come out to show your support, please give us a call at 885-6640.

Spunky Ladies Women's Group: This group has been running since the middle of February. The group consists of women with physical disabilities. The focus of the group is on topics such as employment, housing, self-improvement, stress management, health care, finances and advocacy. The group has been having a lot of fun and has been learning many interesting things.

Milk Run: If you've heard about the MILK RUN - the accessible Community Bus Route, and thought you would like to try it out but weren't sure you could navigate it on your own, give us a call at 885-6640. We are organizing some trial runs for people who want to test the Milk Run.

SUMMER PROGRAMME: We are in the midst of planning for our Summer Programme. If you are interested in participating in any of the activities such as swimming, bowling, ball games, picnics, concerts in the park, movies, community outings, cultural events and out of town excursions, please contact Chris Hodnett at 885-6640. We welcome new participants as well as volunteers for summer activities.

K-W Access-Ability wishes to initiate an exciting new programme; THE MENTOR PROGRAMME. The purpose of this programme is to pair an adult with a physical disability and a younger person with a physical disability for a variety of activities or simply for information sharing. If you are interested in taking part or for more information, please call 885-6640 and leave your name.

One of your New Year's resolutions should be to speak softly and sweetly. If your words are soft and sweet, they won't be as hard to swallow when you have to eat them.

Attention Athletes: K-W Access-Ability is moving full steam ahead on preparations for our two (2) day SUMMER HOCKEY SCHOOL which will be held on July 27 & 28th, 1996 from 10 am to 4:30 pm at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium. While we are doing this, we hope that you are planning to attend. Registration fee is $30.00 per person (lunch included). 15 players will be registered. Deadline for receipt of registration is July 19, 1996. To register or for information on the schedule of activities, please call Chris at 885-6640 or drop in to K-W Access-Ability at 75 King St. South, Waterloo Town Square, Lower Concourse # 7.

ACCESSIBLE BILLETING NEEDED: K-W Access-Ability is expecting a number of hockey players from the Montreal area for its Hockey School on Saturday, July 27 & Sunday, July 28. If you or anyone you know would be able to billet a player and his/her attendant for two, possibly three nights, please call Chris Hodnett at 885-6640. This would be an excellent opportunity to explore the similarities and differences of our fellow Canadians from "la belle province" and it is our aspiration that this would foster an exchange visit at a future date.

HOCKEY NEWS

The Tri-City Storm have been quite active in 1996. In February the Storm travelled to Kapuskasing to play in a fundraiser for the Kapuskasing Independent Living Centre. A group of 12, including players, attendants and drivers journeyed the 600 miles to Kapuskasing, losing a hard fought game 3 - 2 to the AM Assassins. Over 1000 dollars was raised for the Independent Living Centre. Everyone had a great time, enjoying the hospitality of the north and promising to return again next year to do battle.

At the end of March, the Storm met their annual foe, the Conestoga Rovers Partners. After a heartbreaking 1 - 0 loss last year, the Storm were determined to make amends. The result this year was an exciting 0 - 0 tie. The C R A Partners were held in the game by the outstanding goal tending of Frank Rovers. After the game, players and fans retired to the Edelweiss Tavern for food and drink, where a cheque for $2000 was presented on behalf of C R A management and staff to Storm defence man "Big Ed" Faruzel. The Storm have vowed to be prepared to solve the Rovers riddle next time these two teams meet.

Finally during the last weekend of April the Storm travelled to Montreal to participate in the Defi de Sportif. In a hard fought two game total goal series with a Montreal All-Star team, the Storm were victorious, tying the first game 2 - 2, and winning the final game 4 - 2 with three goals being scored by new acquisition, Kerry Singh. Pete Hulme was outstanding in goal stopping a multitude of shots, many of them with his head. Many new relationships were developed during this series and a number of the Montreal players expressed an interest in travelling to Kitchener this summer to attend our Hockey School. After the ceremonial presentations and a banquet dinner, Storm players spent the rest of Saturday evening exploring the many cultural pursuits of Montreal nightlife.

A special word of thanks to the Independent Living Centre for their support of our hockey team. The I.L.C.W.R. provided attendants for our trip to Kapuskasing and to Montreal. We wouldn't have been able to do it without you. Thanks Again!

VOLUNTEERS IN ACTION

In recognition of Volunteer Appreciation Week our volunteers were invited to attend an appreciation dinner held Thursday, May 2nd, at Charlie's Italian restaurant. Volunteers from all programmes were in attendance. A special presentation was made to long time and invaluable volunteer, Bonnie Gay Rees.

Our agency is dependent on the efforts of our many wonderful volunteers and we have been extremely fortunate to have individuals dedicated to our goals, our programmes and our members.

On behalf of our Board of Directors, staff and members we wish to express our appreciation to you for your dedication and service and we look forward to working together in the future.

FOR SALE

Shadow Mach 3 Hand Bicycle.
12 speed, Teal Green, Like new.
$2800 or best offer. Call 886-7870.

POET'S CORNER

CRICKETS

Crickets are seen, both day and night, and are such a delight.
You can hear them, you see - but they hide so cleverly.
Crickets make such an interesting sound, pleasing to the ear that deaf people will never ever hear.
Crickets are an orchestra and choir, and they leave something to desire.
The crickets will always be free and hide in the grass and never to be seen.
The crickets begin to chirp then stop, then they take a little hop.
The crickets do this all the time and it is like a rhyme.
The crickets will chirp across the land and always I will understand.
They have a language of their own that I only find at home.
One can sing a solo, two can sing a duet, but we are not finished yet.
They move their wings in such a way and they do this night and day.
They sing a song all year round and never are found.
This is their end; there is no more as soon as I close this door.

- Benjamin Koerber

What's Disabled?

Here I was at my first hockey game since I had started using a wheelchair. As the buzzer sounded to signal the end of the period, my sister and I headed for the restroom. Arriving there we found the disabled stall occupied, so we got in line to wait.

Time went by and the bell rang announcing the start of the next period. Finally the stall door opened and out walked a lady with a mink coat hanging over her shoulders.

The lady next to me said, "She doesn't look disabled to me." To which I replied, "No she doesn't. But see that animal hanging over her shoulders? It can't walk any more!"

-Shirley Bigney
Taken from the book "Visions of Flight", available for sale from our office.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

K-W Access-Ability's ANNUAL MEETING will be held on Thursday, June 13, 1996 at 7:00 pm. The location is the Viewing Lounge, Kitchener Memorial Auditorium. Come out and join your friends. For further information call 885-6640.

National Access Awareness Week (May 27-June 2:Kick-off Event: On Sunday, May 26 starting at 4:30 pm there will be an evening of fun with a barbecue, sports demonstrations and a dance! Also the Community Bus will be there between 4:30 and 6:30 for you to try out. Come out for a spin!

1996 ATLANTA PARALYMPIC GAMES in Atlanta, Georgia from August 16 - 25, 1996. For ticket information call 404-724-2TIX or write Paralympic Tickets, P.O. Box 77587, Atlanta, GA 30357-1587.

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