Creating jobs and opportunities for people with differing disabilities so they can have a good quality of life.

AROUND
SPRING 2010

YOURE HIRED!

Twelve find jobs through Employment Services

A number of individuals in the Melwood Employment Support Services (ESS) program recently heard the phrase, Youre hired! Individuals working with Melwood case workers found jobs at Giant, Home Depot, US Naval Academy, BWI airport, Wal-Mart and General Services Administration, to name a few. Each job placement helps individuals toward successful community integration. The process includes assessing what an individual envisions as their dream job, evaluating their capabilities related to a position of interest, proximity to their home, and transportation to and from work. After hiring individuals through ESS, employers most value the ongoing job coaching and monthly visits done by case managers. Individuals receive job coaching during their first two weeks of work. Case managers discuss the employers expectations, and give training counselors clear direction on how to make sure the individual is successful on the job. The training counselor provides the person with techniques that aid productivity and understand their job duties, while case managers maintain constant contact with the employer and job coach to ensure the persons success. Follow up assessments and observations help ESS staff determine if an individual needs more support. In those cases, they can receive additional job coaching. New employees are confident that they have support after they are hired. They feel they have been placed appropriately in a position of their choice, and employers feel confident in Melwoods ability to ensure the productivity and longevity of our individuals after they are hired. With continued support of the ESS case managers, it is certain that individuals will continue to hear Youre hired!
wo of ) are t ck hat t Support la oyi (b ploymen Ola K m t) and elwoods E ed ha son (r placed by M David s Keith t employee recen artment. the es dep Servic

In This Issue: 2 Letter from CEO 3 Rising to the Challenge 4 Contract Services 5 Community Services 6 Summer Camp 7 Fund Development

By Tashayla Williams

Prince Georges County Open Returns

New venue offers something for everyone
Melwoods special event fund raiser, the Melwood Prince Georges County Open, takes place May 31-June 6 at the University of Maryland Golf Course. Now in its fourth year, the weeklong, child-friendly community event offers something for everyone, and this years event promises to be the best yet! Gary Williams, Maryland mens basketball coach, will serve as tournament host, and Congressman Steny Hoyer and Fred Funk, PGA T champion and former Maryland golf coach will serve as co-honorary chairs our for the event. Continued on page 7

M E LW O O D

A message from the President/CEO

Melwood 5606 Dower House Road Upper Marlboro, MD 20772 (301) 599-8000 www.melwood.org Chairman of the Board of Directors Andrew V. Colevas Principal Colevas Group Vice Chair Reginald Harris, MBA Business Executive State Farm Insurance Directors Stanley J. Botts Frank O. Coombs Marty DErasmo, MPH Donald Donahue, Jr., MBA, PhD Christina Eaglin-Hawthorne Deborah Fischel Marlon Griffith, JD Mike Keppler, MBA Richard Mahan, CPA Frank A. Nicolai, MBA Dana B. Stebbins, MSW JD Brenda Sheaffer President/CEO Janice Frey-Angel, MSW Chief Financial Officer Ronald L. Stubblefield, CPA, PhD, MSW Senior Vice President Matthew T. Scassero Vice Presidents Ronald Hanley, RBSM Donald Pollock, MA Jonathon Rondeau, MA CPRP Editor Jay M. Thomas Contributors Bekah Carmichael Katherine Drayer T ashayla Williams

MAKING MEANINGFUL CONTRIBUTIONS

Dear Friends and Supporters, Each day is full of activity at Melwood and in the lives of people with disabilities we serve. We take pride knowing that every day across the Washington, DC area, Melwood creates jobs and activities that enable people with disabilities to live productive lives of their own direction and choosing. Whats more, each person we serve makes meaningful contributions to our community through their job choices, artistic endeavors, and volunteer activities. As you read through this issue of Around Melwood, keep in mind that you are part of the Melwood community and Melwood your support helps make these stories possible. One great way you can support our work is by attending our PGA Nationwide T event June 3-6 at the University of Maryland. I hope to see you there! our Sincerely, Janice Frey-Angel President/CEO

Melwood Welcomes New Board Members

Brenda Sheaffer, of Prince Georges County, Maryland works as a Melwood employee on an AbilityOne Program contract in downtown Washington, DC, and is a member of the AbilityOne speakers bureau, where she speaks about how her professional success has allowed her to forgo government benefits and further her independence. In February 2008, Sheaffer was invited to the White House and met First Lady Laura Bush, and has been featured in the Washington Post and radio and TV ads for Melwood. Sheaffer is also vice president of Melwoods alumni group.

Marlon Griffith is a partner in the Washington, DC law firm of Griffith & Wheat, PLLC. The New York native is former chief of the Trial Division for the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDS). Prior to PDS, Griffith was a senior trial attorney in Brooklyn, New York. Griffith focuses on criminal defense, employment and complex civil litigation, as well as professional responsibility matters in local, state, federal courts and administrative agencies. Griffith is a board member of the Abrahamson Foundation, current Leadership Prince Georges member, and a black belt in tae kwon do. He lives in Prince Georges County with his wife and two children.

Melwood Employees Rise to the Challenge

Mid-February saw historic snowfall in the Washington, DC area, and more than 160 Melwood employees worked around the clock during and after two major snowstorms to ensure that many federal sites were clear for essential government personnel. At the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, 19 workers with disabilities and staff worked in shifts and slept in offices when not on duty; at the US Naval Academy, more than 65 cleared snow, with more than 40 staying in a nearby hotel as they helped keep the academy open. Their work was widely noticed, with a Washington Post reporter covering their efforts in the Feb. 24 edition. These examples underscore the fact that people with disabilities can be dependable, contributing members of the community like anyone else, when given the opportunity.
Ricardo Valentin shovels snow as Alonzo Brown prepares to salt a walkway at the HUD building on Feb. 19.

Read the full Post article online at www.bit.ly/atxwe2.

EARTH DAY

is every day at Melwood

April 20 marked the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, but every day Melwood takes action to be more environmentally friendly, while striving to create jobs and opportunities for people with disabilities. Sustainability Melwood employees helped create the USDAs first Peoples Garden, which teaches citizens about organic gardening and sustainable agriculture practices. The program has grown to more than 250 gardens nationwide, all of which donate the produce to area food banks. Chemical-Free Cleaning Sustainability our government customers often require the use of environmentally friendly cleaning agents on our contract sites. In a pilot program that started April 22, custodial employees at Melwoods headquarters and at a prominent downtown contract site began using a chemical-free method of cleaning. New spray bottles turn ordinary tap water into a sanitizer. Sixteen Ionators are currently being used in this program. If successful, Melwood could potentially offer chemical-free cleaning at other government locations. Composting T Melwood employees care for the grounds at a large federal campus en in Montgomery County, Maryland. The crew began a composting area on their own initiative in 2008, and when the federal customer recently asked about composting, site supervisor Doug Knowles was able to reply, Weve been doing this since 2008.
g touches on t the finishin C Cowart pu il 22. and R ened on Apr Slater Keys ilip Brown, Garden is op Ph Peoples e the USDA a path befor

ical-free to use a chem d employees elwoo t program. of the first M friendly pilo Kahn is one ronmentally Liz an envi em as part of cleaning syst

Spring 2010

MELWOOD CUSTOMER

earns Abilityone Program Award

The local US Department of Agriculture procurement office received the Government Award for Services - Civilian Locations in Multiple U.S. States/ T erritories from the AbilityOne Program for its support of the initiative to employ people with disabilities. AbilityOne program employees from Melwood and other similar agencies perform landscaping, custodial, mail room, copy room, warehousing, shuttle bus and building maintenance services at USDA sites in Washington, DC and Maryland. USDA entrusted Melwood and other agencies with several highly visible initiatives including a green roof project and the Peoples Garden, conceived by Secretary T Vilsack. T demonstrate its AbilityOne Program support, om o USDA recognized AbilityOne employees at the agencys Washington, DC headquarters as part of National Disability Employment Awareness Month in October 2009. Being able to call out their success is a great opportunity for us and them, said Matt Scassero, senior vice president of contract services for Melwood. Hopefully it will encourage other agencies to look more at the AbilityOne Program too. Vera Moreland, a recently retired USDA contracting officer, championed the AbilityOne Program throughout the agency. Vera was always ready to help us out with anything, answer any questions and discuss any concerns, said Vanessa Bowie, director of contract administration for Melwood. The support and efforts of people like Moreland are a key reason Melwood and the AbilityOne program has been highly successful providing services to the USDA. The USDA serves a lot of underutilized populations, so to be recognized for supporting Nish and AbilityOne means a lot to me personally as well as to the department, said Michael McFarland, chief of the procurement operations division at USDA.

Ramon RC Cowart clears leaves at the USDA headquarters in the fall, while Philip Brown, Slater Keys and Cowart, above put finishing touches on a path before the USDA Peoples Garden opens April 2.

melwood honored FOR JOB CORPS PARTNERSHIP

Melwood received an Employer of the Year honor for its partnership with the Maryland Job Corps Centers at an April 28 luncheon. Job Corps is the nations largest career technical training and education program for students between 16 and 24 years old. Job Corps graduates Praze Dunwell and Marcus Childs have been hired as landscapers to work for Melwood at BWI Thurgood Marshall airport. Brenda Sierra, Job Corp project director said, A team from Melwood came to one of our sites to do direct interviews and were successful in placing some of our students at one of their contract sites. Melwood human resources generalists, Ivah Chesterfield and Lisa Smith, pictured at left, established the partnership earlier this spring. The partnership can be fruitful for Melwood because there are qualified applicants that can step right in and meet our customers needs, said Smith.

Working For Fun

Since November, 16 individuals from Community Services have worked at Melwood Recreation Center in Nanjemoy, where they are responsible for custodial and landscaping duties, and other assigned tasks. With summer approaching, the crews are preparing for Kamp A-Kom-Plish. The custodial crew cleans the cabins each day and the landscape crew keeps the hundredplus acre campus mowed each week, assists at the Alfred H. Smith, Jr. Equestrian Center, cleans other buildings, prepares mailings and keeps flowers in the greenhouse watered. The crews do all of their work willingly and cheerfully, said Michael Glanz, program services director. They enjoy helping staff and love trying new tasks. T prepare the Activity Center for summer campers, the crews repainted the interior o of the building. What used to be a dark, drab green is now a colorful, vibrant space. This was the first time painting for most of the group, and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves while doing a great job. By Katherine Drayer

partnering to

REUSE BICYCLES
Melwoods Personal Enrichment Program (PEP) group is helping another area nonprofit, Bikes for the World, send rebuilt bicycles to people in other countries. PEP is a day program serving about 40 older adults in personal and social development, life skills, recreational opportunities, and community service. The partnership with Bikes for the World was created specifically for Bill Tippett, an individual in PEP who loves fixing bikes so much that he calls himself Bicycle Billy. Bill helped process bikes, which consists of removing usable parts from older bikes. This allowed the group to participate in a new activity while also helping others. The group helped pack of a shipping container with bikes ready to be sent abroad. Most of organizations collections activities are held on Saturdays and the PEP group is unable to participate. Bikes of the World and the PEP group are currently working on ways to make this activity an ongoing partnership. PEP would like to collect older bikes, strip them for usable parts, and send them to Bikes for the World. More information can be found on their website at www.bikesfortheworld.org.

Lionel Briscoe, Roger Townsend, John Boswell, George Armstrong and Chip Cary mend a fence at the stables.

Growing T ogether Extends to Everyone

Dawn T Contract Services office manager, earned her accreditation as a Certified aft, Professional Horticulturalist (CPH) in April, and in May, Joy Morris and Ron Hanley earned their ISSA Certification Experts-Green Building (ICE-GB) designations. Growing T ogether is a culture that extends to everyone at Melwood, said Matt Scassero, senior vice president of Contract Services. T joins fellow Melwood employees Sheila Gallagher and Mark Rogers as CPH holders, aft while Morris and Hanley are two of only nine people in Maryland to hold the ICE-GB certification. Of T Gallagher says, she can better promote partnership between the horticulture therapy aft, program and contract services. The ICE designation demonstrates Melwoods commitment to customer service in our custodial business with an emphasis on green cleaning, said Hanley.
In congratulations for T achievement, Donna Kramer and Gallagher afts presented her with an assortment of plants. Spring 2010

summer camp

IS ALMOST HERE!

As summer draws near, hundreds of kids throughout the area are looking forward to fun and adventure at Melwoods Kamp A-Kom-Plish. Located on 108 beautifully wooded acres in southern Charles County, Maryland, Kamp A-Kom-Plish boasts activities including swim and horseback riding lessons, ropes courses, a climbing wall, campfires, pottery, and more! Kamp A-Kom-Plish is a uniquely inclusive program where approximately half of the kids who attend have disabilities and half do not. All activities and activity areas are fully accessible. Kids aged 6-16 are welcome to join in the fun! Five programs are offered: overnight camp, day camp, pony pals day camp, equestrian day camp and T errific T eens. The camp season begins June 20 and runs through August 20. For information about specific programs or to register online, visit www.kampakomplish.org. Please direct questions to Marisa Cucuzzella at mcucuzzella@melwood.org or 301-870-3226, ext. 2280. By Bekah Carmichael

Terrific Teens Receives Award and Scholarship Grant

The T errific T program at Melwood Recreation Center recently earned the eens Innovative Program Award from Maryland Recreation and Parks Association for its novel approach to introduce youth with special needs to vocational training. The program also received a $3500 grant for scholarships from the Community Foundation of Charles County. T errific T enables young people to explore career goals, begin job skill training eens and build social skills, leadership and independence while enjoying a recreational summer camp experience. The program prepares youth for jobs in the community or at Melwood Recreation Center at an age when most campers begin to age out of summer camps. Isabel, a teenager who has an autism spectrum disorder, began attending summer camp in 2007 After two years as a camper, she joined the T . errific T program, een where she helped care for the horses and assisted in lessons. Isabels mother says, Isabel has taken a cognitive leap and her vocabulary has increased. Isabel is more poised and centered in all aspects of her life. Isabel stays in contact with the friends she made at KampA-Kom-Plish, and even attends the reunion weekends during the year. Melwood Recreation Center is still accepting applications for the 2010 summer camp and T errific T programs. For information, please eens visit www.kampakomplish.org or call (301) 870-3226.

Prince Georges County Open Returns

Continued from page 1 The tournament has quickly become one of the premier events on the Nationwide T and we believe the partnership with our, the University of Maryland will help us continue to grow this community event for years to come, said tournament director T Sodeman. Maryland will be an excellent venue and we are eo very pleased with the overwhelming support we have already received from the University, club members and the local business community. The Kids Zone, one of last years popular attractions, will return. Kids of all ages can enjoy a variety of slides, moon bounces and other games in the safety and comfort of the all-weather soccer dome near the course entrance. The universitys 18-hole, semi-private golf course was recently renovated and is located within the Washington D.C. capital beltway, making it an ideal spot to host this event. The championship course consists of tree-lined fairways and a clubhouse that features a full-service golf shop, bar and grill, and banquet facilities. The Golf Channel will again broadcast the Melwood Prince Georges County Open in the U.S. The PGA TOUR will also distribute it to 72 countries worldwide, including Japan, South Korea, China, Sweden, Argentina and Brazil. T ournament play begins June 3 for the golfers who are ready to compete and win on golf s greatest stage. Your whole family will enjoy this great event. Tickets are available through the University of Maryland box office and at the door. Proceeds support Melwood programs for people with disabilities.

M E LW O O D

leaving a legacy
Each year, people give to Melwood to preserve the memory of loved ones, fulfill moral obligations, express gratitude for well-performed services or demonstrate a deep-felt humanitarian concern. Alice Larkin Halls son Frank received services through Melwood for many years. When Alice passed away, she left her estate to Melwood and other organizations that cared for her son. Frank and Alice Larkin Hall Melwood has a well-earned in 1993 reputation of caring for the needs of people with disabilities. Alice was very thankful for the care that Melwood provided for her son Frank, said Tina Reese, a friend and personal representative of Halls estate. Planned giving allows donors financial needs and charitable goals to work hand in hand. Your estate-planning advisor can help you determine the best options for your financial goals. For more information on how you can make a legacy gift to Melwood, please call (301) 599-4516.

Visit www.pgatouratumd.com for more information

the artist

IN EVERYONE

Life Skills Creates Group Art

Kim Visek began to paint five years ago while working with a boy with disabilities in North Carolina. She wanted to share the activity with Life Skills participants after being hired by Melwood last year. I had seen art done by individuals at conferences and knew our participants could do it too, said Visek, lead development coach, adding that the individuals had a great time creating it. With prestretched canvas, acrylic paints and brushes, 17 participants worked together to create a colorful work of art. The canvas is on display in the Community Services Division office, where visitors admire the painting and the abilities of the participants. Other offices have commissioned works from the group as well. Art brings out the best in people and this piece is an example of individuals creative abilities at their best, said Janice Frey-Angel, Melwood President/CEO.

The Life Skills group displays their recent art project. From left to right, LaQuinton Riggins, Kim Visek, Jeff Gordon, Jonathan Honesty, Donna Marquette, Ryan Campbell, Mark Huble, Keith Collins (all standing) and Donna Marquette, T Vandevort, Gena Galles, Veronica Charsky, Denise Williams, Wanda Prophet, om Robert Coleman and Violetta Johnson (all seated).

Spring 2010

Contributions to Melwood help individuals with disabilities to earn their way. Each year, Melwood provides employment, support services and recreation for more than 1,600 people with disabilities. To find out how you can help, call (301) 599-8000 or visit www.melwood.org.
5606 Dower House Road Upper Marlboro, MD 20772 (301) 599-8000 www.melwood.org

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