On August 1st Brian Taylor and our friends at RU Recovery in Wells County hosted the 4th annual Deakota Ingle Memorial Cruise-In. The event was held in the parking lot of Yergy’s State Road BBQ in Bluffton, Indiana. It was a fabulous evening! The weather was perfect, the air was filled with great music and the wonderful smell of BBQ, and everywhere you looked there were amazing cars to look at! The YSB was honored to be the recipient of the proceeds from this event which equaled an impressive $750! We were also pleased to be able to send our residential youth for the event. They were a little late in getting there but still enjoyed the music, the cars, and playing some corn-hole. Thank you to all who helped with this event, those in attendance and those who donated. We at the YSB could not do all that we do without the support of the communities we serve.
It brings me great joy to share the story of another Residential groups Christmas experience here at the YSB!
As always our Christmas celebration spans the entire month of December with special recreation activities! The favorite continues to be our Secret Santa activity. Each resident had two staff assigned to them this year. One staff bought them $5 gifts for the 16th and 17th while the other bought them $5 gifts for the 18th and 19th. On the 19th which was the night of our Residential Christmas Party, the residents opened their big gift from their Secret Santa’s. Some staff chose to team up for this gift and others wanted to purchase their own, so residents either received one $40 gift or two $20 gifts.
It was a little sad this year as this was the first time in 26 years that Tina Bechtol had not prepared the Christmas dinner. Tina retired at the end of November after preparing our Thanksgiving dinner one last time. Thank you for all your years of service Tina!
We were very fortunate to have Kim Atkinson, “the new Tina”, Yvonne Duff and her son, Blaine Duff prepare the Christmas dinner for us this year. All of the food was very, very good and no one walked away hungry! Some of the residents ate so much that they had no room for any of the wonderful desserts!
Once everyone was finished eating we worked to prepare the lounge area for gift giving time. The first gifts to be passed out are the Secret Santa gifts. The residents open them and then try to guess which staff had them. Surprisingly, there were two correct guesses this year! Staff and resident alike really enjoy the fun and mystery around this activity. It never fails that at least one resident is completely shocked by which staff person had them and how well they did at getting things the resident really liked.
After Secret Santa the residents receive their haul of Christmas presents. Each resident gets a large Santa bag filled with gifts. The residents open them and then take turns sharing what they received. This year there were some new shoes, a lot of new clothes, some art stuff, a camera, and a robe, to name a few. The resident that received the robe was very excited about this gift!
One resident was shocked when the rest of the presents came out. She thought that the Secret Santa presents were the extent of their Christmas. She was very grateful for the Secret Santa gifts, but was blown away when there was so much more! When I asked her how she would communicate to those outside the YSB what Christmas here is like this is what she told me, “Even though it is a residential home the staff love us, take care of us and try to treat us like family”.
The residents always receive really nice name brand items that they often times do not have the opportunity to receive outside of care. It is always thrilling to see their reaction when they receive something that they really wanted, like the robe for example! I think he wore it the rest of the evening! Yvonne Duff, typically does the majority of the Christmas shopping for the residents each year. Yvonne has a special shopping ability which allows her to be able to pick out just the right gifts for each resident.
A lot of the time our residents are able to go home and be with someone from their family for at least part of Christmas day, but sometimes there are one or more who have no place to go for Christmas. When this happens we make sure that they have some additional presents to open Christmas morning along with having a big breakfast and getting to stay in pajamas for most of the day. This year we had three residents who were not able to have a Christmas visit.
On behalf of myself, the Board of Directors, staff, and most importantly the residents, we would like to thank all of this year’s donors as it is your support that allows us to create these life-long Christmas memories!
We are extremely grateful to the Randolph Community Foundation for the grant award of $2,500 which is funded by the EDP Renewables Charitable Fund ($1,500), the James and Linda Noffsinger Fund ($500), and the David and Lisa Jennings Charitable Fund (($500). These funds will be utilized specifically for the B.A.S.E. school program for the 2024-2025 academic school year to purchase needed clothing items such as shoes, personal hygiene items, recreational games/therapy, food items, and art/misc. items.
Due to this generous contribution, we project that 45-55 youth attending the B.A.S.E./Alternative school program will be positively impacted this academic school year. Each student will be given a personal hygiene kit around Christmas time that can be utilized throughout the year. Other items will be given throughout the year based on need, participation in ongoing counseling, and for students who progress through phases in the program through attendance and positive behavior.
Staff also work with students in the program to purchase food items, demonstrate safe food preparation, and increase life skills in cooking/cleaning. Students will often come in without proper footwear, in some cases they are completely worn down or are not the right size because it was handed down to them by someone else. Students without proper footwear can obtain shoes through the use of these grant funds. Youth often need additional food items due to not having consistent meals at home. Funds will be utilized to purchase these food items. Funds will also be utilized to purchase additional indoor/outdoor games that will allow students to learn new games, interact and cooperate with others, and develop strategies. Funds will be utilized for art/STEM items that allow youth in the BASE Program to practice positive interaction with others, demonstrate social skills, practice art techniques, demonstrate their creativity, and utilize problem-solving and reasoning skills.
Thanks so much to the Randolph Community Foundation for investing in our youth and helping make a positive impact on students in Randolph County!
This year the YSB had a youth who had the opportunity to attend prom and go on a week-long trip with the school! These were both exciting events we don’t get to participate in all the time, so everyone was more than happy to help make this happen for our youth. There were many plans made and executed along the way, and we want to thank everyone who contributed.
First, thank you to Jay County Junior-Senior High School for providing the prom ticket and for working with our youth and YSB to make sure they could be included in both events! Cowpokes in Anderson, IN graciously agreed to donate a new pair of cowboy boots, to accommodate the wardrobe wishes of our youth. Heidi Bouse, the Business Manager for YSB, ordered and donated the boutonniere. Dawn Milligan, our File Review staff, secured funds through her church, Willow Tree Ministries located at 722 West Main St in Portland to purchase clothes for prom. We were able to get a tux for the big event! The Elks Lodge in Portland provided free pre-prom dinner for any prom attendees who chose to go there for dinner. In addition to all of these wonderful gestures, many staff members stepped up to help out as well. Big shout out and much gratitude to Erika Limbert, the YSB Case Manager who ran our youth all over east central Indiana to gather all the goodies together and ensured all the plans in place would work. Thanks to Erika Huntsman and Abi Walker who helped our youth get ready for dinner and prom, took some fantastic pictures at local venues, and also provided his transportation to and from prom. Thanks to Anna Coronato, who provided extra staff support so coworkers could make sure our youth made it to and from the extended school trip!
It is with the deepest of gratitude that the Youth Service Bureau and our youth thanks everyone who helped make this happen! All too often our youths are unable to participate in these memorable events due to life circumstances which makes it even more important that we were able to work together to provide our youth with these opportunities. Thank you all, again, for all of your caring and hard work.
On 3/25/24 our youth in the residential program volunteered at the Winchester Moose Lodge with sorting and handing out donations for the families that lost their homes in the recent tornado. Our residents assisted with sorting the items and marking out barcodes.
However, their favorite part was being able to assist those who came in with finding the items they needed. One of our residents assisted an elderly lady in finding various items such as canned food, dishes, and clothes. He helped her try on various coats until she found one that fit her properly. While he was helping her they had an opportunity to talk a little bit and get to know each other. He then helped her load her stuff in the car and they hugged and wished each other well. He stated that he never knew volunteering could be so amazing! He shared that he was eager to do it again to keep meeting amazing people while being able to give back to a community in a positive way.
Our residential kids have not always had an opportunity to see the value in community and helping other people. They all agreed that it was a meaningful experience that they would remember for years to come.
We would like to say thanks to the Community Foundation of Randolph County for your generous contribution of $2000.00 for the BASE/Alternative School Program which provides services for youth in Randolph County. The grant was used to purchase sensory items such as Play-Doh, Pop-its, Kinetic Sand, puzzles, and various board games. Students are allowed to play these games during counseling and as a privilege during break times. Youth often benefit from the use of sensory items to promote focus, reduce anxiety, develop fine motor skills/sense of touch, and also encourage language skills. Youth also learn rules/strategies for playing games and also develop strategy/problem-solving skills and collaboration with others as well.
YSB has also utilized grant funds received from CFRC to purchase items of need for 10 youth who actively participate in counseling services and/or have a financial need. Youth were given a pair of shoes, a pair of athletic pants/leggings, and a hygiene set which often included body spray, body wash, and deodorant.
Additionally, a ticket-based incentive system has been implemented this year that rewards positive behavior with food/drink items as well as other non-monetary privileges. Food items/ingredients were purchased with grant funds. Various students are chosen to assist staff and learn some life skills in cooking/cleaning/food preparation. Grant funds allowed us to purchase an electric griddle and Air Fryer. Burgers were grilled with a Portable Grill that was purchased last year due to ongoing contributions from the CFRC.
There are some additional things that have been able to be purchased and utilized for the BASE/Alternative School. We will be creating another post within the coming months to show those things as well. Thanks so much to the Community Foundation of Randolph County for your continued support! We really appreciate it!
Every year when our fundraising letter goes out to community members, businesses, service organizations, and other stakeholders the response never fails to amaze me! It is truly a pleasure to live and work in a community where support for those in need is never far away.
Although Christmas is nearly upon us it is not too late to give!
Each year we use part of the donations received to purchase the Christmas presents for the residents in our Residential Program but there are a number of other ways donating to the YSB helps our residents throughout the year. Donations are often used to cover the expense of outings for the residents. In recent years we have taken trips to the Cincinnati Zoo, Indianapolis Zoo, Fort Wayne Zoo, Newport Aquarium, Kentucky Kingdom, Louisville Slugger factory, Wright Patterson Air Force Museum, and have attended multiple shows at the Honeywell Center to name a few. Donations are also used throughout the year to purchase crafts, art supplies, and replacement items for our residents.
Around this time of year, donations are used to purchase most of the items for our holiday baskets which are distributed to all Youth Service Bureau service recipients. Most of the time we have to link clients to the resources they need in the community as our ability to provide concrete assistance is limited. Being able to give our clients a basket full of food and household items they may desperately need is both great for our client and our staff, as it makes them feel good about the work they are doing. Just like Residential, the donations received can assist all programs throughout the year.
You can mail or drop off your donation any time of the year at 603 West Arch St. Portland, IN 47371. Office hours are Monday-Friday 8 am to 4 pm. We are also happy to accept your donation electronically, https://ysbjc.com/donate/.
(B.A.S.E. teachers Joe Younts, Kim Waber, and Chris Dubach)
We are so thankful to have received a grant from the Heart of Indiana United Way’s Economic Relief Initiative Funds for the B.A.S.E program in Randolph County!
The grant received will be used to purchase rewards/incentives for BASE students who demonstrate good behavior, for personal hygiene items, sensory items to stimulate the five senses, clothing, shoes, or other needed articles of clothing, as well as food items. This year we have implemented a new behavioral incentive program for BASE students. Each school-day BASE students can earn one ticket every 30 minutes for good behavior. Tickets are given throughout the day for positive behavior and can be removed for negative behaviors. At the end of each day, students can trade in their tickets for the purchase of items or they can choose to save them for bigger items that have a higher ticket value. BASE students and staff met this week to determine specific tangible and intangible rewards along with appropriate ticket values for each.
In October we are planning to start doing some hands-on cooking/food preparation with BASE students to create and eat various food items. This also is a great opportunity to teach students how to make a list of needed food items, compare prices of the food items at the store, learn to safely prepare and serve food items, and properly clean dishes. In addition, teaching youth to make food items themselves will help them have a general knowledge of ways to save money preparing food items themselves versus frequently eating out. We really appreciate your support and faith in our program.
Thanks again for your generous grant contribution so we can better assist Randolph Youth in our BASE Program,
Carlin Tipton, Todd Weaver Jr., Chris Liby, Clint Skirvin, Carl Masters, Todd Weaver Sr., Thomas Hampton. Not Pictured: Ryan Wilson
The Youth Service Bureau of Jay County, Inc. (YSB) would like to send a special thanks out to Mark Lefever and the KBL Transport team for their recent generosity!
Property at 609 West Arch Street was recently purchased by the YSB. Thanks to their help and generosity we are one step closer to having a nice green space for supervised visitations, outpatient play therapy, and YSB employee functions.
