THE KOKUA SPIRIT VOL 5 NUMBER 10 Oct 09

- Hana G for promoting client safety around meal time at Carpenter Hills Thanks for finding ways to help prevent injuries and reduce the spread of germs!. Now through October 16th, Koku

“THE KOKUA SPIRIT”

“Kokua’s Mission is to provide citizens with disabilities the support they need to lead full and meaningful lives.”

www.kokuaservices.com

FUN THINGS TO DO

The Olympia Farmers

Market - open April thru Oct -

Thurs thru Sun, 10a-3p; Nov &

Dec- Sat & Sun 10a - 3p

The Apple Festival at

Lattin's Cider Mill - the last

weekend of Sept & continues

every weekend thru Oct,

9a-5p, free admission, $2

parking Visit the Less Scary

Haunted House every Sat &

Sun in Oct from noon to

4:30p, $4.00 per person or

visit the Very Scary Haunted

Barn Fri & Sat, Oct 17/18,

24/25 & Fri, Oct 31st, 7p-10p,

$6.00 per person

Thurston County Scare: A

haunted walk through the

Thurston Co Fairgrounds

Ghouls, zombies, ghosts &

clowns lurk in the shadows

$10 for adults, 10/2 - 10/31,

Fri & Sat 7-11pm at the

fairgrounds More info:

786-5453

Say Hey Olympia Career

Networking for Disabled

Individuals held at the

Phoenix Inn, downtown

Olympia, 10/13, 6pm-8pm

More info: 725-3610

DAY OF CARING

For the first time ever, Kokua participated in the United Way "Day of Caring" The Day of Caring is a one day event sponsored by the United Way, the Evergreen State College and the Volunteer Center

This year volunteers from the community signed

up to help Kokua landscape the yard of the 22nd house There were 10 volunteers from the Lacey Lions Club and Morningside The volunteers worked tirelessly and graciously shared their skills

to make the yard look amazing

Thank you volunteers for helping this project turn out so great Everyone had a wonderful time and we can't wait to partner with our neighboring organizations again!

NIMBLE HANDS BENEFIT KOKUA

Contact us to have your

newsletter delivered by e-mail

Phone: (360) 705- 4665 or

e-mail sally@kokuaservices.com

SAFETY COMMITTEE

NEWS

Kokua greatly appreciates all

the little things our employees

do in the effort to stay safe

Here are just a couple of

examples that the Safety

Committee would like to

recognize:

- Rick C at 5th swept all the

leaves off the patio to prevent

slipping

- Candice G and Sara C used

teamwork to safely change a

light bulb at 17th

- Darcy has been a great hand

washing advocate at

Chambers

- Hana G for promoting client

safety around meal time at

Carpenter Hills

Thanks for finding ways to

help prevent injuries and

reduce the spread of germs!

Many thanks to the awesome

members of our Safety

Committee! I appreciate that

you come to meetings

prepared, have positive

attitudes,and come up with

creative solutions Our group

consists of: Zula W, Hillary P,

Rick C, Linda M, Noreen T, Amy

G, Evelyn B, Valarie H, Merja T,

Candice G, and Mary Ann Y

VOLUNTEER OF THE

MONTH

This month's featured

volunteer is Alayna

Brantner!

As part of the Washington State Combined Fund Drive, the Department of Fish and Wildlife is raffling off a gorgeous quilt to benefit Kokua The artist behind this amazing quilt is Tammy Meyers, who has a family members served by Kokua

Tammy is an expert quilter and often has several quilts in various stages of completion We are very honored that Tammy chose Kokua as the focus of her fundraising Many thanks to Tammy and the Department of Fish and Wildlife Below are pictures of this beautiful quilt

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT KOKUA

Alayna is a loyal friend to Kim

and has spent the summer

getting to know her buddy

Alayna enjoys going out to eat

with Kim and crocheting Thank

you Alayna for being such a

compassionate person and for

sharing your gift of friendship

MACY’S SHOP 4 A

CAUSE

Shop 4 a Cause is an annual

fundraiser hosted by Macy's

Now through October 16th,

Kokua will be selling $5

discount cards that will be good

for 20% off your entire

purchase at Macy's on October

16th For each card sold,

Kokua will earn $5 to benefit

the volunteer program To

purchase your discount card,

please visit Breezie (Thompson)

O’Neill, Volunteer and

Internship Coordinator at

705-4665 ext 120 or visit Kokua's

booth at Macy's on October

18th

NEW FACES AT KOKUA

We'd like to welcome some new

employees who joined Kokua

this last month

Jane McCarthy was born in

Burlington, Wisconsin She

loves music and most anything

having to do with the arts She

claims that she doesn't haven't

a real talent, but admires those

that do Her current hobby is

photography and she enjoys

photographing nature's beauty

Jessie McDonnell was born in

Aberdeen, WA and raised in

Quinault, WA, a small town

near the Olympic National Park

After high school she attended

Community College and

traveled for a while She moved

to this area to attend the

Evergreen State College, where

she's lived the last three years

In June of 2009 she graduated

with an emphasis in

psychology She enjoys

photography, learning ASL &

Spanish, gardening, knitting,

fishing, traveling and painting

She says, "I'm glad to be a part

of the Kokua team and look

forward to meeting everyone."

Charlie B, John C and Danny C have had a busy end of the summer wrap up Danny celebrated his birthday in style His family

visited and everyone enjoyed a huge enchilada feast followed by cake and ice cream He went shopping and assisted with re-decorating his room for his Native American heritage Great choices

Danny! Charlie is noticing how the days are getting shorter and he

makes sure he gets to do some bike riding He has enjoyed lunches and visits with his family He will be celebrating his birthday on October 21st and has been working on planning his party Save the

date on your calendar John continues to enjoy his coffee time He

has noticed the cooler weather and definitely prefers the warmth and sunshine He received some special coffee treats from his family and has spent some time with them for breakfast as well as other home visits He recently found a swing at Priest Point Park that

he enjoyed, and when the weather permits, he plans to visit again The guys all relaxed recently during a day trip to Oregon, enjoying the sites While leaving Washington there was a very large bridge that crossed the Columbia River There was plenty to see once over the bridge in Portland, Oregon They stopped for coffee/tea and cookies at the great rest stops on the interstate and also stopped for lunch It was a great day adventure

Rick F has been going to new places and enjoyed Cabela's very much Scott B went to a Def Leppard concert a while back and had

a great time John W has been politically active and is supporting

his candidates, attending meetings and campaigning

Jeff D and Gary W went to the Puyallup Fair in September They both said they had lots of fun Jeff went to two concerts The first

one was the Poison and Def Leppard concert at the White River

Amphitheater He was accompanied by Candice Garman Jeff had a

big smile on his face the whole time and was rockin' out to the

music! Jeff also went to the Beach Boys concert with friends He

said he had a good time!

Laurie H enjoys swimming every Monday afternoon at the YMCA

and loves the hot tub, too She always looks forward to it every

week Christine R loves to bike around the park and enjoys watching kids play Jenny D had a very exciting birthday last

September 13 in Centralia She celebrated her birthday with family

and received wonderful gifts Kim R unfortunately is still in the

nursing home recovering from her fall Hopefully she will be coming home soon Her roommates and staff miss her They are planning something special for her birthday, which is coming up soon

Manuela C and Maggie P celebrated their birthdays on Friday,

October 2, with family, staff and friends at the 22nd home They both received wonderful gifts that they have already started using

Manuela got a computer game and Maggie got some fashionable new gloves and a scarf for the upcoming fall/winter season Beverly

G has been up to visit her friend Joan and is already planning another outing to visit her at her new home in Seattle Cecelia M is

hard at work planning for her birthday and her favorite holiday of the year - Halloween!

The Clearfield house will be having a Halloween party on

the 28th of October from 5pm - 7pm Be sure to wear a costume!

Keith W got to spend some time with his newborn nephew, Elias Michael C is planning a trip to Hawaii to see his sister Paul J is planning a train ride to go to see the Seattle Seahawks Joe L's

mom and dad are coming on October 24 and 25 to visit for the weekend and to celebrate an early Christmas with Joe

Jesse W made a trip to Seattle with staff and on the way back

Emma Lusis was born in

Tacoma She will be working at

the Carpenter Hills house and

is a student at Evergreen State

College, pursuing a BA in

Environmental Studies and

a BS in Oceanography She

loves scuba diving, travel and

reading She looks forward to

making new friends at Kokua

Leslie PIlon has joined the

Independent Living Team A

She was born in Ojai, CA and is

currently a student in

psychology and will be

graduating soon She is the

mom of two boys, ages 8 and

5 She loves to refinish antique

furniture and read

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR

MORE HOURS?

Temporary and fill-in hours

are available We can train you

to work at more than one

house Contact Client Services

Coordinators for more

information.Call 705-4665

Allen Gilchrist ext 123

Lynn Royal ext 118

Karen McSwain ext 103

IN THE COMMUNITY

John W is always very active

and visible in our community

He's active with

North Thurston

Sports activities,

church activities,

and volunteering

his assistance

wherever he can

He's always been

interested in politics, and just

recently he was appointed as a

Precinct Committee Officer of

the Thurston County

Democrats, District

Montgomery 10

Congratulations, John!

BRYAN’S MOVIE

REVIEW

Each month, Bryan C will be

attending

some movies

locally and

giving us a

review of

they stopped andd stopped and ate lunch at Hooter's All the girls signed a hat stopped and ate lunch at Hootersthat he bought there

James M went on a ferry ride to Seattle and had lunch at a

restaurant (cont on page 3) (Continued from page 2)

Dean H has just gotten a membership to the YMCA and enjoyed

going swimming with the Devin G from the Resource Team

Dean is also enjoying working at Left Foot Organics He gets to eat

with the other employees and is very excited about this!

KOKUA KUDOS

"Everyone appreciates being appreciated Try to catch people red-handed in the act of doing something right - and praise them for it!"

I'd like to extend a very huge welcome to Emma L to the Carpenter Hills Loop team Thank you for jumping right on in and providing your input and the initiative you have proven in this short time We are thankful to have you as part of the Carpenter Hills

Team! Also, a very huge thank you to Yolanda W You continuously

go out of your way for the clients as well as for other team members and other teams too You are awesome and truly appreciated! Thanks for going way above and beyond with your expertise in assisting with Danny's birthday From the shopping adventures for his room makeover to the extravagant feast prepared for the party - what magic you performed! I also want to thank everyone who participated with the carpet-cleaning event

Thank you so much! A special thank you to Mick G for working your

own magic with getting the carpets cleared as well as enduring the

regular morning activities Hilary P - you are a tremendous asset

to the team! I admire how you have the ability to look forward and provide ideas that benefit the needs of the clients and how you focus on making your ideas a reality You have many talents and you

are greatly appreciated! Susan S: You are the best! Thank you for

taking on the new schedule and being patient with me You are truly

amazing! Sunny R: I think you are awesome with the clients Thank

you for the learning opportunities you have enlightened me with

You are a complete ray of Sunshine! To the entire team: I want to

thank you all for EVERYTHING What great teamwork!

And wherever the magic wand is will someone please tell me???

From Sue Korns

Thanks to Ann Barrios-Ruiz for filling in at the Clearfield house

for all the open shifts You're awesome! From the Clearfield team

I'd like to give kudos to the ENTIRE team at 22nd - you have all

been so helpful and patient with me as I transition to the team

leader position Thank you to Meg M, Mel S, Amanda C, Nicole E, Jennifer M, Lilie L, Havie P and Christa B for filling open shifts

and covering for teammates when they were sick You have been

real life savers to the ladies and the team! From Amanda Conwell

Kudos to everyone on my team who helped me through my hard

times! and Yolanda W for being so awesome and covering my

shifts while I was sick From Candice Garman

those movies.

This month, Bryan went to

see "Jennifer's Body", a dark

comedy and horror film starring

Megan Fox, who portrays a

possessed teenage serial killer

The movie has an R rating

Bryan says this movie had

some good acting and pretty

good special effects, but was

very predictable

We look forward to hearing

more about what’s new in the

theaters every month Thanks,

Bryan!

RECRUIT NEW EMPLOYEES

FOR

KOKUA AND EARN $$

Kokua is still giving out

bonuses for referrals Here’s

how it works

Refer (or give an application to)

people who’d make great

Kokua team members When

they come for an interview,

have them tell their

interviewer(s) that you referred

them A referral form will be

completed at hire A referral

form must be completed &

in the new employee’s file

for you to receive the

bonus If your referral is hired

& completes the 90 day

probation period, you’ll receive

a $50.00 bonus If your referral

remains an employee for a

year, you’ll receive a $100.00

bonus

DENTISTRY FROM THE

HEART

"Dentistry from the Heart"

is a day of free dental

care for anyone in need

They will treat the first

100 patients or as many

people as they can see by

5pm There will be two

dentists, two hygienists

and many more

volunteers Extractions,

simple fillings and

cleanings will be done

I want to give major kudos to the team at 17th: Lakeisha Allen, Candice Garman, Geoff Brown and Kam Fashay As a team,

everyone works together When issues arise, you work as a team to get things done You are all sooo awesome Also I want to thank the fill-in team who are able to work at a moment's notice, during

emergencies: Nicole Ekar, Yolanda Worrall, Les Messmer, Ann

Barrios-Ruiz and Kevin Preston Thanks to you all! From Sara

Lynn Chafe

EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION AWARDS

This month’s Employee Appreciation Awards go to:

Evelyn Baker - You are being recognized for your incredible time

management skills, your calm personality, and your impeccable communication You are also being awarded for your wonderful logging skills

Sally Lewis - You are recognized for your hard work implementing

the new databases Thank you for your willingness to take on new projects and help other staff Your support in the office is greatly appreciated

Diane Lamb - You are awarded this month for your hard work with

new projects in the office Your willingness to jump in and help out anyone in need is greatly appreciated You are so supportive, warm-hearted and compassionate Thank you!

The Carpenter Hills Team -You are recognized this month for your

teamwork Thank you for doing such a great job coming together and supporting clients through difficult situations and challenging incidents You are greatly appreciated!

-Congratulations also to the three winners of our third quarter

Employee Recognition drawing: Melanie Smith, Rebecca Pickett and Noreen Tangredi.

All three ladies are honored by exemplifying Kokua's vision of respectful, quality client support

VOLUNTEER PROGRAM NEWS

By: Breezie (Thompson) O'Neill, Volunteer & Internship Coordinator

Kokua Welcomes 2 New Volunteers

This September the volunteer program has been lucky enough to welcome two more volunteers

Samantha Wlazlak was born in Seattle and enjoys beading

jewelry, painting, drawing and hiking She will be volunteering to help with some special projects in the office

Elizabeth Chapman is a recent graduate from Eastern

Washington University with a Master's Degree in Social Work Her hobbies include music, writing, poetry, watching the Mariners, reading and movies She will be matched up in our "Be a Buddy" program

The broadest and maybe the most meaningful definition of

volunteering: Doing more than you have to because you want to, in

a cause you consider good - Ivan Scheier

Thank you volunteers for spending an amazing 54 hours

of your time in September helping others and putting Kokua's mission to action!

Patients must be at least

18 years old This will be

held at Dr Bill Bode's

office on October 17,

2009 His address is

2728-D Westmoor Ct SW,

Olympia For more

information, contact

Sonya at 357-4505

FREE IF YOU’LL PICK

THEM UP

I have a coffee table,

computer desk and

microwave stand that I

want to give away if you'll

pick them up These are

nice pieces in very good

condition If you're

interested, call Kam at

(206)259-6252

KOKUA EMPLOYEES: If you’re having Family Problems, Stress,

Anger, Job Concerns, Alcohol- Drug Problems, Depression, Anxiety, Parenting, Grief, or Relationship Problems, Call Employee

Assistance Service 493-7867

DON'T FORGET TO GET YOUR FLU SHOT

Group Health is having it's flu shot clinics on Saturday, October 24 and Saturday November 7, 10am-3pm Also, many pharmacies and physician offices/clinics have flu shot clinics

TAKING CARE OF YOU

NO MATTER HOW LONG YOU'VE BEEN SMOKING,

YOUR BODY BEGINS TO REPAIR ITSELF AS SOON AS YOU QUIT!

- After 20 minutes: your blood pressure, heart rate and the temperature of your hands and feet become normal.

- After 8 hours: oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in your blood become normal.

- After 24 hours: your risk of heart attack begins to decrease.

- After 2 days: Sense of smell and taste improves Nerve endings start to regrow Mucus in your airways begins to break up and clear out your lungs.

- Between 2 weeks - 3 months: circulation becomes better and breathing improves; it becomes easier to walk.

- Between 1-9 months: Coughing, sinus congestion, shortness of breath and fatigue decrease and you have more energy.

- At 1 year - Happy Birthday! Your excess risk of heart disease is now less than half what it was a year ago.

- At 5 years: your risk of cancer of the lung, mouth, throat and esophagus is half that of a pack-a-day smoker.

- At 10 years: risk of dying of lung cancer is now similar

to non-smokers' Pre-cancerous cells have been

replaced.

- At 15 years: risk of heart disease is the same as if you never smoked.