As many of you know, UCP has been forced to implement layoffs in our Supported Employment Department.
 
One of the biggest changes was that the department’s Director, Melissa Miller, was laid off. We’d like to take a moment to celebrate and honor Melissa’s achievements at UCP.
 
Melissa started at UCP more than 17 years ago. She applied to be a “Roommate” (a live-in caregiver), hoping to get a job and a place to live. As she says, though, she ended up finding “a family, a community and a mission.”
 
That mission? As Melissa says, it’s to “PUSH THE ENVELOPE and NEVER STOP PUSHING for those who need support.”
 
Over the years, Melissa worked in many of UCP’s departments, supporting and interacting with hundreds of customers and employees. She met her husband at UCP, and started her own family. Meanwhile, Melissa was creating a new department, Employment Solutions, and serving as a statewide advocate and voice.
 
As UCP’s Executive Director, Ann Coffey says, “Melissa is bold, fearless, opinionated, hard-working, and full of gusto. She moves mountains. And she will continue to push the envelope for equity and justice, wherever she may roam.”
 
Melissa’s right-hand woman, Nicole Vivanco, will step into a new role as manager of the Employment Solutions team.
 
Learn more about recent changes to Employment Solutions here.

Woo hoo! This weekend, we held our first ever Drive-Thru Toy Giveaway, and it was... AWESOME!

Thanks to Santa, all the elves, and, most especially, our Family Support Director, Katherine Ball, for all their hard work!

We'll be sharing more pics soon.
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In the meantime, here's a great pic from today. Katherine is spending the day delivering toys and joy to the families that couldn't make it to the event.

Exciting news: UCP's Family Support Director, Katherine Lee Ball was on the news this morning with FOX 12!

Katherine was picking up toys for our 2020 Toy Giveaway Drive-Thru.

Katherine says she is "so excited to be Santa’s helper to spread joy this holiday season."
Thank you to everyone who is making the 2020 Toy Giveaway possible, especially Fox 12, Les Schwaub and Portland Fire and Rescue Recruits! We love you!

Learn more about the Toy Giveaway here.

Hey, UCP families! Have you signed up yet for our 2020 Annual Toy Giveaway Drive-Thru?

Make sure to sign up ASAP!

To help you get in the spirit, here's some pics from last year. While this year's event will look different since it's outside, it'll still be festive and fun. Woo hoo!

PS: We also have options for families who can’t make the event.
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https://www.ucpaorwa.org/toy0giveaway.html

Each family can register for a 15 minutes time slot, during which they’ll drive through our parking lot and choose toy(s) for their children. We’ll be wearing masks, and will require you to wear a mask, too.

Learn more below. We can't wait see you!

PS: We also have options for families who can’t make the event.
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https://www.ucpaorwa.org/toy0giveaway.html

What if there was an online support group, open to all Oregon & SW Washington families who are raising a child with any disability?

There is! It's called "Gimme A Break" (GAB) and it's facilitated by UCP Oregon.

Families connect with other families in a safe and non-judgmental space. They cheer for each other, vent, and just talk. They also share ideas about how to deal with stress, how to find support, and what to expect now and in the future.

GAB is held online (via Zoom) on the second Thursday of every month, from 6:30pm–8pm.

Learn more and RSVP for the November GAB here.

What are you doing to celebrate or acknowledge World Cerebral Palsy Day on October 6th?

​Paige Murray (a motivational speaker and athlete) decided to write a letter to her CP, acknowledging the ups and downs of living with cerebral palsy. As Paige writes, "We are inseparable. Never without one another, you complete my very being."

After a tough adolescence, Paige says, she and her CP now "work in sync, most of the time anyway, always ready to smash through restrictions and whatever comes our way, together."

Read Paige's full letter here.

Happy NDEAM to you!

Wondering what NDEAM means? It stands for "National Disability Employment Awareness Month," and it happens every October.

The 2020 NDEAM is pretty special. That's because we're celebrating both the 75th observance of NDEAM... and the 30th anniversary of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)!

Both milestones are being celebrated across the country with a range of events, all centering on the theme "Increasing Access and Opportunity."

UCP Oregon's fantastic supported employment division (Employment Solutions) creates "access and opportunity" every day!