Friday, October 28, 2011

Great News and a Great Day at Shepherds College!!

This just in from Shepherds College Facebook page -



"Congratulations to the Shepherds College faculty & staff! Their committed work in developing & maintaining an outstanding program for people with intellectual disabilities has resulted in Shepherds College being the 1st post-secondary school for people w/intellectual disabilities being recommended for full accreditation by the NCA and, as far as we know, any accreditation board. For this and so much more, we give God all the thanks and praise."


This is such amazing news and so well deserved. NCA is the North Central Association. This is their description from Wikipedia and the organization's Facebook page -


"The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), also known as the North Central Association, is a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states, that is engaged in educational accreditation. It is one of six regional accreditation bodies in the United States, and its Higher Learning Commission is recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) as a regional accreditor for higher education institutions.[1]
The NCA accredits over 10,000 public and private educational institutions in its service area, including more than 1,000 higher education institutions.[2] The service area includes the states of Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, as well as the Navajo Nation.[3][4]"



Being the first college for students with intellectual disabilities to receive a recommendation for full accreditation is such a remarkable achievement and the staff students, and all associated with Shepherds should be so proud of this day!!

Congratulations!!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Handheld Screening,a new documentary on PBS, and an AHA Moment!

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share a couple of interesting items with all of you -

For those of you living near Williamsburg Virginia, there will be a free screening (they are accepting donations) of the wonderful documentary Handheld on Nov. 6th at 6:30 PM, which I spoke about earlier on this blog. Handheld was directed and produced by the Academy Award winning director Don Hahn about Mike Carroll and the beginnings of a life-changing charity Romanian Children's Relief which has benefited abandoned and struggling Romanian children for the past 20 years. I am going to try to attend. Mike Carroll will be in attendance along with the executive Director of RCR, my friend Eileen McHenry. You can find out more (and also about a showing on Nov. 2nd at the Romanian Embassy in Wash. DC!) and reserve your spot here. I hope to see you there!

In other news, PBS will be showing a documentary about the beginnings of the disability movement  next Thursday (check local listings - it may be different where you live) on Independent Lens called, "Lives Worth Living" Set your DVR's now to record this program! See more here.

Click on all the links above to find out more!

Daniela is having at great week at Shepherds. She had her first class in Introduction to Horticulture and is excited that she is going to spend the weekend at another classmate's house!

Here is one more great link about a video featuring the parent of one of Daniela's first year classmates. Vote for the video so it will be featured on an upcoming commercial for Mutual of Omaha! Then even more of the world will find out about our wonderful Shepherds College!!

Mutual of Omaha's Aha moments


Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Weekend at Miranda's

Daniela had a wonderful weekend at her roommate Miranda;'s house this past weekend. They went to a pumpkin farm, came back to the house, and carved some great looking pumpkins. They came back to campus Sunday night exhausted but happy! Daniela said they had a blast! For those of you who belong to the blog's Facebook groups (you can join if you're not!) you can see some photos of the weekend.

Thank you Brody family for your wonderful hospitality!


Also, the order form for the Arc calender is now on the previous post for those of you who want to place an order!

Friday, October 7, 2011

2012 Arc Calenders

Hi, everyone!

Everything is going great with Daniela this week. She is off to spend the weekend at her roommate's  house, which they are both very excited about. She was very happy to begin working on her knife skills in culinary arts yesterday.

The main reason I am writing you today is to encourage you all to order a beautiful calender for the coming year created by the Arc of Virginia. Not only is it filled with great photos of wonderful people reaching to live their best lives, but the money raised will "help keep The Arc of Virginia’s grassroots advocacy efforts going and growing!".

Most of you reading this blog know and love someone who has a disability. In that person's honor, why not buy a calender (or several) that could make a real difference in someone's life!

And hey buy them a calender, too!! Daniela will certainly be getting one for Christmas this year.
 It would be great if you mentioned Daniela's blog when ordering so the Arc staff will know where you found out about ordering! Thanks! Tina

Here is more info about the calender below:

Achieve With Us
2012 Advocacy Calendar
The gift that gives back all year long!
Purchase your 2012 edition of The Arc of Virginia advocacy calendar and help
keep The Arc of Virginia’s grassroots advocacy efforts going and growing!
The Arc of Virginia’s Advocacy Calendar is a great way to thank
family and friends who help make “A Life Like Yours” a reality in Virginia.
Calendars are $10 each
Buy in bulk and save! Purchase 50 or more for $8.50/ea, or 100 or more for $7/ea.
Questions? Contact Jessica Fleenor, Special Projects Coordinator, at (804) 649-8481 ext 102, or jfleenor@thearcofva.org
Shipping Rate
1-49 @ $10/ea   1-5 @ $2
50-99 @ $8.50/ea  5-25   @ $7
100+ @ $7/ea   26-50   @ $15
51-99   @ $25
100+ @ $30
Prefer to pick yours up?
Contact Jessica Fleenor at (804) 649-8481, ext 102,
or jfleenor@arcofva.org
Make checks payable to: The Arc of Virginia
2025 E Main St, Ste 107, Richmond, VA 23223
Thank You for making “A Life Like Yours” a reality in Virginia!