ACT May Newsletter

David Parrish is a parent of one ofACT's students, Matthew Parrish, andhas served on the board of ACT for4 years. David and his wife Sharonwork for the Environmental ProtectionAgency in Dallas. Sharon also servesas alternate board member and serveson several committees.

*NEXT MAJOR FUNDRAISERS:2010 GOLF TOURNAMENT2010 Achievement Center Golf Tour-nament, October 11,2010 at Preston-wood Country Club Hills Course6600 Columbine Way off of MarshLane just north of Plano Parkway.1:30 tee time.NEXT SPECIAL ARTS FES-TIVAL FEBRUARY 19,2011

NEXT ACT SPRING GALAAPRIL 30, 2011

MissionIt is the mission of the Achievement Centerof Texas to provide day care, day habilita-tion (life skills training), arts exploration,educational assistance and community in-clusion for children and adults with specialneeds in order to give them every opportu-nity to increase their self confidence andenjoy a higher quality of life.

ACT NewsletterMAY 2010

2950 North Shiloh RoadGarland, Texas 75044

972 414-7700

It is Harvest Time, be Thankful!"Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul. "Henry Ward BeecherACT has much to be grateful for this year. In all cultures a goodharvest is a time of celebration. Thanks to the hard work of par-ents and volunteers, we have had two successful fund raising eventsthis fiscal year. Despite the struggling economy and an overall de-cline in donations to non-profits, ACT has done well. On a coldday last November, Pat Nichols and the Golf Committee pulled offthe best ACT Golf Tournament ever. Then just this April, LindaRasmussen and her Gala Committee hosted the 14th Annual ACTSpring Gala featuring the Benchmark Loving Cup Casino. Thankyou to all who played a part in these two major events.The WantAds"A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to takethe helm. " Henrik Ibsen1think we can all agree that ACT is a community. Anyone who hasever participated in ACT's Summer Ceremony would agree. A keyaspect of our community's success this year was its committees. Tocontinue to flourish, these committees must be renewed with newblood each year. So here is your want ad for the upcoming year.Please make copies and share them with all of your family andfriends.Help Wanted-help wanted to plan, organize and carry out eventsto raise funds and awareness for the special abilities of our specialstudents. Tasks include recruiting sponsors, soliciting for auctionitems and encouraging participation. The rewards are priceless.Please contact us today.

ACT Golf Committee: Contact Pat Nichols [email protected] 972484-8227

ACTGalaCommittee:Contact Linda [email protected] or 972 516-9611

ACT Special Arts Festival: Call Marilynne Serie [email protected] 01

972 -114-7700ACT Parent Committee: Call Theresa Sham; [email protected]

or 972 414-7700.

Page 1

~A_C_H_I_E_V_E_M_E_N_T_C_E_N_T_E_R_N_E_W __SL_E_T_T_E_R__ M_a_Y_20_1_0 p_ag_e_2 i:~f+H

IMPORTANT TO OUR STUDENTS:SAVE THE DATE: FRIDAY, AUGUST 13,2010 7 P.M. HERE AT ACT. PARKING AT SPRING-CREEK CHURCH ACROSS THE STREET. ENTER OFF OF BELT LINE RD.

COME AND SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS AS THEY SHOW OFF THEIR TALENT IN OUR 2010STUDENT TALENT SHOW. SHOW THEM YOUR SUPPORT AND HELP US BUILD SELF CON-FIDENCE IN OUR STUDENTS.

ACT SPRING GALA WAS A SMASHING SUCCESS.On April 10, 2010 ACT held its Annual Spring Gala and Benchmark Loving Cup Casino atBrookhaven Country Club.

Mr. Ira Terrell, SMUINBA Basket-ball great was honored with the 2010

-....,..._.....1 Champions Who Care Award at thegala. Ira has been a tremendous sup-porter of the Achievement Centerand other charities over the years ..

A GREAT TIME WAS HAD BY ALL FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE STUDENTS OF THE ACHIEVEMENT CENTER OF TEXAS

ACHIEVEMENT CENTER NEWSLETTER May 2010 Page 3

2010 SPECIAL ARTS FESTIVAL

HE ACHIEVEMENT CENTER OF TEXAS IN COLLABORATION WITH GARLAND lSD, PUT ON THE 2010 SPECIALARTS FESTIVAL IN GARLAND. THIS EVENT BROUGHT TOGETHER ARTISTS AND PERFORMERS FROM ALL OVERTEXAS TO DEMONSTRATE, EXHIBIT AND INSPIRE OTHERS. THERE WERE 32 ON STAGE PERFORMANCES AND 36ART EXHIBIT AND ACTIVITY TABLES WHERE VISITORS COULD SEE AND DO AND HOPEFULLY BE INSPIRED TOTRY SOMETHING NEW WHICH WILL GIVE THEM A NEW METHOD OF SELF EXPRESSION THROUGH THE ARTS.

GARY BACHERS, A PHYSICIAN WHO BECAME ANARTIST AFTER HAVING A MASSIVE STROKE CAMEFROM TEXARKANA AREA TO EXHIBIT HIS MANYBEAUTIFUL WORKS AND INSPIRE OTHERS WITHDISABILITIES TO FIND SELF EXPRESSION THROUGHART.

WITH 32 PERFORMANCES AND 36 ART EXHIBITS/DEMONSTRATIONS AND ACTIVITY TABLES, THE 2010SPECIAL ARTS FESTIVAL WAS A BIG SUCCESS.

THE NEXT SPECIAL ARTS FESTIVAL WILL BE HELD ON FEBRUARY 19, 2011. SAVE THEDATE AND SUPPORT OUR "EXPLORING SPECIAL ARTS" PROGRAM AND OUR ANNUALSPECIAL ARTS FESTIVAL.

IACT NEWSLETTER MAY 2010 page 4.

ALLISON LEWIS SPEAKS TO THE CITY COUNCILOn April 6, 2010 our own little Miss Allison Lewis (8 years old) spoke before the Garland City Council telling the council howimportant the Community Development Block Grant is to the students of the Achievement Center and their families. Allison toldthe council that "ACT makes dreams come true" and that "one day with their help she might run for City Council or even the

Mayor of Garland." The Community Development Block Grant is a grant from the Department ofHousing and Urban Development (RUD) which offers assistance to low income families. In ourcase, the funds are designated for tuition assistance and is restricted to City of Garland residents oflow income. Miss Allison was a great advocate for people with special needs and conveyed the

••••.•.•.••.••,--1 importance of the Achievement Center of Texas in the lives of people with disabilities. The CityCouncil voted to award $50,000 in tuition subsidy for the 2010-2011 contract year which beginsOctober 1,2010.

Allison stayed up long after her bedtime to make her presentation and received a packet fromCouncilman Larry Jeffus. Thank you Allison for your courage and your willingness to speak forwhat you believe in. Allison will be performing in our upcoming talent show August 13,2010

___ ~ •••.•• and the Special Arts Festival February 19,2011

CAMERASFor the protection of our students we have added 8 more cameras to our facility. The new DVR will record about 2 months ofre-cordings and covers each class, the north parking lot, the library, the multi purpose room and the life skills class. There are also 2cameras in the playground area. In addition, we have a large flat screen monitor on the wall in the office so staff can monitor theclassrooms from the office. This addition to our video came about through a grant from Ecolab, a local business in Garland.

ALERT PAGE ON WEBSITEThe "Alert Page" on our website has been revised to direct you to important information. Such information includes weather relatedclosings, reminders, directions to links and other pages. Check it out on our website: www.achievementcenteroftexas.org. Alsocheck out pictures of our events such as our recent gala and last year's golf tournament.

PARENT COMMITTEE CHAIRWe are in need ofa Parent Committee Chair. David Parrish, President of the Board, has been the Committee Chair for the past 5years. We need someone to takeover this responsibility. We have not had a parent meeting in a long time and need to offer our par-ent an opportunity to come together to share ideas and become informed about the latest happenings. Also we need more participa-tion by parents in our events, both fund raising and student programs. The Parent Committee Chair would be responsible for settingup meetings either monthly, every other month, quarterly or twice a year. At this meeting we can discuss issues that pertain to dayhabilitation, exploring special arts, State changes in regulations or processes, guardianship, fund raising or other pertinent subjects.

WISH LISTWe have posted a wish list on our website. Please check it out from time to time in the event that you or someone you know wouldbe interest in donating items needed. We will update this list as our needs change. Getting donations from the wish list keeps ourcosts down and provides our students with supplies and equipment to enrich their program and add to their learning experience.

NOTICE TO PARENTS: PARENT FEE RATE CHANGELast fall, due to significant increases in insurance, utilities, and other steadily rising costs, it was voted that the Achievement Centerwould have its lst rate increase in over 10 years. The increase would make the weekly tuition payment $140 per week, still signifi-cantly lower than most regular day care centers in our community. All new enrollees would pay the $140 per week upon enrollmentand students already registered under the old application would have until May 3, 2010 before their rate change would take affect.As of May 3rd, our bookkeeper will be charging the weekly fee of $140 per week for full time parent paid students. There is no ratechange to after school only students. If you feel that you might qualify for tuition subsidy, please see Ms. Theresa Shans, our ad-missions coordinator, about applying for either the Community Development Block Grant assistance (Garland residents only) or theBenchmark Loving Cup Scholarship Fund.REMINDER: The Achievement Center closes at 6 p.m. with a grace period until 6: 15 p.m.

VISIT OUR NEW WEBSITES AT:WWW.ACHIEVEMENTCENTEROFTEXAS.ORGWWW.EXPLORINGSPECIALARTS.COM