News At A Glance
Save The Date:
Support Group Facilitators Training August 24
Calling all support
group facilitators! There will be a training opportunity on Wednesday,
August 24, 2005 at Medtronic. Ted Bowman and Mary Douchette will
provide presentations that day. Mark your calendars. This training
day is being planned in cooperation with the Minnesota Stroke Association,
the American Parkinson Disease Association, the Epilepsy Foundation,
the Alzheimer’s Association
and the Brain Injury Association. Watch for more details. For more
information contact Anne Schuller, Education Coordinator at 612-378-2742.
Frequent Filer (Office Assistant)
Provide
supplementary and auxiliary clerical services to agency staff.
Being a Frequent Filer might not be as glamorous as being a frequent
flyer, but this type of volunteer service is invaluable to this
large social service agency. Volunteers must be at least 16 years
of age. Contact Ramsey County Community Human Services Volunteer
Services at 651-266-4090 for additional information or send e-mail
to: volunteerservices@co.ramsey.mn.us.
Courage Center Seeks Applications for
Judd Jacobson Memorial Award
Courage
Center is seeking applications for its annual Judd Jacobson Memorial
Award. Established in 1992, the Jacobson Award recognizes the pursuit
or achievement of a business entrepreneurial endeavor by a person
with a physical disability or sensory impairment. The award recipient
will be honored at a luncheon in October and will receive a $5,000
cash award to advance their business endeavor.
To be considered for the Jacobson Award, applicants must be 18 years
of age and reside in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa or North or South
Dakota. Applicants must also demonstrate entrepreneurial skill, financial
need, exceptional personal commitment, and have received little or
no public recognition for their business endeavor.
Applications are available
online at www.courage.org. This year’s
application deadline is Friday, August 5, 2005. For more information
about the Judd Jacobson Memorial Award, contact Tom Kelley, research
and policy assistant at 763-520-0675 or at TTY 763-520-0245.
One Free Bed a Week to a Person
in Need
The Craftamatic Adjustable
Bed Company, the nation’s
premier maker of quality comfort adjustable beds announces that it
is launching the Craftmatic Cares Program. The Craftmatic Cares Program
brings one adjustable bed to a person or family in need in a different
state each week. The company is working with hospices and other non-profits
across the country to select the recipient of the bed. The company
will be launching a website to coincide with the campaign www.craftmaticcares.com
that will list the lucky recipients and more information about the
program.
The Craftmatic Cares Campaign will be a yearlong campaign. In addition
to local charities, individuals can nominate potential recipients
on the Craftmatic Cares website.
Craftmatic Adjustable
Bed Company (Craftmatic Organization) is headquartered in Trevose,
Pennsylvania and is considered the world’s leader
in adjustable beds. Additional information on Craftmatic Adjustable
Bed Company (Craftmatic Organization) and their Craftmatic Cares
Program may be obtained at www.craftmatic.com.
Courage Center Accepting Nominees for Annual Jay and Rose Phillips
Awards
The Jay and Rose Phillips
Awards are presented each year by Courage Center to people with disabilities
who have achieved outstanding success in their vocation. Winners
receive a special plaque, a substantial cash award, and are recognized
at Courage Center’s annual awards/fundraising
gala “Celebration of Courage.” This year’s “Celebration
of Courage” is set for Saturday, Aug. 27, 2005 at Medtronic
World Headquarters, 701 Medtronic Pkwy., Minneapolis.
Nominees for the Jay and Rose Phillips Awards must have a physical
disability and be vocationally and financially independent (medical
assistance excluded) for a minimum of three years. Self-employed
individuals are eligible for the award, and employers are encouraged
to nominate employees who meet nomination criteria.
Applications for the
Jay and Rose Phillips Awards are available online at www.courage.org,
or may be picked up in the main lobby of Courage Center’s
corporate headquarters, 3915 Golden Valley Road, Minneapolis. Nominations
for the Jay and Rose Phillips Awards are due on Thursday, June
30, 2005 and winners will be notified upon selection.
For more information about the Jay and Rose Phillips Awards, please
call Tom Kelley, research and policy assistant, at 763-520-0675 or
TTY 763-520-0245.
Marriott Receives Diversity Excellence Award
The Marriott
Global Reservation Sales and Customer Care Center in Santa Ana
became the first recipient of Marriott International, Inc.’s
(NYSE:MAR) J.W. Marriott, Jr., Diversity Excellence Award. Sjaloom
Stringer, general manager, said that the center recruits associates
through several agencies including U.S. Veterans Association, the
Braille Institute of Orange County and the Department of Rehabilitation.
Says senior vice president Kaye Dengel, “Staying
true to the founding principles of Marriott has enabled us to focus
on the contributions of each associate. By allowing them to become
gainfully employed, we are giving back to our communities while
at the same time reaping the benefits of a work team that is dedicated,
loyal, dependable, and – most of all – successful.”
The award-winning center,
which has adapted technology to accommodate its associates, has
received numerous accolades from its partners such as the Business
Leadership Award from the Governor’s Committee,
the New Freedom Award from the U.S. Department of Labor, and the
Reflection Award from the Braille Institute.
This is the first year
for the J.W. Marriott, Jr. Diversity Excellence Award, which was
established to recognize a business unit, or corporate department
that demonstrates excellence in promoting diversity and building
an environment of inclusion for all. It is the highest form of
recognition of a unit or corporate department’s diversity
efforts.
“At Marriott, the spirit to serve is more than a goal. It’s
our business,” says J.W. Marriott, Jr., chairman and chief
executive officer of Marriott International. “Our Awards of
Excellence honorees set the standard for excellence in serving our
guests and associates, fostering diversity across our company, and
supporting our communities. Outstanding contributions like theirs
give our company its strength and competitive edge, and allow us
to realize our vision to be the number one lodging company in the
world.”
Dayton Works to Maintain Rural Ambulance Services for Minnesotans
in Need of Care
U.S. Senator Mark Dayton joined
with Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) to introduce the Medicare Ambulance
Payment Reform and Rural Equity Act, which would increase reimbursements
from Medicare for rural ambulance service providers. The current
rate of reimbursement is forcing many providers nationwide to close
their doors, including three in Minnesota over the past three
years alone.
The legislation would provide relief for both urban and rural ambulance
providers that treat Medicare patients, by reimbursing providers
in amounts closer to the actual cost of providing services. The bill
would also establish a separate reimbursement formula for rural ambulance
providers.
According to the Minnesota
Ambulance Association, Minnesota ambulance providers will lose
more than $70 million in revenues in 2006, due to changes in Medicare’s
regulations and reimbursement formula for ambulance services.
(The legislation is supported by the American Ambulance Association.)
Last call for Pacer
Center’s EXITE Camp 2005!
Try
a new adventure this summer! EXploring Interests in Technology
and Engineering Camp is available, free of charge, for 6th through
9th grade girls interested in hands-on activities in math, science,
or technology. The camp will be held at PACER Center in Bloomington
on July 21, 25, 27, 29, August 2, and 4 from 9 to 4 p.m. Applications
for this summer’s
EXITE Camp are due soon!
Please take the opportunity to engage girls in fun projects, such
as making polymers, taking apart computers, and visiting with women
about their careers. On the final day a field trip will take them
to the IBM plant in Rochester to see scientists at work and meet
someone who will be their e-mail mentor for a year.
Nearly 50 girls have
participated in prior summers and enthusiastically endorsed the
experience as “one of the best camps ever attended.” See
their pictures and comments on the Web site at www.pacer.org. Click
on Simon Technology Center, then click on EXITE camp. Further information
and registration forms can be found there too, or call Kristi Hansen
at 952-838-9000.
Courage Center News
Courage Center Honors MN FFA
and 10 Individuals Awards Celebrate Friends of Camp Courage From
Past 50 Years.
At its
annual meeting on Monday, May 23, 2005 Courage Center celebrated
Camp Courage’s 50th anniversary by honoring the Minnesota Future
Farmers of America (FFA) with its Outstanding Lifetime Achievement
Award. This is the first time the Outstanding Lifetime Service Award
has been presented to an organization and only the sixth such award
ever given in Courage’s 76-year history. It is presented to
those who have left a unique and lasting legacy to Courage Center
through a lifetime of outstanding, exemplary and unusual volunteer
and/or philanthropic leadership.
Minnesota FFA has a
long history of support to Courage Camps through their “Living to Serve” program.
FFA advisors, students and their parents solicit farmers in their
community to donate grain or cash. The donated grain is sold and
converted to cash. Chapters not in agricultural areas have hosted
or participated in other fund raising events. Over the past 52
years, FFA advisors and students have raised more than $3.5 million
to support camping services for children and adults with disabilities.
In addition to Minnesota FFA, the Outstanding Lifetime Achievement
Award is also being presented to: Dr. C. Sherman and Helen Hoyt,
Edina, Minn. and Clarence and Lucille King (posthumously), Hastings,
Minn.
Several others are being honored
with Honorary Life Member Awards. This prestigious award recognizes
individuals for their lasting legacy of distinguished and exemplary
volunteer leadership, service and support throughout the years to
Courage Center. This award is bestowed periodically to a very limited
number of individuals who are nominated by their peers. This year,
honorary life member awards are being pre-sented to several people
with ties to Camp Courage.
They are:
Floyd Adelman, Minnetonka, Minn.
William (Bill) Carlson, Mankato, Minn.
Gerald Michaelson, Dawson, Minn.
Richard “Uncle Al” Olson, Eau Claire, Wis.
Lloyd Peterson (posthumously), Paynesville, Minn.
Dog Attacks are
Seasonal Hazard for Postal Workers
While dog bites are a serious
problem for the entire community, especially hundreds of children
each year, letter carriers trying to deliver your mail are just as
vulnerable to attacks. Nationwide, U.S. Postal Service carriers suffered
3,300 dog bites last year. This number may pale in comparison with
the more than 4.7 million people—mostly
children and the elderly–who suffer injuries from dog attacks
each year, but that’s an average of 11 dog attacks every delivery
day, and that figure does not include the number of threatening incidents
that did not result in injury.
In St. Paul last year, dogs bit 13 letter carriers and there were
also instances where dogs interfered with mail delivery. Fortunately,
most dog bites can be prevented through responsible pet ownership.
If a letter carrier needs to deliver a certified letter or a package
to you, put your dog into a separate room before opening your front
door. Dogs have been known to burst through screen doors or plate-glass
windows to get at strangers.
Just ask Dover, Delaware,
Postmaster Jack Bailey. Bailey reported that a letter carrier at
his Post Office, who had survived eight attacks during his 20-year
career, felt secure in his ability to avoid dog bites. He owns
four dogs himself. But, in February 1993, that carrier was scarred
for life—both physically and emotionally.
While delivering to
a mailbox at the entrance to a customer’s
home, the carrier watched in horror as a 100-pound dog charged the
front door. Instinctively, he braced his foot against the door as
the dog backed up to charge again. This time, the animal crashed
through the Plexiglas-plated door and tore into the flesh of his
arm.
“It happened so quickly that he didn’t have time to
react,” explains Bailey. “The animal’s bite so
severely shredded his left arm that he has undergone several restorative
surgeries and may never have full use of his arm,” says Bailey.
Nationally, the number of carriers bitten by dogs has declined over
the years. This is because of greater cooperation from dog owners,
stricter leash laws, and stepped-up efforts to educate letter carriers
and the public about dealing with the problem.
Our letter carriers
are vigilant and dedicated, but we may be forced to stop mail delivery
at an address if a letter carrier is threatened by a vicious dog.
In some instances, Postal Service employees have sued and collected
damages for dog bite injuries. We can’t
control people’s dogs; only dog owners can do that. Responsible
pet ownership is crucial in preventing dog bites.
A St. Paul letter carrier was recently bitten by a pit bull that
had been chained on a front porch. The letter carrier was caught
by surprise because the dog was out of sight when he entered the
porch to deliver the mail. Sadly, the carrier was forced to undergo
painful rabies shots because the residents denied ownership of the
dog and local authorities were unable to locate the animal.
While some attribute attacks on letter carriers to dogs’ inbred
aversion to uniforms, experts say the psychology actually runs
much deeper. Every day that a letter carrier comes into a dog’s
territory, the dog barks and the letter carrier leaves. Day after
day the dog sees this action repeated. After a week or two, the
dog appears to feel invincible against intruders. Once the dog
gets loose, there’s a good chance it will attack.
Dog owners should remind their children about the need to keep the
family dog secured. We also recommend parents ask their children
not to take mail directly from letter carriers. A dog may see handing
mail to a child as a threatening gesture.
These simple reminders
and helpful tips can reduce the hazard of dog attacks. Help us
to help you this spring and summer. By Cynthia Larson-St. Paul
Postmaster.
