"A community can be judged by how they treat the neediest in their group. We should be proud of how we've addressed the needs of people with disabilities in our community."

- Bob McGuire, Executive Director

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I wish all readers a happy and healthy 2010…

I wish all readers a happy and healthy 2010 and, that if you have made resolutions or plans to change or improve, you are successful! One of my New Year’s resolutions is to maintain communication with you, our constituents to keep you aware of our successes, opportunities and threats. This periodical is one of the tools tI use to achieve this goal. I am delighted to share the most recent success story that I believe was achieved through the advocacy of our consumers, families and staff. The Governor’s budget, released recently, includes a trend which was missing from last year’s budget. Nonetheless, in the past year, extensive letter writing, phone calls, emails and visits, not only to our legislators, but also to the Governor’s office in Albany has finally resulted in the trend being in the budget for 2010/2011. Unfortunately, there are also cuts and we will attempt to persuade our legislators and the Governor to remove these significant reductions as they have the affect of reducing the value of the trend. Make no mistake, your message was heard. The voices and the votes of all who insist that individuals who are disabled, should not be relegated to second class citizenry, is a powerful method to educate and influence. Keep it up. In this paper, you will see many stories of generosity, achievement and accomplishment. Enrollment for our children in the CLC is at the highest level in the school’s history. That is a huge testimonial to the administration, faculty and support staff. Keep up the great work. Our adult programs’ attendance figures are also way above our historical average. Here too, a caring and professional staff has created such meaningful activities that participants don’t want to miss a day. Credit also should be shared with many of our adult consumers who partner with our staff in developing much of the curricula. Our clinic program has also had more visits this past twelve months than anticipated. Creating an efficient and effective model that provides responsive services to those children and adults who attend our day programs as well as our outpatients, has been a goal of the entire clinical and support team and they are strident in these efforts as they also work towards a more financially stable clinic operation. Our Residential Services program continues to grow as three new homes have been opened up in the past two years. These houses are homes for 18 individuals (six in each home). At a recent gathering at one of our homes, one of our residents told me that, “ he had it made.” When I asked why, he replied, “Because I have great housemates and wonderful staff.” This combination of terrific individuals who reside in our homes and tremendously dedicated and caring staff ensures that those who count on ucpn to provide a nurturing, warm environment will not be disappointed. There are many other staff and volunteers who contribute to the culture of our organization. Now, in our 62nd year, we have been fortunate to have partnered with the Council of Auxiliaries, now celebrating their 60th year of supporting ucpn in all its endeavors. Over these 60 years, these women have raised millions of dollars for our Agency. Who are these special people? Well, some have a child who has a disabling condition – but the majority do not. Many are just neighbors who when asked if they would like to join an auxiliary whose purpose was to raise money, they just said yes. Many of these very special people have volunteered not for 10 months or 10 years, but for many decades. Along the way, they have forged lifetime friendships and had a lot of fun. However, to a person, they would all tell you that their motivation was always to help children and adults have a better life and, I say with conviction, that they have certainly reached their goal. In closing, I am offering each of you a personal tour of our Agency. You deserve to know the value of your gifts to ucpn. I would like to say a personal thank you and as importantly, I would like you to see the faces of those children and adults whose lives are better because you’ve chosen to be a part of us. Please take me up on this invitation and call me at 516-377-2030. Keep up your commitment. We need you.

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