On October 20, 2011 UCP of Eastern Connecticut hosted an Open House to celebrate our completely renovated Old Saybrook Day Program.  

On Thursday, October 20th from 3:30-6:00pm, UCP will be hosting an open house at our Old Saybrook location.  Last March, we completed renovations and welcome all to see our new look!  Light refreshments will be served.  We are located at 590 Boston Post Road in Old Saybrook.  Please RSVP by October 12th to (860) 443-3800 x26.

UCP would like to welcome Shannon Quinn as part of our team!  Shannon is a Freshmen at Connecticut College majoring in Dance.  She will be volunteering in Quaker Hill's Day Program helping clients learn some moves.  She will also be involved in other fun activities and helping the people in our program get out into the community.  Shannon hopes to fuse her two passions -dance and working with people who have disabilities- into a future career.  She would eventually like to help children with disabilities flourish through dance and hopes volunteering at UCP will serve as a stepping stone.  We are excited to have Shannon liven-up the Day Program with her warm personality, music, and moves.  Welcome Shannon!

Volunteers are made possible through UCP's Disability Support Program.  To inquire about volunteering or if you are a person with a disability who would like to find a volunteer opportunity in the community, please contact Michelle Bussolotti, Disability Support Coordinator at (860) 443-3800 x11 or mbussolotti@ucpect.org. 

UCP’s Disability Support Program is funded by:

United Way

Chelsea Groton Foundation

Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut

Eastern Federal Bank Foundation

People’s United Community Foundation

RS Gernon Trust

UCP fundraisers and individual contributions

Thank you!

This spring and summer the clients and Direct Support Staff have been busy caring for the Old Saybrook Garden.  Everyone has been enjoying the time spent outdoors in the sun, as you can see from the pictures that were taken during this week's gardening activities!  Click through the pictures below to view the slideshow.

On June 2, 2011 the Quaker Hill Day Program hosted on the Outdoor Carnival Festival.    We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day, and everyone had a blast.  This Carnival was successful because of the collaborative effort between all of the Quaker Hill Direct Support Specialists who took the time to prepare fun activities, games and decorations for the event.  The food was great too!  There was homemade cheeseburger pie, corn dog casserole with fried dough and apple crisp for dessert!

The Day Program Participated in the “Launching into Adulthood Conference” on May 12, 2011.  Day Program Managers Donna Jordan and Laura Bunn, along with Day Program Director Christine Olbrys represented UCP of Eastern CT at the conference.  We had the opportunity to meet families, case mangers, and school special education teachers who had many questions about the unique services UCP provides.  There were many families and students who are beginning the transition process from high school, and are looking forward to their adult lives.  We were able to share information about our services with those families.  While at the conference, we also met with other providers who taught us about different uses of adaptive communication devices, and even met a person who volunteers with Therapy Dogs, and may come to our Old Saybrook site for visits.  Overall the day was productive and a great opportunity to meet other providers and community members.

The Day Programs in Old Saybrook and Quaker Hill have been working on a volunteer project for the Face of America Bike Ride.  This bike ride is a road-race that helps raise funds to support soldiers who have been wounded in action.  The clients and staff decorated inspirational banners that will hang along the bike 100 mile bike route.

The Quaker Hill Program also started participating in Music Therapy.  The clients seem to really enjoy listening to different music and trying out a variety of instruments during their sessions.  

A new client joined the Old Saybrook Program in March, and she has been a welcome addition to the crew there.  She has a great sense of humor and likes to joke around with friends and staff.  She also loves spa day every Thursday, when she gets her nails and hair done!

The Old Saybrook Program also just had an Easter Party, and clients had an Easter egg scavenger hunt for prizes and afterward enjoyed homemade cupcakes.

After several months of renovations, the Old Saybrook Day Program Site is finally coming together!  Our program has a fresh, new feel, as well as a larger kitchen and more activity space.  

As a result of the renovations, our Old Saybrook site will be able to accept new clients, while creating a more welcome space for our existing clients.  

A big thank you to all the Direct Support Specialists and Program Managers who helped make this renovation a success!