1999 is promising to be an exciting time in DSAT. There is a lot of energy developing in the association and by the time you read this the Year 2000 Calendar Committee will have met for the first time to officially kick off the work for this fundraising opportunity. We would like to include as many of our kids in the calendar as possible so stay tuned for upcoming events where photo ops will be made to be included in the calendar. Also if you would be interested in participating on the Year 2000 Calendar Committee please let one of the members on the committee know and they will find something for you to do I'm sure. We will be taking ideas and suggestions for making this a great calendar for the new millennium.
I also want to encourage everyone to come to our March Easter Event. We are planning a Easter Egg hunt for our kids and will have a contingency plan for bad weather. This for sure will be another great photo opportunity as well as possible shots for the Year 2000 Calendar.
In closing I would like to share a story about a man and his little girl who were riding on an elevator. When it stopped a beautiful woman got on. The elevator started again. All of a sudden, the woman turned around and slapped the man. He was shocked. As soon as she got off his little girl asked him, "That woman didn't like you, did she daddy?" He muttered, "No, she didn't. She certainly slapped me hard!" His little daughter said, "Well, I didn't like her either. She stepped on my toe so I pinched her!"
Sometimes life slaps us and we wonder what we did to deserve it. It may be our fault, but often we discover that we were merely in the wrong place at the wrong time. Life isn't always easy and people can be difficult, but if we try to understand why people do what they do and say what they say, it helps.
Understanding your boss, your employee, your fellow worker, your spouse, your friend, your teenager, is well worth the investment.
This story is reprinted from Perceptions - Observations On Everyday Life by Dr. Tom Harrison, Senior Pastor at Asbury United Methodist Church, Tulsa, Ok.
On
the Bunny Trail, or
Top of Page
Hop To It
Unpack your Easter basket, and get ready for the annual DSAT Eggstravaganza. This afternoon of faimliy fun will be: Saturday, March 27 from 1:00P.M. - 4:00 P.m. at Whiteside Park, 41st Street (Between Harvard and Yale) Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The Easter Bunny will be there, and there will be an egg hunt. (We will divide the hunt into age groups, so the little onew sill have an opportunity to get some goodies in therir baskets.) Please RSVP to Kimberly Myers by March 24 so we can provide enough refreshements for everyone.
We would like to thank several good people who are helping to make this event possible, including the Junior League of Tulsa, Target, Walmart and Homeland. (and thanks to our party planner, Kim, for coordinating the event.)
Don't forget to bring your cameras! The Easter Bunny will be available for pictures.
In case of Rain, we will just move into the Whitside Recreation Center there in the park. So plan on coming, rain or shine!.
1998 in Review! Top of Page
The Down Syndrome Assocition of Tulsa accomplished may things in 1998 and we couldn't have done it without the financial suport and encouragement of our members. Your continued participation helped us with the following successes:
- Designed and produced a current comprehensive new parent packet with information an all aspects of Down Syndrome
- Visited in hospital, home or by phone with many new or prospective parents of babies with Down Syndrome
- Distributed 45 new parent packets
- Provided 20 "Babies with Down Syndrome a Parent's Guide" to new families
- Designed and had printed (by Tulsa ARC) a positive, complete pamphlet, "Welcoming Babies with Down Syndrome"
- Held monthly meetings for members of DSAT with various infomative speakers
- Provided child care at all DSAT meetings
- Celebrated with our children at an Easter egg hunt, Fall Festival and Christmas Party
- Helped Sponsor a Disability conference and manned a booth
- Provided information and support to existing members
- Produced a monthly newsletter distributed to over 200 families
- Developed a website which includes pictures, relevant information and a copy of our current newsletter
- Presented information about Down Syndrome to schools and other groups
- Sent two representatives to a leadership seminar at the National Down Syndrome Congress Conference
.
Forget the IRS- Come to DSAT Top of Page
April 15
It will be a good way to forget that you just paid taxes. Dr David
Jelley, a Tulsa endocrinologist will be our April guest. Dr Jelley
will discuss topics such as hypothroidism and diabetes, which people with
Down Syndrome are more inclined to develop. Be at the Special Olympics
by 7:00 P.M. (or as early as 6:30) and join in this informative session.
Y2K Calendar Moving Fast Top of Page
And Needs You
There is an exciting project coming up that will not only feature some of the cutest faces around, It'll help promote DSAT and (we hope) raise some funds for the group as well. A Year 2000 Calendar Committee has been working to create a calendar starring our local kids with Down Syndrome. They need input and willing hands as this will be a big undertaiking. Know any photographers? Have any ideas for photos? Wat the world (wellk, okay, maybe Oklahoma) to see your kid's smiling face? Or - and this is a biggie - have any corporate contacts that would consider sponsoring or underwriting some of the costs of production? Contact DSAT Preseident Tracey Wilson or V.P. Kim Wofford and volunteer your time and talents.
Good News on Parade Top of Page
The tag team of twins Molly and Megan Myers scooped the competition at the recent BabyFest sponsored by KRAV and KTUL. The red-headed wonders took the title of "Twins That Look Most Alike" and each won a $100 savings bond, reports their proud mom, Kim. "however, the judges didn't have any advice on how to tell them apart, "she reports with a sigh. (Tattoos?)
Kasey McBride continues her shooting prowess (see January newsletter) and has scored at least three more times for her basketball team, the Cimarron Christian Academy Lady Patriots. The family is waiting for a call from the WNBA.
If you attended the February meeting and are interested in the Vitamix Machine that our speakers discussed, contact Mitzi Burger at 451-0948. Mitzi says the company is offering discounts.
DSAT is now listed in ComFind, the Internet's largest global business directory. Visit Comfind at http://comfind.com and coduct a company name search for DOWN SYNDROME ASSOCIATION OF TULSA. Make sure the link to your web site works and keywords are spelled correctly. This will be a great tool to getting news about the group out. Thanks to our prez., Tracey Wilson, for setting this up.
You got good news? Contact Marilyn Lapointe at 371-2279.
Interest of Time Top of Page
Please Help DSAT Help Others: Top of Page
Your contribution will insure we continue to enhance the lives of individuals with Down syndrome, their families and caregivers. This is accomplished by providing support, encouragement, current information, education, opportunities for socialization and promoting community recognition of the inherent dignity of all people with developmental disabilities.
The Down Syndrome Association of Tulsa encourages you to participate
with a $20.00 tax deductible contribution toward this mission.
We will continue to seek corporate sponsorship for our special events and expand our fundraising programs to add even more value, but your contribution is the foundation that provides for our most basic services
Additionally
We are in the process of updating our files so we would ask that you
complete the following form and return it to DSAT as soon as possible.
An addressed envelope is included( Don't forget to add postage!)
Please feel free to add another page for any general suggestions or meeting
topics. We are also in need of profiles for our newsletter.
Please keep them to one page typed or less. We are particularly interested
in how DSAT has helped you along you and/or your child along this journey.
You can put your profile in the same envelope.
Name_____________________________________
Address__________________________________
___________________________________
Phone _____________________________________
E-mail address_____________________________ Would you like
to receive
the newsletter via the Internet with notification
through e-mail? ______YES ______NO
Name of Adult/child with Down Syndrome_________________________________ Birthdate?_________________________________
Membership Contribution Amount_______________ (DSAT recommended contribution is $20.00)
Additional Donation Amount _________________ Top of Page
Tracey Wilson (918) 628-1872 or (918) 488-4060 224-8171 Top of Page
Fax (918) 663-1609 E-mail Tracey Wilson
Vice President:
Kim Wofford (918) 622-6906 Kim's E-mail
Secretary:
Andrea Eden (918) 224-8172
Andrea's E-mail
Treasurer:
Theresa McFall 272-4406
Newsletter:
Marilyn LaPoint 371-2279
Calendar Committee:
Lynette Lambert
Lori Blankenship
Jayne Smith
Shelley Wilson
Scholoarship/Library Committee
Marilyn Lapointe
Andrea Eden
Jill King
Party Planner
Kimberly Myers (918) 266-3214
General Needs Assistants
Karen Baker
Web Master
E-mail Tracey Wilson