SHEP Connection Corner - December Newsletter

SHEP’s Connection Corner

December 2024

GIVE ME THE SCOOP

The Cheerful Giver

Tis The Season Of Giving

Joy In This Time

YAY Friendsgiving was a blast. With new faces and some from the past.

We had crafts and fun and always great food, An amazing Friendsgiving will lighten your mood.

Next up we will have some Christmas fun to share with you and everyone!

It’s time to ring and jingle those bells, Sending Christmas cards and letters through mail.

Come spend time with us and have a fun time, and let’s get together for CHRISTMAS TIME. This year we will be rocking around the Christmas tree at the Yukon public library (details below).

Speaking of the observation of Jesus’ birthday, Happy, Happy birthday! Let’s shout out to Amanda, our very own SSP manager! Her special day is December 17th! Share your birthday with us so we can shout you out, too.

We have a GroupMe messaging group for all SSP to get daily updated information. If there’s an SSP not connected on GroupMe, please get in touch with Amanda the SSP manager. We are stronger together! We also encourage everyone to connect with us on Facebook and Instagram.

Calling all SSPs! This Christmas Party would be a great opportunity to collect some needed CEU hours. If you are needing to know your CEU balance, please contact Amanda for details.

We’re so excited to kick off our annual clothing drive to donate to the homeless shelter (details below)!

This Clothing drive would be an amazing opportunity to give back and to clean out those closets with gently used women and men’s clothing and new unopened toys.

Oklahoma NewsHuman ResourcesNovember 24, 2024shep, shepokc, christmas, giver, season, xmas, deafblind, db, deaf, blind, christmas party, jesus house, donateComment

SHEP Connection Corner - November Newsletter

SHEP’s Connection Corner

GIVE ME THE SCOOP!

November 2024

Tornadoes, Shelters, Or Rakes?

Did you miss it?

The camp experience at Spring Valley Ranch was extraordinary! Thank you for all of you! We teamed with Jeri’s House this year and we cut many a rugs with all the dancing and game playing. Aww...you missed it? If that’s you, have no fear! We will have camp again in fall of 2026! We’re already on the hunt for the next camp site.

Good ole Oklahoma. As I write this, we are under a tornado watch. It has been incredibly windy, blowing my patio furniture off my porch for the last three days. Be sure to stay in the know of the weather, especially surrounding plans needing a SSP. It may feel like spring so far this fall, but when the cold front comes it will surely come like a bowling ball ready for a strike. Be ready to cover outdoor water faucets and spouts. Rest assured we are mindful to schedule our events indoors.

Any hot chocolate drinkers out there? We are having our annual Thankful For Friends, or commonly known as Friendsgiving, event this month. We will supply refreshments and enjoyment. We just need one more ingredient...YOU! Please see details below so you can make your plans to be there.

Great news! We have had Support Service Providers (SSPs) in the OKC area move due to promotions and opportunities To God be the glory! We have availability for training! What is all this talk about SSPs? You will be trained to be the eyes and ears of the DeafBlind person you are assisting. They do all the work! You interpret the world around them as they navigate. It’s the gift of independent living and you get paid to do it. Knowing sign language is a big plus! Yes, even finger spelling. Those ABCs come in handy!

SHEP is hosting sign language classes for an independent living facility in Choctaw this month! Email us with your interest in classes and we can make it happen! So many things in the works! Stay connected on our Facebook and Instagram pages.

Oklahoma NewsHuman ResourcesNovember 24, 2024shep, shepokc, deafblind, deaf, blind, oklahoma, november, ssp, asl classes, eventsComment

SHEP Connection Corner - October Newsletter

SHEP’s Connection Corner

Give Me The Scoop!

SHEP Connection Corner - October Newsletter

It’s Officially Fall!

Okay, okay... so we have still had some hot days but at least the three digit weather is gone.

Did you make it to the September IamDB? Get there! Fun is a given but we have also been learning braille. Thanks to our very own Gene sharing your knowledge of the machines you use. Gadgets have come a looooong way!

At the very end of the September was Robin White’s birthday! It’s not too late to go on our Facebook page and wish Robin a very merry birthday. Yes, merry! It’s almost that time ya’ll! Wait... just wait! We have something fantastic planned for October. A hoedown! Have you ever been to a hoedown? Well this one is one to etch in memory lane. Come and experience the fun! Fliers have gone out, but if you have questions please reach out to us. We are inviting Tulsa participants and arranging a van to pick up at Jeri’s House.

Limited seating so jump on this quick to get transportation to the hoedown before we fill up!

Psalm 85:12: "The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest." Harvest time is near! What does that mean to you? Not just gathering fruits and vegetables. The harvest of Kingdom work! What you sow will be evident in your harvest. We are thankful blessed to be able to provide for this magnificent community. Your community! Our community! We will never cease praying over you all.

Oklahoma NewsHuman ResourcesSeptember 29, 2024shep, deafblind, okc, tulsa, oklahoma, ocober, october, hope ranch, valley, connectionComment

SHEP Connection Corner - September Newsletter

SHEP’s Connection Corner

Give Me The Scoop! September 2024

Are you chanting, “Camp! Camp!”?

We are! Camp is fast approaching. September 10th is the deadline to register and submit payment. Here is the link to registration: https://www.shep-ok.org/oklahoma-db-camp

People from different parts of Oklahoma and surrounding states will be in attendance! This also marks the first time Jeri’s House is cohosting with us, Wait until you see the gear all the registrants get!

Relief is near...ish

How have you been keeping cool? Has your electric bill skyrocketed this summer? I actually called my provider and I saved more this summer than last summer but it felt so much hotter this summer! Using good practices like thermal blackout curtains can be a game changer that benefits all year round.

Football mania. The tie is upon us. Do you keep score? You’re going to learn about so many stats, teams, and scores as the season carries along. With the cooler weather coming comes the beloved football season. The Olympics has had us on the edge of our seats as the USA has been raking in the medals. Now we ask, who is your favorite football team? IamDB is working on methods to get more braille machines out to you so you can enjoy the game or even your favorite show. Those game sportscasters really keep up the momentum giving us all the details of what is going on on that field Perhaps some of you are athletes! We’d love to hear about it! Be sure to tune in for the next IamDB experience.

Isaiah 40:31 says, “but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” What does that mean to you? Don’t grow weary, dear friends, dear family. SHEP has been partnering with the police and fire departments to implement new policies for the community!

Oklahoma NewsHuman ResourcesSeptember 7, 2024Spring Valley Ranchoklahoma, deafblind, shep, iamdb, camp, 2024, sspComment

SHEP Connection Corner - August Newsletter

SHEP's Connection Corner

Like a beanstalk…

We are growing and still hiring SSPs. We have

trainings available in Tulsa and OKC!

Did we beat the heat?

The roof! The roof! The roof is on fire!” Have you

heard of that song? The next verse says, “We don’t

need no water...!” Ummm...yes, yes do. We

need lots of water. This heat has been intense! We sure do hope you are keeping cool and staying hydrated out there. The bible even tells us how to keep a cool head. Proverbs 17:27-28 The intelligent person restrains his words, and one who keeps a cool head is a man of understanding.

July has been a scorcher! Please be good to us, August! July did bring about some good things though. July 17th was our vice president's, Alethea’s, birthday and then July 20th was our technical operations manager Tiara’s, birthday. We had a lot to celebrate! We also had a pretty spectacular indoor game day SHEP event.

School is starting up for many this month, from elementary to college. For that reason, we are not having an

August SHEP event. We will have one next month before we head out to camp in October. This month our SSP

manager will be going on vacation. All SSP requests must be received All SSP requests must be received before

August 11 th and after August 19 th . Changes to requests that have already been made cannot be accepted during

that time either. A letter will be emailed with more details.

Oklahoma NewsHuman ResourcesAugust 11, 2024shepokc, deafblind, db, ssp, program, august, 2024, okc, tulsa, baseball, club, tickes, ticketsComment

SHEP Connection Corner - July Newsletter

SHEP’s Connection Corner

Don’t Worry, Be Happy

GIVE ME THE SCOOP

Hot or Hawt?

We know it’s been scorching, and it’s only just touched July! How are you faring? Electric bills start to soar, and while you are trying to conserve energy, keep some things in mind.

Use energy-saving light bulbs.

Try not to use the oven much. It heats up your home!

Open your windows in the morning and at night to let cooler air in.

Block the sun from coming in through your windows.

Get air purifying house plants!

We actually caught the boat on a cool day in June. Did you miss it? Vicky, our Operation’s Manager, and LaShundra, our Human Resource, took a picture with the captain. What an experience!

Did you know there’s a story about Jesus on a boat? Read this:

Matthew 8:23-27

When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!”

He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Human ResourcesJuly 13, 2024Comment

SHEP Connection Corner - June Newsletter

SHEP’s Connection Corner

June Bugs and Road Trips

Have you ever ridden on a train? If your answer is no, then you really missed out! We learned a lot about trains and the routes through and to and from Oklahoma. The train ride was a real treat after our tour of the train museum.

The tornado sirens sure have been blaring. We pray you all are safe and have peace of mind and body. Reach out to us for SSPs so you can shop for those necessities to prepare for storms and summer fun. Tay hydrated out there!

Storms can remind us of forces that are stronger than us. Read Psalms 93:3-4. “The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring. 4 Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the Lord on high is mighty!”

Recipes Please

We’ve heard so many diet ideas going around from juicing to cutting breads and pastas. Whatever you choose to do to balance health and the attack to munch, be sure to do it in balance. Hydration is a key component. Not Gatorade, but good old fashioned high quality H2O. The stuff the dinosaurs were wading in. Yep! Water. We all need it without negotiation. Be safe and take care of yourselves.

We would love to have your summer recipes. Email them to us at humanresources@shep-ok.org.

Here’s a fun summer kabob recipe; In a bowl, mix together 2TBS of olive oil, 1TSP Kosher salt, 1 TBS vinegar, 1/2 TSP of black pepper, 1 TSP of garlic powder, 1/2 TSP of dried oregano, and use it to coat the veggies: button mushrooms, large red peppers, red onions, and unpeeled zucchinis. Then stick them on the skewer sticks in a pattern and grill them. Yummmm!

Human ResourcesJune 2, 2024Comment

SHEP Connection Corner - May Newsletter

SHEP’s Connection Corner

GIVE ME THE SCOOP

Here are the May Flowers!

Oh, and surely more rain!

The season in among us for tornados. Be sure to be safe and have an action plan for instances of tornado warnings.

Days are here where you walk outside and smell the rain to come! All this rain has brought many flowers to bloom and the insects and animals are doing their dances to bring in summer.

The community is humming and thriving! We have new members that have joined and new SSPs! We are hoping to gain Support Service Providers in the small surrounding cities so we can reach further across Oklahoma. We now have reach in Stillwater! SHEP is a great opportunity for extra income, meeting and mingling, experience, and impacting the community. We too are blooming this spring because of YOU. Do you know anyone that would benefit from our services or would like to be a part of SHEP? We definitely want to hear from you!

Onward with anointed momentum! We went to the Myriad Garden in April and put some senses to work in a jungle setting. It was a cool spring day but you couldn’t tell from the indoor garden we hiked through. Have you ever been on the Crystal Bridge? We marked that off our bucket list as well as touched and smelled plants from different parts of the world. It’s amazing to see what growth occurs in the world’s gardens. Look at what the Bible says about growth.

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. –Galatians 6:9

Human ResourcesJune 2, 2024Comment

SHEP Connection Corner - April Newsletter

SHEP’s Connection Corner

GIVE ME THE SCOOP!

April Showers brings us...Opportunities!

Rain down on me

Blessings on blessings and blessed to be a blessing. James 1:17

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

We pray the blessings of the Lord rain down on you!

We have been on the move and enjoying the weather.

The season is near! Tornado season...and the constant change in the wind and temperature. April showers brings May flowers, and storms are a-coming.

Here are some things to take into consideration:

Sign up for weather alerts that provide notifications through text messages, emails, and/ or vibrations. Did you know that weather alert radios can provide real time weather updates with vibrating and flashing lights alerts? It’s crucial to have a safety plan in place, especially for tornadoes. What and where would be your safest shelter? Have a safety network in place. This could be neighbors, family, friends, or caregivers.

Our DeafBlind community here at SHEP has been growing. Oh happy day!

Speaking of Happy Day, our camp registration has opened. Camp will be in October, so it’s a hop, skip, and jump away. We have already received registration forms! How exciting! One common question has been the rooming and roommate situation. On your form, please fill it out completely with your requests. We are still gathering information about rooming. We will have a better idea when we get a little closer to the date. Cassandra, our president, and Jeri of Jeri’s House, will be taking another trip to the campsite and will have a better idea of how we will assign rooms between the DB and the SSPs/observers. We’ve already designed the camp shirts, taking inventory, and putting together the goodie bags. If you’ve ever been to one of our hosted camps, you know you’re in for quite a treat!

TAKE A LOOK BELOW!

Let’s Take a Stroll

Need a SSP? Contact Vicky! Want to be a SSP? Request or register on our website:

www.shep-ok.org/sspporgram

Human ResourcesMarch 28, 2024newsletter, shepokc, april, myriad gardensComment

SHEP CONNECTION CORNER - March Newsletter

SHEP’s Connection Corner

GIVE ME THE SCOOP

We found four leaf clovers!

It’s YOU! You are our lucky charms. We surely got the luck of the draw to have you all! Community is nothing without the parts inside of it. Thank you for being those parts!

It’s easy to think of luck or money. “If I win the lottery I would….If I had a million dollars the first thing I will do is…”

Let’s reflect on the Word.

Here are a few.

Philippians 4:19:And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

Proverbs 10:22:The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.

2 Corinthians 9:8:And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.

We are blessed and grateful to be able to continually sow into the DeafBlind community. Here lately we’ve been singing in the rain. Cold rain, but still the rain. And it has been raining down indeed in more ways than one!

February we loved on braille. It was so much fun practicing reading braille on heart cut outs and having to follow the directions by acting it out with the teddy bears, Directions such as hug the puppy, pet the teddy, swing the teddy in a circle. Man oh man, you should have been present when Cassandra, our president and founder, was swinging that teddy around! This month we are Marching in on social media with challenges, pics, videos, and interesting fact. Be sure to follow us!

We also wanted our SSPs to join us in the celebration of love with our SSP nights. It seemed no one was available for our events so we will schedule some more SSP fun nights soon.

Every month there is something going on so stay tuned!

Oklahoma NewsHuman ResourcesMarch 3, 2024lucky, march, museum, cowboy, scoop, camp, pwdadComment

SHEP CONNECTION CORNER - February Newsletter

SHEP’s Connection Corner
GIVE ME THE SCOOP!

What is love?
Love is patient. Love is kind.
We have been in love with the spring weather we have been getting sprinkled here and there! !
We want to interpret our love with an IamDB Valentine event. In the upcoming months we will have fun together with the help of the pitter patter of little paws. We are planning to have a guide dog special!
We have lots of love to give! We want to love on our SSPs as well. We will have 2 events to spoil our beloved SSPs while we recertify them. The OKC team will have a paint and sip while the Tulsa team will go bowling. Next time we may do a switch-a-roo of the activities. We have had questions about recertification for SSPs that are coming up due. If you’re coming up due for re-certification before September 2024, our spring certification sign ups are open. If you will be due September or later this year we will hold another re-certification in the fall. Please contact us so we can get you scheduled, humanresources@shep-ok.org
SSPs anyone?

We have had new SSPs join us! Please welcome Sarah and Ellie! We are pleased with our new SSP chat group. If you are not in the chat group please get the details from Amanda so you can hop in and not miss out.
Guess what! We took a poll towards the end of 2023 amongst our DeafBlind community and decided to get some bling.
Well...a SHEP t-shirt. Hahaha! Those that come to the next SHEP event will get their t-shirts first. After the event we will be sending them out to everyone we polled. No charge! This is all love.
We are working on our plans for the DB camp coming up in October. The theme is Happy Days! Think 50’s Happy rock and roll times. More details and registration forms will be rolling out.
Every month there is something going on so stay tuned!

Oklahoma NewsHuman ResourcesMarch 3, 2024newsletter, february, 2024, db, palentines, friends, heart health, loveComment

SHEP CONNECTION CORNER - January Newsletter

SHEP’s Connection Corner

Give Me The Scoop!

New Year, New Opportunities

Goals or Resolutions

Which do you prefer to call it, resolutions or goals for the new year? Well, we definitely have some new events on the way and more opportunities to get you connected and mingling. Speaking of mingle, December had quite the jingling and mingling! Let’s recall a few things that occurred before 2023 came to a close.

Amanda, our SSP manager, opened a restaurant in Midwest City called Bibbs Smokehouse. We were the first to dine and party the day away with our annual Christmas social. That food was dynamite! Of course, we had to dirty the place with some Dirty Santa, that is! What a time it was. Did you miss it? We have quite a line up coming to you for 2024. Some old favorites and some new.

Remember our SHEP van? It has been such a blessing! We have been able to use the van to transport conferences as well as rounding up the Tulsa area gang to join us here in the OKC area. There will be other opportunities where we will utilize the van to include more in various events.

Oklahoma NewsHuman ResourcesJanuary 7, 2024newsletter, new year, manager, january, camp, mingle, sspComment

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