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 - 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

SHEP CONNECTION CORNER - November Newsletter

SHEP’s Connection Corner

What goes up, must come down! And boy, oh boy, is the temperature doing just that!

Brrrrrrr!

I hope you didn’t miss out on the chili! SHEP’s Ho-down at Hope Ranch was full to the brim with conversation and fun. We even pet blind horses! It was a time that was had, indeed!

Earlier on in October on the 3rd, Cassandra, our founder, did a speaking engagement for the teacher of the OSU Stillwater’s ASL class (and former SHEP SSP), Rachel Hollis. Cassandra was able to share with them what SHEP has been blessed to do throughout the years.

It doesn’t end there! Cassandra attended a Christian Deaf Women’s Conference in Norman Oct. 13-15th where she was able to fellowship with other caring and encouraging ladies. In Arkansas, the 19th-22nd, our president and Jeri, of Jeri House, were able to reunite with the DeafBlind community at their DeafBlind camp whilst encouraging and continuing independent freedoms. Due to Covid it had been quite some time since they were able to come together.

Did you know there is a deaf church? It’s actually called Deaf Church Oklahoma (DCO). This is where you wanted to be October 27th. Great food, games, and full hearts. Cassandra experienced it all!

November is here and SHEP chose Tulsa for our event for the month. We will be going to Jeri’s House November 11th. It will be IamDB and fall festival fun. We are blessed to have you all in our circle!

Psalm 107:8-9: "Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things." Psalm 95:2-3: "Let's come before Him with thanks! Let's shout songs of joy to Him!”

Oklahoma NewsHuman ResourcesNovember 5, 2023newsletter, november, ranch, asl classs, class, deaf, deafblind, winter, activities, socialComment

SHEP CONNECTION CORNER - September Newsletter

SHEP’s Connection Corner

Okay, Summer, It’s time to get out of here!

We have a new SSP certified from the Tulsa area! Welcome KJ!

We made it through the heatwave!

Whew wee! It has been a scorcher. I hope you all have been staying hydrated. Heat exhaustion is a real thing. If you are going to be outside getting some sun, safety is always a primary concern. The good news is the heat is coming to an end! By the way, do you try to recycle? Little things help save the environment one water bottle at a time. This year has been flying by! Where has time gone? We are fast approaching the holidays and the time for family traditions. What tradition do you have? Please tell us! We want to hear them! The picture in this newsletter is of Cassandra at an African birthday celebration. It was a magnificent cultural event. Next time you see Cassandra, ask her all about it!

As the season changes and the air begins to smell different and carry a bit of chill in the air, we switch out our icee drinks for chili bowls. We have some exciting things planned for the fall! Check the calendar for upcoming events.

“For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.”-Habakkuk 2:3

We pray over you, giving thanks to be among you in each season. We pray for prosperity and joy in all your hearts and your homes.

Don’t forget to send us an email with your birthday, etc.

Oklahoma NewsHuman ResourcesSeptember 9, 2023newsletter, september, 2023, social, deafblind, shep, ssp, deafblinf, deaf, hoh, emberComment

SHEP CONNECTION CORNER - August Newsletter

SHEP’s Connection Corner

The stores already have Halloween out!

Steadily Growing!

We have been doing 1 on 1 trainings to get SSPs certified. We have a couple coming up! Yay! New SSPs!

It was the hottest month EVER!

That’s no exaggeration! July is the hottest month on record for the entire globe. They even said ice in Greenland has melted and formed little tiny lake pools. Let’s see what August brings. I know we are all looking for some relief from the furnace we call outside! Speaking of outside, we had a most refreshing time at the Botanical Myriad Gardens in July. It actually rained and cut our time a tad. It was a beautiful experience. We took a stroll through the children’s garden as well and discovered a vine covered tunnel that led into a secret gathering place. IamBD was cancelled for July due to a loss in the President’s, Cassandra’s, family. Just a couple of weeks before that Cassandra has gallbladder surgery. The good news is she is healed and able to eat more of the foods she loves now!

We are pleased to announce we are on our second contract year with a full staff to serve the DB community! And we have a van to help out along the way! There will be future SHEP related events we will extend van pickup service for. Stay in the know!

Oklahoma NewsHuman ResourcesAugust 7, 2023deafblind, news, social, newsletter, august, july, pool, halloween, drs, ssp, db, fundraiserComment

RESIDENTS FIRE ACADEMY

The Residents Fire Academy is a program targeted toward adults in the Oklahoma City community. Academy participants will obtain an insider’s view of the services the Oklahoma City Fire Department provides, information about fire safety for the home and workplace, and a deeper understanding of the duties of a firefighter by engaging in hand’s-on activities.

As an added benefit, participants will have the opportunity to do “ride-alongs” at Oklahoma City Fire Stations during this eight-week academy. This will be a great opportunity for the participants to see all the things that they have been learning about come together in real-world incidents.

Oklahoma NewsHuman ResourcesAugust 3, 2023academy, information, residents, okc, fire, department, oklahoma cityComment

INCLUSIVE PLAYGROUND IN TULSA PROVIDES FUN FOR EVERY CHILD

Tulsa has opened its first accessible playground that has something for every kid, with a disability or not.

Kids helped cut the ribbon and got to climb all over the new equipment at last.

Whether you’re soaring on the swing, zipping down the slides, or perhaps going for a drive, this is a playground for everyone.

SHEP CONNECTION CORNER - July Newsletter

SHEP’s Connection Corner

Steadily Growing!

We have 2 new SSPs! One in the Tulsa area and one in the OKC area!

Welcome Juli and Keri!

The rain sure has been showing out!

Wow! July? Already? This year has wings! The earth must be mighty thirsty because it has been raining and pouring. So sorry we had to cancel our zoo outing for June due to the weather. Perhaps we can reschedule in the fall before it is cold and when it is not so hot. Hey! Did you make it out to Tacos for Life on June 20th for our fundraiser night? They reported to us that we made $22.09! Thank you everyone! Now we have a donut fundraiser coming up. Krispy Kreme is where it’s at! Check social media and share, share, share! By using our link to order a dozen donuts we get 50% of every order. Think of how much we can provide for the DeafBlind community with these funds! The fundraiser is from July 10th to the 28th.

Oklahoma NewsHuman ResourcesJuly 8, 2023newsletter, july, van, ssp, events, doghnuts, krispy kreme, fundraiserComment

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