| September 30, 2010
CONGRATULATIONS |
| Outside the Box participant Jenny Holloway celebrates her one year employment anniversary this month! Jenny began working as a Surveillance Reviewer for Crown Liquor on September 14, 2009. Since then, Jenny has received an impressive bonus for her excellent work, and was featured in Outside the Box’s informational video during our 2010 fundraiser, Inside the Bottle for Outside the Box. We are so proud of Jenny’s hard work and dedication! |
One Year Anniversary!
October Community Calendars
September Community Calendar
August Community Calendars
"It's a House"
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The Dolphins created this masterpiece called "It's a House." It's a combination of paint on canvas and crayon, oil pastel, and chalk on paper. We were selected among 1000 submissions and won a cash prize of $100 for this piece of work! This artwork will be on display with CARF for the next year. |  |
Updates from the Rainmakers
Hi, we’re the Rainmakers! We are an all-men’s group at Outside the Box. We go on outings to places like the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Trader’s Point Creamery and the toy museum.
Some of our favorite things to do at OTB are listening to music, eating lunch together, doing cooking classes and dance classes, playing Uno and reading books and magazines.
Last week, we learned about volunteering and how Keep Indianapolis Beautiful makes the city look nice. We went to a community vegetable and flower garden and pulled weeds for Keep Indianapolis Beautiful. Jenny from KIB showed us which weeds to pull so we wouldn’t accidentally pull vegetables and flowers. All the OTB groups went together--the Dolphins, Rainmakers, Icicles, Dreamers and Celebrities. Our leaders were Aaron, Melanie, Andrew, Stella, Kimberly and Ian. Jenny took a picture of us with the painting we made for KIB and said thank you to us for the painting of the tree. We all signed the back of the painting. She also brought us water, shovels, buckets and gloves for working. It was a hot day and we all got sweaty, so we drank a lot of water and had fun. Afterward, we went to Holliday Park to eat lunch together.
This month, we learned about Independence Day, the history of the United States of America, Guatemala (a country in Central America), volunteering and Indianapolis. We really enjoyed learning about Indianapolis and made a collage of what we like about Indianapolis. We put on the collage the Broad Ripple Art Fair, the Children’s Museum, the IMA, the Indianapolis Zoo, the Indiana State Museum, the Indiana State Fair, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Eiteljorg, downtown Indianapolis, farmers’ markets, Monument Circle, Conner Prairie, concerts, restaurants and food.
What are the Celebrities up to?
 | Read on to find out what the Celebrities had fun doing in June, what they're looking forward to in July and what they learned about Guatemala this week!  |
| In July, I enjoyed going to the 4th of July parade. Actually, it was the 5th, but I liked saying hi to Mrs. Indiana, and I enjoyed seeing the girls in their pretty outfits. I also look forward to going to The Children’s Museum and seeing the Barbie exhibit. In June I enjoyed and I had fun doing a lot of trips. I enjoyed going to Conner Prairie and I enjoyed when we went window shopping on the Monon with Megan. I learned about Guatemala. I learned about their culture and their holidays and their religion, and I liked things that Kimberly brought from Guatemala. I look forward to dance class and cooking class, and I hope we go to the State Fair in August. I really want to go there, and I look forward to camp. -Becky Robinson |  |
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 | In July, I'm excited to go swimming. Today, I learned about Guatemala. I liked learning about the holidays people celebrate there. -Mallory Kaveney |  | My birthday was in June and the Celebrities has a really fun birthday party with me. I'm excited to go swimming at Broad Ripple Park this week. -Erin Schrock |
 | I am excited about going to our outings in July. We are going to The Children’s Museum on July 23rd. I got to go see the fireworks on July 4th with my friends from church. I can’t wait to go to the pool and get a tan. I am also excited about the Indiana State Fair in August. |  | In June, the Celebrities visited Conner Prairie. We took my wheelchair, but it was bumpy riding around the park. I'm very excited to go swimming at Broad Ripple Park and to The Children's Museum in July. I also had a lot of fun in dance class, and I'm excited for more dance classes |
| -Johanna Laut | in July. Today we learned about Guatemala and I liked seeing the pretty jewelry and purses from Guatemala. -Lindsey Hutnicke |
July Community Calendars
| July 1, 2010 |
| Please click on the images above to view the July calendar of events for OTB groups. This will help participants, parents, and staff to remain informed about activities, community outings, and appointments we have planned for the month. |
Open Position at OTB!
Full-time Career Support Specialist
So you’ve read our newsletter, caught the OTB vision and get what makes us truly “Outside the Box.”
Now’s your chance to join our team! As a Career Support Specialist, you’ll support participants in finding jobs in our community—but not just any jobs—jobs that suit their interests, abilities and aspirations.
Explore Studio OTB artwork online
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Hot off the press: OTB Summer 2010 Newsletter!
Check out our Summer 2010 Newsletter, Inside the Days!
Inside you'll find updates on:
- OTB groups (Celebrities, Dolphins, Rainmakers, Icicles and Dreamers)
- Inside the Bottle, our annual fundraiser
- New staff and interns and open positions
- Studio OTB, the OTB art program
- OTB's exciting growth over the last year
- Current OTB needs
More Celebrities updates!
In these snippets, a few ladies from the Celebrities group write about what they had fun doing in May, what they're excited about for June and what they learned about Helen Keller last week. Enjoy!
In May, I had the most fun eating lunch at Panera for Priscilla's last day at OTB. I miss Priscilla and hope she's doing well! I had my favorite soup in a bread bowl at Panera. We made sure to bring my wheel chair so we could walk around Broad Ripple Park after lunch. I've been bringing my voice recorder to tell the Celebrities what we've been doing at home. My friend Aaron from Sycamore started working at OTB in May, and I love to tease him! He took me to Joy Prom this year, and Aaron wouldn't dance to Justin Timberlake.
-Lindsey Hutnick
What I learned about Helen Keller: She was deaf and bllind. She can smell, feel and write. Helen Keller was born in 1880. Helen Keller learned how to do sign language. Helen Keller learned how to feel the sign language. Helen Keller went to college and she graduated from college too. Helen Keller learned how to sign the word "water." Annie taught the word "water" to Helen. Helen learned to feel the words. Helen Keller used a board of squares to write letters. Helen Keller could feel her dog. Helen Keller met someone and got married.
-Abby Acres
In May, I had fun with cooking class and music class. I did like art class and I like the community outings I did with my friends. I look forward to Jenny's and Erin's birthdays, and I look forward to Conner Prairie. I liked going to Panera Bread with my criends. I enjoyed the movies and I also look forward to the Fourth of July parade. I miss Priscilla and I like to eat ice cream and go swimming and read during free time. I would like it if we went to the Children's Museum. I look forward to going to Conner Prairie. I also look forward to hanging out with Amanda and I like to have parties. I learned about Helen Keller that she was blind and she could not hear but she could read braille and she learned to do sign language. I also learned about self-advocacy and I also like learning about Helen Keller going to college. Someday I want to get married and I want to have my own place so I can live by myself.
-Rebecca Robinson
What's going on, Celebrities?
Hello, friends of OTB! Below are blog entries written by the ladies of the Celebrities, our all-women's group. One of the group members typed them up so you could enjoy hearing about what's going on with these ladies!
I would like to help out Heather Briggy’s and I also miss seeing her so much.
Kiley Thompson
Just yesterday, I went to work. I cleaned tables. I like to clean tables at Applebee’s. I have worked at Applebee’s for several years.
Erin Schrock
I went to Joy Prom two weekends ago. It was so fun. I went with my friend Aaron. Today is Johanna’s Birthday. My group is going with Johanna to Broad Ripple Park. We are having a BBQ Picnic. I brought hot dogs and buns to share with my friends. I love going to Art Class at OTB. Lauren , my art teacher, is very nice. I am excited for Art Class this afternoon. I miss my friend Dani.
Lindsey Hutnicke
Today I will be 23 years old. This is my first Birthday at OTB. I am so glad that I am here at OTB. I love it here and I like spending time with my friends from the two groups I am in. The groups I am in are the Celebrities and the Icicles. I come here four days every week. Today the Celebrities and I are going to the park for my birthday celebration.
Johanna Laut
We are going to Broad Ripple Park today for Johanna’s birthday. It’s a pitch-in picnic. I brought turkey burgers, Sprite, chips and bread for the turkey burgers.
Jenny Holloway
In February, we had a Valentine’s Day party. In March, we went to the parade in Downtown Indianapolis during St. Patrick’s Day. I had a birthday in April and we went to the Zoo. We had fun today. We are going to the park. We are having a picnic and celebrating Johanna’s birthday. I look forward to May. I hope we celebrate Mary’s birthday and I hope that we celebrate Jenny’s birthday in June and Erin’s birthday. We had a Christmas party in December, and I love that Rachel brings Sunny so we can pet her and feed her. I also like that in August we will go to the State and have ice cream. In July I would like to see a Fourth of July parade. I also had fun at the Inside the Bottle event. I had fun with everybody, and I looked really pretty. I hope that we do the same fun things in art class, and I hope that we do more fun things in the summer time.
Becky Robinson
April Community Calendars
| April 1, 2010
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| Please click on the images above to view the calendar of events for February for the Celebrities (top left), Dreamers (top right), Dolphins (bottom left) and Rainmakers (bottom right). This will help participants, parents, and staff to remain informed about activities, community outings, and appointments we have planned for the month. |
March Community Calendars
| 3/4/2010
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| Please click on the images above to view the calendar of events for February for the Dolphins (top left), Dreamers (top right), Celebrities (bottom left) and Rainmakers (bottom right). This will help participants, parents, and staff to remain informed about activities, community outings, and appointments we have planned for the month. |
2009. A Year at Outside the Box.
| Once upon a time, a small company called Outside the Box was just getting started…... |
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 | It seems so long ago that Megan and Rachel introduced me to OTB, and I began working with them so comfortably with 400 square feet and a dream. We have grown so much since then, adding new group members with new goals and potential, new team members who share our passion, a new building for all of us to share, and new ideas and aspirations for a never-ending passion and purpose. We now house 4 small groups in our day services program, and have 12 individuals in employment services, many of whom found employment in 2009.
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| Our goal for our consumers has always been to find careers, not just jobs, which involves planning, creative thinking and self-awareness. We are so proud of the individuals we work with and the hard work, dedication and determination that they exhibit. We are also very proud to report that every consumer who has been matched with a career by OTB is still employed. Claudine (bottom right), who began working as a Service Associate at Stein Mart last summer, was named Employee of the Month in August of 2009. Jenny (top right), who began working as a Surveillance |  |
| Reviewer for a local company last fall, received a bonus after only 3 months on the job for excellence and exceeding expectations. And Danielle began a 4 week internship at Encore Dessert and More in the winter of 2009 and did so well she was offered a permanent position as a Bakery Assistant once her internship was complete. Several other individuals also began new careers in 2009, or were referred to OTB and are currently determining career objectives and seeking employment in the community. We also continue to grow with our day services program, and our 4 small groups, The Celebrities, The Dreamers, The Dolphins, and The Rainmakers, continue to amaze us with their ability to learn, create, and grow. |
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| In 2009 our group members learned many daily living skills through cooking classes, money management classes, and many other activities. Group members also discussed current events globally and in their community, learned and demonstrated many theories such as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need, and became involved in volunteer work in the community at places such as The Wheeler Mission. OTB group members also make it a priority to be involved in fun and educational outings in the community several times each week, and have gone everywhere from the Indianapolis Art Museum, to the State Fair, to RTV6 for a tour of the studio.  OTB also sees immense value in creative arts and expression, and therefore provided art classes, dance classes, and music classes during group hours for all OTB day services participants. We are so lucky to have team members who are trained in various creative arts and willing to share their knowledge through free classes for our participants!   Of course it would be difficult to tell you about ALL the places we have been and ALL the things we have done, but I can say with confidence that we have had an amazing year and have made the most of each day that we've spent together. |        |
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AOTB artwork has been displayed at multiple art shows and exhibits throughout the community including an exhibit at the Indianapolis Art Center and an art show at Indiana Mentor. Several paintings that were created by OTB participants’ and OTB’s Art Program Director (including bottom right) were also displayed and auctioned at OTB’s first fundraiser, Inside the Bottle for Outside the Box. AOTB was also pleased to sell it’s first personalized, commissioned piece (bottom left).AOTB also presented an Art Camp last summer, and holds weekly classes that are open to anyone in the community. | ||
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