September 11th will be a magical day for Elwyn residents, staff, family and friends as we celebrate the "Magical World of Elwyn" at the Friends of Elwyn Festival.  A day of fun, food, games and activities will be held at the Zier Recreation Center on the Media campus, 111 Elwyn Road, Elwyn, Pa. from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.  Featured  performers are the Olympiad Gymnastic Exhibition Team and the Penn Crest High School Marching Band.  "White Elephant" items and tasty baked goods will be for sale. The event is free!  For more information, please call 610-891-2302.

(Photo at left:  Stan H. Retif chats with Valley View supervisor Bernadette Williams)

Stan H. Retif was recently appointed Vice President of Development and Communications for Elwyn.  As Vice President, Retif is responsible for all fundraising activities at Elwyn locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and California including major gifts, corporate and foundation relations and special events and for all corporate communications and public relations.Stan Retif comes to Elwyn from the Woods Services Foundation in Langhorne, Pa., where for six years he served as Vice President of Development, and planned and implemented The Campaign for Woods’ Second Century, a fundraising effort that achieved 145 percent of its capital goal. Prior to his tenure at  Woods, Retif served the Archdiocese of Philadelphia as Secretary for External Affairs. In  eleven years with the Archdiocese he oversaw five archdiocesan departments, including: Office for Communications, Office for Development, Office for Public Affairs, Office for Public Relations and The Catholic Standard & Times.  Retif, a native of New Orleans, began his development career at Tulane University.  “We are very excited to welcome Stan Retif to Elwyn,” says Sandy Cornelius, Ph.D., Elwyn’s president. “Stan’s experience and record of accomplishment will enable us to secure the support needed to match our mission of maximizing the potential of every individual we serve. His successful leadership at the Woods Services Foundation and his dedicated efforts with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and other organizations demonstrate his ability to lead and inspire development programs.”  A graduate of Tulane University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Retif was an Institute of Politics Fellow at Loyola University and is currently pursuing a master’s in Nonprofit Management. A certified fundraising executive, he currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (2009 and 2010), and has served on various committees and delegations including the Canonization Committee for Katherine Drexel in 2000, and the International Catholic Stewardship Conference, Rome, 1999. In 2003, he received the Papal Honor of the Order of Saint Gregory.

“Kiss your brain!”, says PATHS Coordinator Diane Harrison, as she provides her young client immediate and positive reinforcement for his response during one of the PATHS lessons that is run weekly as part of Elwyn SBBH, one of three school-based behavioral health programs managed in Philadelphia elementary schools by Elwyn’s Renise Welbon, Robin Blalet, and Adrienne Harrison.
Diane, of Elwyn’s SBBH program at Sheridan Elementary School in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, and Julius Rivera, who co-leads the groups at all three programs and is a Certified Healing Beat therapist, will travel with their Clinical Manager Robin Blalet, 11 students, SBBH staff, and parent chaperones to the 5 ^th International PATHS Conference in Harrisburg, PA.  PATHS is an evidence-based blueprint model that offers a comprehensive program for promoting emotional and social competencies, as well as reducing aggression and behavior problems in preschool and elementary school-aged children. PATHS promotes positive behavior through emotional self-awareness and self-regulation.  SBBH students, who meet weekly to learn to empathize, take turns, share, listen, identify emotions in themselves and others, control their frustration appropriately, and relate better to self and others in general, were invited to present what they have learned in the group, an innovative hybrid that integrates both the PATHS Curriculum and Healing Beat Therapeutic Drumming, and marking the second time our students have been honored with this privilege at the PATHS Conference. At lunch on day one of the PATHS Conference, our children will demonstrate what they’ve learned about healthful relationships and self-control by integrating their drumming skills and their ability to say what they think and feel in a goal directed way.  This year, Elwyn SBBH is doubly honored, having been invited to present a workshop that will demonstrate how the Clinical Managers, Mr. Rivera and Ms. Harrison have successfully integrated these two modalities to support greater independence in relationship building among children with serious behavioral health concerns and other variables that challenge typical healthful relationship development. The workshop will be a presentation of the model to other professionals to learn how Elwyn SBBH has creatively melded tools in a unified and effective fashion to support strength-based social and emotional growth for young children.    As a result of Elwyn SBBH Groups, hundreds of children have learned that their thoughts and their feelings are valid, important, and to be honored, and they’ve learned to use their brains in new ways. This Thursday, they have the chance to show an international audience some of the many ways Elwyn Builds Lives.

Everyone who works there knows that Elwyn California is a great place to work.  But now everyone knows it, since Elwyn California was named at one of Orange County's "Top Employers."  To paraphrase a recent article in the OC Register, Cheryl Westley, director of business development says that for employees at Elwyn California, the focus is on preparing individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities for jobs instead of having to fight to get ahead in the corporate world,  Employees come "because they want to make a difference in peoples' lives. The bottom line is that we all celebrate in the service we provide to our clients and the accomplishments they achieve on a daily basis. It is a joy coming to work every day."  Congratulations to all of the staff at Elwyn California!

“It is hard enough for a person without special challenges to find suitable work in today’s job market, BUT, for the 55 million persons with disabilities, it is a million times harder.”

Most people with disabilities are reluctant to go back to work for fear of losing their financial and medical disability benefits. Mr. Gousie said a recent Gallup Poll showed 75 percent of people with disabilities would like to have a job but many don't pursue employment because they're afraid if they get a job they'll lose their benefits.

The Ticket to Work program is a voluntary incentive program that provides a safety net during a trial work period that allows eligible participants to seek employment without the risk of losing their benefits for up to five years while they become secure in their employment.

“If beneficiaries just call Elwyn’s Ticket to Work hotline (610-497-0320) we can confirm their eligibility in the program and get them started on the road to gainful employment,” says Mr. Gousie. Elwyn Ticket-to-Work takes a very positive results oriented approach. Beneficiaries have nothing to lose and everything to gain by taking advantage of this program.

For many individuals with a disability and their families, the impact on keeping SSI or SSDI benefits while also retaining employment presents many questions and concerns.

For information or to discuss the Ticket to Work program, you can call Elwyn at 610-497-0320.