Beach Party at the Helen Kaplan Center Celebrates End of Summer and DSP Week
The Helen Kaplan Center transformed into a beach paradise, this September, to say goodbye to summer as a community and come together to celebrate Direct Support Professional Recognition (DSP) Week.
On September 10, the men and women residing at the Helen Kaplan Center were joined by their families and caring team of staff for a day for games, food, and fun. The party was a joint effort by the entire Helen Kaplan Center community.
“We wanted to celebrate diversity,” said Marta Garavito, the Director of the Helen Kaplan Center. “We don’t get to do that all the time. So when we can, we celebrate culture. We celebrate the people who live here and we say goodbye to the summer.”
Tie-dyed t-shirts were worn to celebrate Haitian, Puerto-Rican, Jamaican and Long Island culture, while informational posters and food from different cultures were available. To add to the fun, everyone enjoyed festive games such as limbo and a water balloon toss. Executives including CEO Stanfort Perry, Chief Operation Officer Chris O’Connor, and Vice President of Operations Sallyanne Burgess took a turn playing the limbo game.
Staff members also joined together to hold a wide, colorful parachute, as people supported went underneath, enjoying the colors above them lit up by the sun.
Nancy Abbondola, who resides at Helen Kaplan Center, loved journeying under the parachute multiple times.
“I like it,” said Nancy, who could not decide which game was her favorite – so she played them all. “The sun is out!”
“I love all this stuff,” chimed in Mary, Nancy’s mom. “We go to all of the events.”
As lunch was served, Stanfort stood before everyone and thanked the DSPs who make it possible for the people supported at Shoreham to have the ordinary joys of everyday life, as well as extraordinary experiences like this beach party!
“I think this event is good visually for the people living here to get outside,” said DSP Gerard Muro, who has been at Helen Kaplan Center for four years. “Even if they don’t show it on their faces specifically, I know it’s amazing for them to get out of the house and see the community, other people, family members that are here to support them.”