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Albany Advocacy Resource Center: Selfless Service

While most of us run through our days trying to complete a never-ending to do list, chances are we have some free time in there somewhere. What we do with that free time, however, could be life changing, for ourselves and for others.

When Millie Turner retired from banking a couple of years ago, she knew sitting home day after day was not going to work for her. So when she was approached about serving as a volunteer with Albany Advocacy Resource Center (AARC), she knew that was her answer.

Today, she volunteers once a week, sometimes twice, at the Albany ARC Adult Day/Independent Living Program, helping people with disabilities tackle a variety of life skills, from balancing checkbooks and housekeeping tasks to personal hygiene and clothing care.

“I thought maybe I could give something back to the community this way,” said Turner. “Funny how God works; instead of me teaching them, they teach me love, understanding and patience.”

Turner said certain consumers, AARC’s name for the physically and mentally challenged people they serve, have specific goals during the time they spend at the center, and she is there to help them meet those goals. From working on math skills and learning to write checks to spelling and reading improvement, she is there to help.

“We do math and she helps us…we go one by one to do an answer. She’s a very good helper,” shared Rhonda Smith, a consumer.

And Turner is not alone. Others volunteer regularly at AARC as well, including April Everett, a hair professional with Fusion Salon & Spa, who began cutting ARC consumers’ hair over a year ago. Everett dedicates one Monday per month – her off day from the salon – to cutting hair free of charge for 10 to 20 consumers.

“I’ve always wanted to give back,” said Everett. “I’m blessed to have a great career. I can’t give all my clients free service, but I wanted to give back in some way.

“It’s an extreme blessing to be able to give to these consumers. They really appreciate it.”

The Day Center is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. Not only does it give the consumers somewhere to go and an opportunity to learn and interact with others, it also provides some relief for their caregivers, said Lou Johnson, community resource coordinator for AARC, who served for years as a volunteer before joining the staff a few years ago.

“It gives all these people a purpose and a wonderful life that they wouldn’t have without it,” she said regarding the center. “I live and breathe it.”

Today, AARC serves more than 1,000 consumers, about 50 of which attend the day program, enjoying leisure activities along with learning life skills such as grooming and cooking. Some arrive by city bus that drops them off just across a side street from the front door, and others are dropped off by their caregivers.

“They would be so miserable and bored,” without this program, said Kaycee Gilliard, director of the day program. “It’s very important for them. It teaches independence and living skills that enable them to live out on their own.”

Some AARC consumers live on their own in apartments, with financial assistance from the organization to meet their needs. Others live in one of five group homes and two apartment complexes operated by AARC. Additional housing is currently under construction to meet the growing needs, she added.

Many AARC consumers are active in Special Olympics, another area where volunteers are invaluable, said Gilliard. “With Special Olympics, we couldn’t do anything without our volunteers. And without the volunteers, many of our clients couldn’t get the services they enjoy. It’s the friendship they gain through our volunteers that is so special.”

AARC is headed by Annette Bowling, who began working with the organization in 1974, when few services were available in the Albany area for people with disabilities. Since then, working hand in hand with other providers, AARC has grown to offer a wide variety of services, including early intervention, pre-school, autism care and job placement programs. In addition, they offer services for parolees and a mental health court.

With the support of a strong board, as well as volunteers offering everything from time and money to clothing and furniture, the dedicated staff of AARC continues to serve this special population. For more information, call (229) 888-6852 or visit them online at www.albanyarc.org.

K.K. Snyder is a freelance writer and editor based in the Albany area. With over 20 years

in the industry, she writes for a number of magazines and newspapers around the country and

has published hundreds of articles, with topics ranging from travel and real estate to art

and personality profiles. In addition, she is the author of Frommer’s Atlanta travel guidebook,

which she rewrites every two years.

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Searching for Jyquez Miller, missing child found

Sometimes events play out in ways that you never see coming, wish had never happened, but nonetheless stick with you as critical moments, conveying something important and special. Recently, such an event pulled in Albanians from a wide cross-section of our community, including yours truly. One such event was the search for 9-year-old Jyquez Miller.

On Tuesday, Jan. 5, Jyquez was reported missing.

Years ago, the only people that would have known about it so quickly would have been local law enforcement agencies, family members, and close friends. But this is 2010, and in just minutes, the rest of us knew he was lost via Internet social networks. That’s how I got involved.

I had just come home from work and sat down to check my e-mails before going to bed. There was a Facebook posting from WALB’s Karen Cohilas marked “urgent”, asking anyone that could, to ride out Gillionville Road toward Lockett Station and Beattie roads, and assist in the search for Jyquez.

Others had already begun the search effort shortly after his disappearance. Surely, they had found him by now and did not need anymore volunteers out looking. I was very tired, it was now late and dark, and it was very cold outside. Then, on instinct as a parent, I restructured that thought; Jyquez must be very tired, it was now late and dark, and it was very cold outside. I got dressed, found a flashlight, got my dog on the truck, and headed out.

As I drove, my mind kept flashing back to times when my own children were in trouble and needed me there. When my oldest was about the same age as Jyquez, she fell face-forward on the sidewalk while playing with friends in the apartment complex where I lived at the time. I should have been right there to catch her, but instead I was in the second-floor apartment, working on something I thought was important at the time. I heard her crying, and a knock at the door. The neighbor had walked her up the stairs. There was my angel, bleeding terribly from her mouth and knees, her front tooth chipped. That image and the look on her face will be with me forever.

Then I thought of the time when we took my youngest girl to the school playground on a Saturday for a fun little family outing. She was then, and still is, a child of energy, and wanted to show me how good she could move across the horizontal bars.

She took off running, and before I could get close enough, my other angel darted up the ladder and across. In a split second she lost her grip and hit the ground, fracturing her arm. I should have been underneath to catch her. I’ll never forget that moment either. Both can still wake me up at night.

As I arrived to the search area for Jyquez, it was obvious that many others were having the same kinds of thoughts. All that was known was that there was a child in danger. That’s all we had to know. I don’t think it was about trying to be a hero for anyone, or even an effort to do a good deed. It was simply a natural reaction from parents and concerned citizens. You could see cars and trucks slowly moving through neighborhoods, and small groups of people walking back allies and wooded areas. Flashlights and occasional shouts of “Jyquez!” cut the cold night air. It was an amazing display of our better nature. With all the concerns over crime and such in our city, this was one event, if we could help it, that was not going to end up badly. Early the next morning, Jyquez was found. When the news of his safe return spread, you could feel a tangible sense of victory over a bad circumstance.

Some still have questions about the details surrounding his disappearance, but there are two facts that are not in doubt. The first, and obviously most important, is that Jyquez Miller was found and returned to his family. The second fact, I don’t believe anyone out searching for Jyquez saw coming at all. Even after so many years of hardships, Albany still has a core of community that all the strife and darkness has not touched.

We have a lot of problems to face. We have prejudices and shortcomings to deal with in order for our city to move forward. We can be fractured and divided along economic and racial lines. But when we know that one of our own, in particular one of our youngest, black or white, rich or poor, is in harm’s way, we act.

We may never know what led Jyquez Miller to not go directly home after school that day, setting him on the path of a desperate and terrible ordeal that he will remember for a long time.

Do we really need to? I don’t think so.

What we do need to take from this is that Jyquez set many of his fellow Albanians on a quest for the child that showed us all something we desperately needed to see in ourselves as individuals and as community. Regardless of the distance, differences, and divisions, we still matter to each other.

LonMcNeil 09Written by Lon McNeil. Mr. McNeil is an Albany independent marketing consultant. Find him online at AlbanyOnPoint.

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Freedom Shrine donated to Lake Park Elementary by Exchange Club

WALL OF FREEDOM

The Exchange Club of Albany, represented in the photo by Mason Montegard, last week donated a Freedom Shrine to Lake Park Elementary School.

The Freedom Shrine is an impressive, permanently mounted collection of 30 of the most important and historic American documents, including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States and the Gettysburg Address. They show our nation’s youth the strength and courage of their forefathers by allowing them to read, with their own eyes, the immortal words of inspired Americans who so decisively changed the course of history.

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Monthly: Mission October

Mission:Change truly believes we can “Change The World From Your Backyard” and with our volunteers we put that statement into action. On a cold fall morning we descended once again on the park in central Albany at Davis Street and First Avenue. We chose to spend those few hours Saturday investing in the lives of the impoverished children of Albany. We had an amazing day! Each of us leaving had a better understanding of giving of one’s self.

Through the kindness of the community we set up inflatable games, had old fashioned sack races, tug-o-war, banana relays (oh yea), face painting, hay rides and so much more. Each child and adult was provided a sack lunch and a bag of candy. No fall festival is complete without candy!

mission change octoberWe were told by one of the parents that this work is “making a difference”. The real difference occurs not because of the games or face painting or candy but because we choose to invest in the lives of one another and the result is life change for everyone involved. Never doubt that the smallest thing you do will change the life of a child or adult for a lifetime. I am honored and blessed to serve with Mission:Change and to work alongside our absolutely amazing group of volunteers.

I believe we can “Change The World From Our Backyard!”

Written by David Blackwell.  Blackwell is mission project coordinator for Mission:Change.