YouthWorks Week 6

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YouthWorks Week 6 receiving their brain injury prevention presentation!
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Ready, set, go! Play people, play! It’s gross motor time!

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Everybody’s havin’ a good old time.
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There are 2 Jake’s in this pic! One from No Limits and one from YouthWorks! 🙂

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Good shot!
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Mulch on, my people mulch on! Thank you YouthWorks Week 6 for helping us to finish mulching our Pollinator Garden!

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The final stake! We would also like to thank the Eastern Shore Soil & Water Conservation District for awarding us grant funds to establish this garden!
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The canna flower took the focus. Jake thinks it looks beautiful.
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Giving Brandon’s banana plant some TLC while he is at camp! They are the banana team!
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YouthWorks Week 6 also helped us complete more catnip toys for the kitties at the SPCA and our local Animal Control facility.  No Limits grows organic catnip to make these toys!  We hope to make these toys available to the rest of our communities’ kitties as a fundraising project very soon!
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We also worked on the Comfort Dolls Project on the behalf of The Kiwanis Club of Accomack.  The Kiwanis distributes the dolls to be used with children and the elderly in our community.
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Doin’ a great job!
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More shots of YouthWorks helping us finish our Pollinator Garden!
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Go muscle man!
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Thank you all again so much!

Friday Blogging

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We had a creepy visitor INSIDE our building this week!
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Mr. Green (the green snake) was released unharmed into the field out back. We hope he does not come back to visit soon.
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Latch on people! Amy was re-learning how to latch-hook with Eva and Sherry!
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Ooh! Look at David, Rachel, and Adrian checkin’ out the new van! Run, run, run; vroom!
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Amy brought in a Rubik’s cube. She was trying so hard to get it done!
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Birthday girl! Happy birthday Amy!!!!

The Elton Trower Memorial

The Elton Trower Memorial was held at No Limits Eastern Shore on Friday, 7/22. It was a brief ceremony with a video/slideshow and music, followed by a cookout (because Elton would have wanted us to have fun!). Our 2014 Kate Award Winner Iesha Warrington performed. This event was suggested and developed by No Limits participant and brain injury survivor Matt Mehilentze (with assistance from our Outreach Coordinator Emma Fillebrown and Denise Brown) to honor his late friend on the anniversary of his passing.

Elton Trower conducted our Exercise group for many years, generously funded by the United Way of Virginia’s Eastern Shore. His group was the ONLY resource on the Eastern Shore specifically for survivors of brain injury when No Limits first opened in March 2001 and he was a great friend to the local brain injury community right up until his death. This event was intended as a celebration of his years of service. We miss him very much.

 

To view the entire Memorial service, including Iesha’s solo, on our YouTube channel please click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsDCLeHpwkE

 

To view the tribute slideshow developed by Matt & Emma, also on our YouTube channel, please click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdmwH3Et–0

 

Pictures from the event are below:

 

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Matt and Denise designed and created posters with inspirational quotes to be used as decorations.
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Yo Elton, we did it! We hope you were pleased with it all!
Another great poster inspired by Elton, designed by Matt, and developed by Denise.
Another great poster inspired by Elton, designed by Matt, and developed by Denise.
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Matt worked so hard to prepare this memorial. We are so proud of everything that he accomplished.
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What a wonderful turn out! We were so honored to be joined by Elton’s daughter, Felicia Trower-Matthews, and her  family.
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Thank you to everyone who joined us to remember our dear friend.
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Matt giving his tribute speech. Eva says “it was a job well done.”
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Elton’s daughter, Felicia, brought Matt a T-shirt and trophy that had belonged to Elton. These mementos mean so very much to Matt. Here is our director presenting them.
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Felicia’s family pose for a photo with Matt. What a great shot!
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Two familiar faces enjoying the memorial. Thank you Matt’s mom, Noreen, and Iesha, our 2014 Kate Award winner, for joining us. They were both so very helpful to us on the day of the memorial and Iesha sang a beautiful hymn in Elton’s memory.
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Cookout time! In celebration of Elton’s life we decided to cook out!
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David the Master Chef cooking the dogs to perfection.
Faith, Sherry, and Denise - 3 lovely ladies.
Faith, Sherry, and Denise – 3 lovely ladies.

In Memory of Jean Kranich

We are deeply saddened to announce that our Board Member Jean Kranich of Onancock, VA, passed away on Tuesday, July 26. Jean was introduced to us and became a part of No Limits through her husband Barry, a bus driver for Star Transit. The Kranichs began volunteering with us in 2009 – their first project with us was a card making workshop – and in 2012 Jean Kranich became a member of No Limits Eastern Shore’s Board of Directors. Jean was a valued supporter of brain injury survivors on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and her kind heart and keen mind will be greatly missed. Rest in peace, Jean, and thank you for your service. Please click here for the full obituary:  http://www.williamsfuneralhomes.com/notices/Jean-Kranich

Jean Kranich volunteering at No Limits in 2009.
Jean Kranich volunteering at No Limits in 2009.
Jean and Barry at a No Limits holiday party.
Jean and Barry at a No Limits holiday party.

Friday Blogging²

We got so busy over the past 2 weeks at No Limits that we forgot to post our Friday Bloggingon the 15th!  Please enjoy our “Friday Blogging²” which includes activities from this week AND last week!

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Ride, ride, ride…Amy got to check out our new accessible van! Thank you VA DARS!!!!
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Brandon getting a frosty fruit treat for our chickens.
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Pineapple on my chickens!
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Hey Yo! Adrian!!! and Jake!!
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Learnin’, learnin’, learnin’….whew
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Good job snappin’ those beans! Jake says “They tasted GREAT.”
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Future NBA star here! Matt says “He’s not starrin’ in karate – now he’s playing basketball!”
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The amazing ladies from Market Street United Methodist Church’s Women’s Circle came to cook us another fantastic lunch! This month they made us vegetarian lasagna and the most popular comment was “We never even missed the meat!” It was so good!
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Rachel’s son Ross, Randolph, and Rachel pose candid moment. 🙂
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What a great harvest this week! Look at all the cukes!
David making sweets for our friends at G.F. Horne
David making sweets for our friends at G.F. Horne.
Amy having a good time about to make dog treats
Amy having a good time about to make dog treats.
Zel and Brandon making sure the puppies at Animal Control and SPCA are well fed
Zel and Brandon making sure the puppies at Animal Control and SPCA are well fed.
Eva baggin' biscuits for the first time.
Eva baggin’ biscuits for the first time.
Brandon helping transplant  spearmint for Intrepid. A man's work is never done.
Brandon helping transplant spearmint for Intrepid. A man’s work is never done.
Matt is getting ready for the Elton Trower Memorial. We are all very excited!
Matt is getting ready for the Elton Trower Memorial. We are all very excited!
We made happy/sad faces to help with Adrian's Health Advocacy Meeting. Smile on my people smile on!
We made happy/sad faces to help with Adrian’s Health Advocacy Meeting. Smile on my people smile on!
We pruned the trees to make mowing the lawn easier.
We pruned the trees to make mowing the lawn easier.
Amy showing off her sowing skills.
Amy showing off her sowing skills.

YouthWorks Week 5

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YouthWorks Week 5 playing a gross motor game with us!
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Everybody who works together sticks together!
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Thank you all so much for helping mulch the pollinator garden!  Zel was being the foreman!
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Adrian with the cannas!
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Job well done y’all
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YouthWorks also helped out to make catnip toys!
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Everybody’s workin’!
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Pick on my people, pick on!
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Yum – string beans!
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All smiles!
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Brandon discussing composting techniques with YouthWorks.
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David joined the game!
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Super Sew-ers!
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What?! 2 points!
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Amy and a nice gal from YouthWorks wanted to learn more about No Limits Eastern Shore so they picked Emma’s brain a little!
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DJ’s turn! We wonder what he’s gonna score?!
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Don’t think too hard about it – it’s just a game! 🙂
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Nice pass.

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YouthWorks Week 4

YouthWorks week 4 getting their Brain Injury prevention presentation
YouthWorks Week 4 getting their Brain Injury prevention presentation.

This guy is shootin and doin a good job
This guy is shootin and doin a good job.
YouthWorks making Amy laugh so hard she had to cover her eyes!
YouthWorks making Amy laugh so hard she had to cover her eyes!

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He's shooting his bean bags all at once for 4 holes in one at the same time
He’s shooting his bean bags all at once for 4 holes in one at the same time.
Nice shot!
Nice shot!
Eva, our newest participant, is so good at cornhole! She won the game in a shoot out. Woot woot!
Eva, our newest participant, is so good at cornhole! She won the game in a shoot out. Woot woot!
Planing the pollinator garden.
Planting the pollinator garden.
People hard at work.
People hard at work.
YouthWorks helping us with our newest project making catnip toys.
YouthWorks helping us with our newest project making catnip toys.

Great job y'all!
Great job y’all!
Nicely done.
Nearly done.

Friday Blogging, 7/8/16

Jake and friends harvesting catnip.
Some of the No Limits crew working on a Cognitive activity…can you spot the goofiness hidden in this picture??
Jason would like you to know he has a Bad Foot.
David doing a good job helping the Youthworks group clean our sign. Work on, David, work on!
DJ helped scrub up our sign too! Thanks DJ!
This is what you call a “volunteer”. Someone told us it is called a Spanish Rose, we don’t remember planting it!
Brandon with an Aloe Vera plant we rescued. It was at death’s door when it arrived but it is thriving now!
Three guys working hard setting up our new sprinkler.
Matt & Kyle getting catnip ready to be dehydrated (Rachel asked Matt to “freeze” and so he did!)
DJ helping out with bookkeeping for the No Limits Cafe.
Matt The Money Man!! Working on the weekly financial report.
Our only surviving lettuce plant, courtesy of the generosity of Laurice Hohlt, AKA “Zel’s Lunch”.
Matt & Zel packaging Comfort Dolls for the Kiwanis Club of Accomack County.
Jason relaxing while Faith works hard – he is supervising!! We are so grateful to Faith for her help sewing up the catnip toys we made with hep from Youthworks.
DJ and David working on the dolls project on behalf of the Kiwanis.
DJ and Rachel finishing up. Each blank comfort doll is placed in a bag with a marker and a note. The Kiwanis distributes the dolls to be used with children and the elderly in our community.

Youthworks Week 3

This week’s Youthworks team came to us all the way from Wisconsin! As always we started them off with an Introduction to No Limits and a Brain Injury Prevention for Teens presentation.
Next up was a Gross Motor Skills activity – a tossing game that works on movement and balance skills.
They got a sneak peek at the slideshow Matt & Emma have been working on for the Elton trower Memorial on 7/22.
Youthworks helped us out by weeding our planter and washing our sign. Thank you so much!!!
They also helped us to dehydrate our catnip harvest.
They helped us cut out patterns for catnip toys for the kitties!
Thank you so much for coming to the Eastern Shore to help out!!

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YouthWorks Week 2

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YouthWorks Week 2 joined us for some brain injury awareness presentations and a gross motor game! Go lady go!
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We think Jason was impressed with YouthWorks’ cheese toss skills!
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Aww look, she’s all laughed out! Having too much fun!
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What?! Awesome shot! 3 pointer!
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Action shot. Good game y’all!
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YouthWorks Week 2 helped us wash our vans! Jake says “Can you do mine?! Haha, just kidding, but good work!”
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Wow, job well done!
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Amy says, “A woman’s work is never done.” Scrub those tires! Lookin’ good!
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Just like the sign says, there are No Limits!
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Keep on scrubbin’!
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The van says “Soap up girl!  More soap please!”
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A job well done!  Now what can we do for more fun?!