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National Nutrition Month
National Nutrition Month is here! “Go Further with Food" is the theme for 2018, and its
importance is timely for many reasons. Whether it's starting the day off right with a healthy
breakfast or fueling before an athletic event, the foods you choose can make a big
difference. This month’s observance focuses attention on the importance of a balanced
diet, making informed food choices, developing sound eating and physical activity habits.
A balanced diet is important because your organs and tissues need proper nutrition to work
effectively. Without good nutrition, your body is more prone to disease, infection, fatigue,
and poor performance. Children with a poor diet run the risk of growth and developmental
problems, poor academic performance and bad eating habits that can persist for the rest
of their lives. At the core of a balanced diet are foods that are low in unnecessary fats and
sugars and high in vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients such as fruits, vegetables, grains,
proteins, dairy and healthy oils.
Source: http://mma-west.com/assets/files/March2018AltitudeNewsletter.pdf
Source: http://mma-west.com/assets/files/October-2017-Altitude-Newsletter.pdf
Policy of the Month: Harassment Prevention By Administration
Community Catalysts of California (CCC) provides employees a workplace free from
harassment and intimidation. CCC will not tolerate actions that promote or create a hostile work
place.
Employees who engage in harassment, intimidation of employees, clients, or others will be
subject to immediate expulsion from CCC property and disciplinary action up to and including
termination.
No posting or solicitations for donations, sponsorships, gifts, birthdays, cosmetics, or other
purposes may be conducted at an office, work site or to clients without the prior written approval
of the Chief Executive Officer or his/her designee.
Gambling, including all "pools,” is prohibited at all offices, work sites and with or in the presence
of a client.
Distribution or posting non-work related literature by employees during working time is also
prohibited, as is distribution of literature in working areas. "Working time," as used in this policy,
excludes meals and break periods.
Board of Directors James Wheeler Chair Greg Murphy Vice Chair David Kuhlman Secretary Roberta Raasveld Treasurer Carey Storm Director Melissah Walker Director
Jarrod Hammes Director
Zeyad Moussa Director
Newsletter Staff Contributors Amanda B., Alice O., Ana N., Erica B., Farley O., Jennifer B., Valerie G., Jessica R. Editors Gaby H.
National Nutrition Month Policy of the Month Fresno San Marcos Imperial Valley Santa Clara Salinas Visalia Ukiah VCS Manteca Corporate Client of the Quarter Employee of the Quarter
March 2018
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Client Anniversaries
22 Years
Gylda G. | Imperial Valley
20 Years
Wayne H. | San Marcos
19 Years
David C. | Santa Clara
Michael P. | Santa Clara
Lee Roy B. | Imperial Valley
16 Years
Donald P. | Manteca
14 Years
Aletha R. | Manteca
Carolyn B. | San Marcos
13 Years
Rueben O. | Salinas
Roberto B. | Salinas
12 Years
Veronica J. | Fresno
Omar V. | Salinas
Jose G. | Salinas
11 Years
Thomas C. | Salinas
Maria S. | Salinas
Tomas S. | Salinas
10 Years
Anthony B. | San Marcos
Liberty M. | Imperial Valley
9 Years
Maryanne S. | Imperial Valley
Donald M. | Imperial Valley
Joseph A. | Manteca
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March 2018
Central Valley
Fresno By Amanda Brewer
What’s Going On?
Fresno announced February 2018 Employee of the Month, Alfred Simmons!
Congratulations!
We held our monthly client advisory meeting on 3/19/2018 – The group elected Cicely
(on right) and Marci (on left) as the Client Advisory Chairmen. The committee
collectively decided what the monthly activity/outing is going to be. They chose to go
to the movies next month!
We held the Client Advisory BBQ/Potluck at the Fresno
office on 3/24/2018. Clients enjoyed hotdogs, nachos,
popcorn, and desserts while watching “Ghostbusters”.
This was followed by a Surprise Easter egg hunt!
Client Anniversaries Continued from pg. 2 8 Years
Juan E. | San Marcos
Joyce J. | Santa Clara
7 Years
William M. | Imperial Valley
Martin Q. | Imperial Valley
Rosemary N. | Visalia
6 Years
Angel M. | Imperial Valley
Fred H. | Ukiah
Robert G. | Ukiah
David M. | Ukiah
Richard S. | Ukiah
5 Years
Marta O. | Imperial Valley
Scott C. | Manteca
Glenn S. | Manteca
4 Years
Karyn A. | San Marcos
Rafael D. | Ukiah
Samantha A. | San Marcos
Daniel P. | Santa Clara
3 Years
Alma G. | Santa Clara
2 Years
Lisa R. | Manteca
Kevin M. | Fresno
Cheryl V. | Imperial Valley
Charles S. | San Marcos
1 Year
Gina S. | Santa Clara
March 2018
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Southern California San Marcos By Alice Olsen
What’s Going On?
This month was our Active Shooter Drill and the Staff
never know when our Office Manager will put them
through. These surprise Drills! Great job to all the
staff that participated in this drill when it went down,
the doors were closed & locked and those who were
accessible to the shooter were very active in stopping
her.
South Bay
Santa C la ra By Erica Barber
What’s Going On?
We would like to wish our DSA Lori the best of luck on her new journey. She has been with us for
15 years and is moving to Oregon. Lori is always so reliable and patient with her clients, we
appreciate her time with us and will miss her!
We also said goodbye to 2 of our clients this month as they transitioned to SLS. They were a joy to
work with.
A blast from the past came to visit us this month! Our old client Tom was visiting his mom and
wanted to have lunch while he was out here. He lives in Kentucky now and says it is a much better
environment for him. He plays music in a band and even shared with us a newspaper clipping of
him in which he was pictured with his dog. We are glad to know he is doing well.
Imper ia l Va l ley By Ana Norris
What’s Going On?
Our clients had a wonderful time bowling
during the Advisory Event this month.
Our Day Program Clients having fun on a
sunny day while waiting for the bus.
Employee Anniversaries 17 years
Stephanie Hernandez |
Manteca
11 Years
Carmen Valenzuela | Santa
Clara
Irma Manjarrez | Imperial Valley
10 Years
Jessica Ramos | Manteca
Hugo Sanchez | Fresno
9 Years
Dana Steckling | San Marcos
7 Years
Kitty Riggs | Ukiah
6 Years
Eloy Rocha | Imperial Valley
5 Years
Steven Camacho | Visalia
4 Years
Chelsea Coffin | Manteca
Brenda Carrillo | Salinas
Esther Teran | Imperial Valley
3 Years
Archie Green | San Marcos
March 2018
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South Bay Sal inas By Farley Odad
What’s Going On?
A mini potluck to celebrate our March babies and way to go Maria G for receiving a “Certificate
of Excellence” during this month’s staff meeting. Thank you for your hard work and dedication.
Central Valley Visa l ia
What’s Going On?
CCC Staff celebrated client
Sidney’s Birthday with ninja
turtle themed party. He
enjoyed cake and ice
cream with his friends.
Client Tamiko celebrated
her Birthday at the park
playing different games like
Bingo and Uno.
Clients got together and
had taco night ! They
played board games and
had a delicious dinner.
Employee Anniversaries
Continued from pg. 4
2 Years
Vanessa Aguirre | Visalia
Kelli Arvizu | Fresno
Marisa Baker | Visalia
Perry Smith | Visalia
1 Year
Kimberly Laws | Merced
Redwood Coast Ukiah By Jennifer Bilstein
What’s Going On?
Well here we are at the end of March already. Spring is here and
summer is fast approaching! First, we’d like to wish a big Happy
Birthday to clients David M., Jean, and Mark, DSA Sharon K. and
CM Diana!! Happy Birthday to you all! We hope you enjoyed your
special days!
Our Client Advisory Committee meeting this month was a huge
success!! We met in the late afternoon on a Friday and had each
client bring something to pitch in to our first ever CAC Salad Bar.
We had such an amazing turnout!! Our CAC Salad Bar could’ve
rivaled any fancy restaurant! We had such big variety of
ingredients that all the salads made were very unique! There
were typical items such as mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, bell
peppers, onions, and croutons. And then we also had some
clients bring in varieties of the same ingredient; for example, one
client brought in three kinds of cucumbers, another brought in
two kinds of beans, and JoAnn donated three kinds of healthy,
organic salad dressings. All in all, everyone had a great time at
the meeting and they didn’t have to cook dinner that night, they
all had the salad bar for dinner!
We would like to extend congratulations to a couple more people
as well…
Congratulations to our CM Mone for all her hard work and
dedication to the Junior Giants Program for the last several
years! Mone was acknowledged by the Junior Giants and
received the prestigious Willie McCovey Award recently.
Congratulations Mone!!
And, Congratulations to our RM JoAnn for her endless strength
and pursuit for health!! JoAnn typically participates in several 5K
or 10K runs throughout the year and 2018 is no exception. She
recently completed a 5K at the 2018 Whale Run in Fort Bragg,
CA. JoAnn used the Jeff Galloway walk/run method and did a
fantastic job in the competition! Congratulations JoAnn!!
March 2018
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VCS
By Valerie Garcia
What’s Going On?
March was a success for VCS! This month Joshua Miller, SSVF Intake Specialist, referred his
client Justin over to Terin Ortega in the HVRP department. Terin Ortega, HVRP Job Developer,
provided numerous employment referrals to Justin including ACE Parking. Terin established
a working relationship with Mike Dowd, Community Outreach Manager, and she was able to
secure Justin an interview with ACE Parking. Justin had an amazing interview and secured
employment with ACE Parking. Justin was informed on March 7th, 2018 that his discharge
upgrade was granted to a General Under Honorable Conditions discharge from an Other Than
Honorable. Justin was also granted an 80% service-connected disability and he will receive
backpay! Justin plans to put most of his backpay in savings, purchase a car, and take his
mother and son to Hawaii! Justin expressed great gratitude for staff at VCS and explained how
excited he is that everything is falling into place for him. A special thank you to Joshua Miller
and Terin Ortega for their assistance and dedication to the clients we serve!!
We are sad to say our goodbyes to our amazing Benefits Coordinator, Brittany Koval but wish
her success at her VA internship! She will be missed but we are looking forward to Joshua
Miller taking over this role. Congrats on the promotion Josh! We also welcome our new VCS
employees, Blanca Jimenez- Intake Specialist, and Karina Hiraoka Case Coordinator/ Intake
Specialist!
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March 2018
VCS celebrated our March Birthday’s with a
very yummy Asian food themed luncheon
pot luck and delicious chocolate Birthday
Cake!! A very Happy Birthday to Mawuena
Taylor, Stella Arias, Demi Grooms, and Alex
Rockabrand!!
North Valley Manteca By Jessica Ramos
What’s Going On?
Leatha Gleason, DSA was blessed with a healthy grandson on
March 22, 2018. JP weighed 8lbs 8oz. Congratulations Leatha!
Our very own superstar, Dwight Mahabir, DSA and Actor, will be
performing April 27th – May 20th in “Driving Miss Daisy” at Murphy’s
Creek Theatre.
Clients, Sam, Kelly, Rosella and Chris went on a casino trip to
Jackson Rancheria to celebrate Sam, Kelly and Rosella’s birthday.
They enjoyed their day playing on the slot machines.
Congratulations to Rosa Vizcaino! She was presented with her 15
years of service award and gifts at our staff meeting this month.
Thank you, Rosa, for your dedication!
Corporate By Gaby Heredia
What’s Going On?
This month we celebrated Pebbles’ and
Adela’s Birthdays. We had a beautiful cake
from extraordinary desserts that was
enjoyed by everyone. We also said
goodbye to our HR Coordinator Adela. We
will miss her very much !
We would like to welcome our new HR
Coordinators Alicia Auvil and Chris Kang!
March 2018
March 2018
Client of the 1st Quarter Arthur O.
Arthur has been participating in Independent Living Services for about eight years and
during this time we have learned that he enjoys collecting superheroes, movie
characters, and DVD’s. Like most of us, Arthur has faced challenges when it comes
to maintaining an active lifestyle. In 2018, Arthur decided to make a change. He started
regularly attending the gym and working with a personal trainer. He also started
attending physical therapy, which according to his mother, has been very helpful. With
his support system and new dietary requirements, Arthur was able to lose 34 pounds!
It is amazing to see the new Arthur who appears happier and has become more active.
He has also become more conscious when choosing what food to eat. Arthur has
shown his friends and family that it is possible to make a positive change in one’s life
which will benefit us for years to come. Arthur is an inspiration to all of us and has
shown us that anything is possible if you work hard. We are very proud of all his
accomplishments.
Employee of the 1st Quarter Vanessa Orr
Account ing C le rk
Vanessa has been part of the CCC family for 18 years now. Throughout her time
here she has demonstrated what true dedication is. She is very consistent with
updating client hours by sending regular reports and is always there to help if you
have a question. She is always available and quick to respond, which is very much
appreciated. Vanessa is very positive and friendly while maintaining a professional
relationship with fellow employees. She is always clear when communicating with
different offices and always gets back to you in a timely manner. It is obvious that
she is very committed to our organization. Thank you, Vanessa, for all your hard
work and dedication, it does not go unnoticed.