- Jul 1, 2024
- 8 min read
Upcoming Events & Important Dates
Upcoming Events
- Change It Up Tuesday at Delta Beer Lab
- Volunteer at Taste of Madison
CSN Closed Dates
- Thursday, July 4th
- Monday, September 2nd
For more information about our upcoming events, visit us on social media or at VisitCSN.org/events
CELEBRATE!
Disability Pride Month
July is Disability Pride Month! This month, we honor the history of the disability community, its achievements, its experiences, and its struggles.
On July 26, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law. This act prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, transportation, and access to services and was the first of its kind in the world!
There are many ways to celebrate Disability Pride Month. Individuals with disabilities can reflect on their stories - their accomplishments, challenges, and goals for the future - and share these stories with their community. We can continue to share shortcomings in our community and brainstorm solutions on how to make all aspects of community life accessible to individuals of all ability levels. We can also hang the disability pride flag and attend a Disability Pride Festival.
This year, Disability Pride Madison will be hosting their Disability Pride Festival on Saturday, July 27th from 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM at Warner Park (2930 N. Sherman Ave, Madison, WI 53704). This is a wonderful event full of activists and friends celebrating together. CSN will be hosting a table, so if you attend, be sure to stop by and say hi!
Each year, steps are taken to make our world more accessible and welcoming to all individuals. As we celebrate Disability Pride Month this July, we continue our efforts to educate those around us about the talents, achievements, and challenges that individuals with disabilities face every day. Through these efforts, we will continue to make change until each individual, no matter their ability level, has access to fully participate in the community.
“We’ve been labeled disabled, you decide!”
Enrichment:
Our Indoor Garden
In March, we planted a variety of plants, vegetables, and herbs - including marigolds, aster, sunflowers, lettuce, basil, and cilantro - from seed. It’s always such a wonder to watch them sprout and grow. Under our watchful eyes, with watering as needed, they continue to thrive.
The benefits of gardening are endless. It’s very special to take something as small as a seed and follow it through the various stages of its growth. Our daily observations allow us to determine what each individual plant needs. Is the soil to wet? Is the soil dry? Are our plants wilting or dull in color? By paying close attention to these things, we can take action to give each flower, vegetable, and herb what they need to fully grow. The care we put into gardening can help us to reduce stress and provides us with healthy meal options that we can be proud of because we grew them right here on our own.
We look forward to watching everything grow, and who knows, we may even feature some of our freshly grown herbs and vegetables in an upcoming cooking class!
Exploring New Tools for Creating Art
Our volunteers never cease to amaze us with their creativity and dedication to our programming! Over the last few months, our volunteers have brought us various activities to help explore the use of everyday objects as painting tools.
For one of these activities, we created collaborative circle art. The tools we utilized for this included: clementine oranges, lids of various sized containers, vases, and more! It was amazing to see how the use of these items provided such unique results. The collaboration of everyone coming together to stamp on the canvas was so special and created a beautiful work of art.
Another day, our “paintbrush” was a bouquet of flowers. With an array of different flowers and paint colors, we each created artwork that was unique and special to each of us. It was amazing to explore various techniques to transfer the paint from our flower to the page. By stamping, twirling, and dragging our flowers across the page, we were able to create dynamic art that was magical to explore.
Are you or someone you know looking for a volunteer or internship opportunity? Contact us to learn more! Info@VisitCSN.org
Vocational:
New Employer Alert!
Here at CSN, we strive daily to work towards our mission to provide comprehensive day-time services to individuals with developmental disabilities. It wouldn’t be possible for us to accomplish these goals without the wonderful employers that we partner with here in Dane County to employ our clients.
UCP of Greater Dane County offers services to families, adults, and children with varying disabilities and delays in south central Wisconsin. They believe in understanding disabilities, creating opportunities, and promoting community.
Earlier this year, UCP of Greater Dane County hired Kristina, a CSN client, as a Respite Provider. Kristina works closely with her supervisors to form meaningful relationships with individuals who utilize the services that UCP of Greater Dane County provides. It has been wonderful to hear how Kristina has come to love this new position and the opportunity to further connect with individuals in the community.
This has been an amazing partnership so far and we look forward to continuing it for years to come.
Wellness:
Spreading Kindness
Kindness is the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. It means wishing that everyone experiences happiness.
Spreading kindness to others can have a huge impact on the lives of the people we interact with, even if we can’t see it. When we’re having a stressful day or things aren’t going our way, it can be difficult to make kindness our main focus, which is why it's extremely important for us to remember to first show kindness to ourselves.
It’s vital to take a little time for yourself each day. Even if you only have 10 free minutes in the day, take those minutes to read, go for a walk, watch part of your favorite show, or sit in silence - whatever you find calming and relaxing.
By taking this first step, you can be more prepared for everything the day has in store for you and spread that kindness you showed yourself to others.
World's Largest Brat Fest
Another Brat Fest has come and gone. This year, the weather was unpredictable, leading the organizers, volunteers, performers, and everyone else involved, to get creative. With storms moving through the area all day Friday, organizers needed to make the difficult decision to close the festival for the night. That setback didn’t stop everyone involved from pivoting to make this Brat Fest a success!
Rain or shine, the work didn’t stop and the community continued pouring in to enjoy the weekend and this amazing event! Brat Fest sold a whopping 80,000 brats this year with the help of their volunteers.
From set up the week before, to cooking brats & working the cash registers, to clean up, the work to be done was plentiful. This year, CSN was a benefiting charity at the World’s Largest Brat Fest. We had a total of 7 volunteers work for an amazing 32.25 hours of donated time to help Brat Fest run smoothly and successfully. Pictured above is Nicole Frank, CSN Board President, of Dave Jones, Inc. volunteering in the rain at Brat Fest.
We are so grateful for the abundance of support we have from our community. To those of you who weathered the storms, taking time out of your long Memorial Day Weekend to volunteer in support of CSN, THANK YOU!! You will never know how much your continued support means to each one of us here. You all rock!
Looking for other opportunities to get involved? Learn more about our upcoming events and volunteer opportunities on page 5. Can’t make it to one of these events but want to learn about other ways to volunteer and get involved? Email us! Info@VisitCSN.org
JOIN US
We'd love to see you at one or both of these fun, upcoming events!
Change it up Tuesday
with Delta Beer Lab
Come on out and enjoy yourself for a fun evening in support of CSN.
WHERE: 167 East Badger Road
Madison, WI 53713
WHEN: Tuesday, July 9, 2024
2:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Special events including: Information about CSN, Raffle Prizes, & Happy Hour from 4:00 - 8:00
100% of net taproom proceeds will be donated to CSN
Taste of Madison
Volunteers Needed
WHERE: Beverage Stand
Corner of S. Hamilton St. & Main St.
Downtown Madison
WHEN: Saturday, August 31
2:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Sign up using the link on our Upcoming Events page at VisitCSN.org/events
Please be sure to indicate that you are volunteering with Community Support Network when signing up.
Summer Recipes
Mediterranean Bean Salad
Ingredients
Salad
15 oz can Cannellini Beans
15 oz can Garbanzo Beans
1 C Cherry Tomatoes
2 Mini Seedless Cucumbers
¼ Red Onion
1 C Orange Bell Pepper
½ C Crumbled Feta
Dressing
¼ C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp Minced Garlic
¼ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Pepper
Directions
Whisk together dressing ingredients and set aside.
Rinse cannellini and garbanzo beans and put into a large salad bowl.
Halve cherry tomatoes and add them to the bowl.
Halve and thinly slice mini cucumber and add them to the bowl.
Dice the red onion and orange bell pepper and add them to the bowl.
Top with feta cheese.
Toss salad with the dressing mixture.
Enjoy!
Crockpot Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
1 ½ lbs Chicken Breast
1 Packet Taco Seasoning
16 oz Salsa
Tortilla Shells
Toppings of your Choice (shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, shredded cheese, sour cream, etc)
Directions
Put the chicken in the bottom of your slow cooker.
Cover with taco seasoning.
Top with a jar of salsa.
Cook on low for 6 - 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.
When you are ready to eat, use 2 forks to shred the chicken.
Stir to evenly distribute the seasoning/salsa throughout the chicken.
Serve with your favorite taco shells/tortillas and toppings.
Enjoy!
Banana Split Parfait
Ingredients
1 - 3.4 oz Box Vanilla Instant Pudding
2 C Milk
1 C Strawberries - Sliced
2 Bananas - Sliced
½ C Crushed Pineapple - Drained
3 Tbsp Chocolate Syrup
4 oz Frozen Whipped Topping - Thawed
3 Tbsp Chopped Peanuts
Maraschino Cherries
Directions
Slice strawberries and bananas.
Drain crushed pineapple well.
Whisk the milk and vanilla pudding for 2 minutes or until completely mixed and beginning to thicken. Set aside.
In the bottom of a parfait cup, place a layer of sliced bananas.
Top the bananas with about 3 Tbsp of pudding.
Add a layer of sliced strawberries and repeat with a layer of pudding.
Over the pudding, spoon about 1 Tbsp of crushed pineapple.
Top with chocolate syrup, whipped topping, nuts, and a cherry.
Enjoy!
2023 YEAR IN REVIEW
19,274 hours
of direct client support
31 clients
served
13 local businesses
employed our clients
96% employed
clients who want to work are working in paid jobs
$45,519 funds
raised
How Can You Help?
Ways to Donate
Financial Donation - Financial donations are always appreciated! Checks can be mailed to CSN or donate directly on our website - VisitCSN.org
ShopRaise - Shop online using ShopRaise and your purchases from eligible retailers will help support CSN
Volunteer - Share a hobby or talent with us. We would love to learn something new from you!
Supplies - Contact us if you have supplies to donate and we’ll let you know what we are in need of.
Recyclables - Drop off your used markers, pens, glue sticks, mechanical pencils, highlighters, and watercolor containers to CSN. We’ll collect them and recycle them.
Join us for one of our upcoming events!
Hire Us!
Hire CSN clients to work at your company. Email Info@VisitCSN.org for more information.
Host an Art Gallery Event!
Learn about our clients and their lives through art. Host our art gallery at your business for a month and experience their stories and talents. Email Info@VisitCSN.org for more information.
View Past Newsletters and our 2023 Annual Report
