Here at TURN, we believe that everyone has the right to have fun! Our
Recreation Program is in charge of making sure our participants are
enjoying life. There are a lot of fun things going on at TURN, including
trips, parties, picnics, and attending community events.
Eleanor
Houston-Till, our in-house Recreation Therapist, heads
our Recreation
Program. She spends her time researching and sharing information with
programs about resources and upcoming events in the community, planning
group and individual trips, and planning holiday events for people who
don’t have family to be with. She also supervises Recreation Therapy
interns and other volunteers, teaches CPR / First Aid, and the
Recreation and Disability portion of professional training for our
employees, and is a member of our Safety Committee. She serves as a
Community Service Broker who links people with disabilities with needed
community resources. On top of that, she manages the recreation account
and heads up “Pastabilities”, our annual fundraiser that benefits
participants with their recreational needs. Eleanor also assists with
Labor of Love, our Sub-for-Santa program which provides Christmas for
people with disabilities with financial need and without family
supports.
During
the year, TURN participants have the opportunity
to go on trips. One of our most anticipated trip opportunities is a river trip in Moab with SPLORE,
one of our favorite cooperative non-profits. We meet SPLORE at the
Colorado River and they take us down the “Daily Section”. We ride the
rapids, swim, have water fights, good food and lots of fun.
Other
fun trips we have taken our participants on include going to The
American West Heritage Center in Wellsville, staying at Brianhead to
attended “Pastabilities Down South, Heber Valley Railroad trips, and
camping at Yellowstone and other National Forests. We also plan special
trips for specific people or programs. We recently helped plan a cruise
for a client and have planned trips to the Smokey Mountains, San
Antonio, Tucson, Disneyland, Disneyworld, and trips for clients to visit
family members.
Another
one of our most popular recreational activities 
includes Holiday
parties and overnighters. We have Halloween parties with costumes,
dancing, and food. We also plan Thanksgiving and Christmas overnight
activities designed for people who are unable to be with family or
friends for the holidays and enjoy group activities. We stay at the
Country Inn and Suites in West Valley for two nights. We have crafts,
games, etc. in the group room. On Thanksgiving Day some people go to a
movie and we all go the Cracker Barrel for a Thanksgiving Dinner. On
Christmas everyone goes out to Chili’s for a Christmas Eve Dinner. There
are stockings in the morning and Christmas Dinner is brought in and
served by a group of volunteers. We also plan Christmas Parties for the
Day Programs and a Residential Christmas Party dance, meal and social.
We
have two summer picnics that our participants love.
One is held by TURN
on a Saturday in August. Clients, staff and their families are invited.
We have carnival games, food, and music by The Old Leather Band. The
other is sponsored in conjunction with United Way Day. We are matched
with a group of volunteers who assist us with the picnic. For several
years now we have been paired with Workers Compensation Fund. They
provide lots of volunteers, games, prizes, and food for the event. This
picnic was started to give people at TURN’s day programs the opportunity
to attend a company picnic.
Eleanor has a lot on her plate and is very grateful for all of the
helpers she has, saying the program “could not happen without them”.
Office assistants as well as many of TURN’s staff from programs assist
her. The program also benefits from the help of many volunteers from
TURN’s Board of Directors, staff family and friends, and TURN
participants.
Thank you to Eleanor and all who take part in our Recreation Programs who make life for everyone much more fun!
