February 2023

Valentine’s Day + RAK

We’ll be kind by not keeping you in suspense – RAK stands for Random Acts of Kindness. We combined RAK week with Valentine’s Day because we know that love has many forms of expression, whether that’s romantic affection, deep and fulfilling friendships, or genuine gratitude. In some lucky circumstances, it’s a combination of all three! But regardless of the specifics, we wanted to make this week all about joy and fun.

Tiffany, our Director of Vocational and Cognitive Therapy, started off the week with a brilliant idea of passing around a kindness bear. The bear held a notebook with the message, “Open Me”, providing instructions on the inside: staff were asked to write an anonymous note of gratitude to a coworker and then leave the bear on that coworker’s desk. That coworker would then write their own note to someone else and drop it off on that person’s desk, and so on. By the end of the week, the notebook almost exploded with the amount of gratitude packed into it.

The Enrichment Team volunteered to decorate the dining hall with red heart centerpieces and holiday wall décor. Of course, they decorated while wearing matching Valentine’s Day headbands and outfits.

The entertainment was provided by the legendary DJ John who was gracious enough to allow guest DJs (a.k.a. clients and staff) to visit behind the booth and play personal requests. The dining hall was packed with staff and clients dancing to all genres of music – hip hop, Latin, and classic rock were just a few. Some of the clients even sang karaoke, which always takes the entertainment factor to the next level.

Always remember – you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart…
I’ll always be with you.

Winnie the Pooh

The clients also worked with the TRU therapists to create lollipop grams and Valentine’s Day cards. Passing around different grams is an annual Valentine’s Day tradition; this year, the lollipop grams had a kind note attached with the message, “Tag – you’re it!”. TRU also made boxes with kindness prompts and kindness cards that held witty sayings to give to friends. Staff and clients were encouraged to share with each other.