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No Limits Eastern Shore is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of brain injury survivors on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Visit our website for more information.
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Created For You By: Members and Staff of No Limits Eastern Shore Please visit www.nolimiteasternshore.com for further information. Please feel free to download, print, or share this PowerPoint with credit given to No Limits Eastern Shore.
About NLES (a brief history…) • We are a nonprofit brain injury services provider serving the Eastern Shore Of Virginia. Our Mission: “To improve the lives of survivors of brain injury on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.” • Timeline: • March 2001 – No Limits day program opened in Belle Haven, VA, with initial funding through the Commonwealth Neurotrauma Initiative • Operated as a division of Commonwealth Support Systems, of Virginia Beach, until 1/1/08 merger with Didlake; operated by Didlake, of Manassas, until August 2008 • September 2008 – No Limits moved to Onancock, VA • Operated by the Mary Buckley Foundation, of Virginia Beach (contract terminated 2012) • September 2012 – No Limits Eastern Shore, an Eastern Shore-based nonprofit with an entirely local Board, awarded a contract by the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (VA DARS) to operate the No Limits Day Program under Executive Director Rachel Evans • February 2016 – No Limits moved to Tasley, VA • January 2019 - NLES awarded a part-time case management contract • -- NLES is supported by state general funds administered by the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services and private grants and donations. We are a member agency of the United Way of Virginia’s Eastern Shore.
The Eastern Shore of Virginia The Eastern Shore Local Health District consists of 2 counties, Accomack and Northampton. It is a rural peninsula, approximately 75 miles long and no broader than 20 miles wide. The region is physically separated from the rest of Virginia by the tolled 17.5 mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel system. It borders Maryland to the north and has the Chesapeake Bay on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. In 2016, the combined population was 45,086 according to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH). Per the US Census, in 2016, 20.3% of Northampton and 20% of Accomack residents live in poverty (Virginia average = 11%). • According to the VDH’s Virginia Health Opportunity Index, the Eastern Shore Local Health District rankings, of 134 in Virginia, are as follows: • Health Opportunity Index – 109 (Accomack 109, Northampton 110, both Very Low) • Economic Opportunity Index – 125 (Accomack 117, Northampton 133, both Very Low) • Consumer Opportunity Profile – 58 (Accomack 60, Northampton 56, both Average) • Community Environmental Profile – 52 (Accomack 65/Average, Northampton 38/High) • Wellness Disparity Profile – 58 (Accomack 51/High, Northampton 64/Average)
Open Windows Our Open Windows page was created to ensure accountability and transparency in our operations as a state-funded provider of brain injury services. The Open Windows tab provides quarterly reporting on # of people served by service status, # of volunteer hours provided to us and by our members, # of activities provided, archived reports, and our significant documents. There is also a link to DARS’ Scorecard page.
Taking A Closer Look at What We’re All About: At No Limits we adhere to the core values of independence, integration, inclusion and productivity. Our activities and services are developed and supervised by our team of Certified Brain Injury Specialists (CBIS), who are also trained in Person Centered Planning. Activities at NLES are classified as follows:
Activity Categories & Examples • INDEPENDENT LIVING: Activities such as shopping, cooking (not for charity), cleaning, yard work • COMMUNITY IMPACT/OUTREACH: Visits to survivors in long term care facilities, monthly newsletter deliveries, cooking (for charity), participation in meetings/seminars/information fairs, weekly blogging • PRODUCTIVITY: Volunteering (in-house & in the community), paid work and work readiness, gardening, recycling, chicken care • HEALTH AND WELLNESS: Exercise, gross motor games, walks, monthly safety meeting and ongoing safety inspections, health advocacy training, speakers on health-related topics • COGNITIVE: Puzzles/games, discussion topics, memory and sequencing activities, speakers
The Kate Award Kathleen “Kate” W. Richardson was a founding member of No Limits, the day program for survivors of brain injury on the Eastern Shore of VA. Kate was a smart and funny lady, a survivor of brain injury, and a dedicated community volunteer. Sadly, she passed away in July 2012. The Kathleen W. Richardson Award, or “Kate”, is a citizenship award funded by the Richardson family through NLES that recognizes local students for their service to their community. The judges are No Limits members, who award a First Place and optional Honorable Mention Awards based on submitted photo applications. The Original Kathleen Walsh Richardson! 2018 1st Prize Winner – Karyssa Lang with Zel!
Advocacy NLES members are offered monthly training sessions in advocacy skills. Teams of NLES members and staff visit the desk of every member of the General Assembly to promote brain injury awareness each year, but we also work on developing personal advocacy skills and increasing understanding of rights, responsibilities and resources.
Enhanced Outreach Due to the challenges of our resources and geography on the Eastern Shore, we have a number of brain injury survivors who are eligible for day program services but are unable to access our facility. Some are in private homes, many are in long term care facilities. We reach out to these survivors through our Enhanced Outreach program. Teams of NLES members and staff visit each month, deliver our newsletter, and assist to the extent that we are able with any issues or concerns.
Outreach Cooking Outreach Cooking is cooking for the community. Each month we make dog, cat, and primate treats from scratch for animals in need at area animal shelters. Periodically, we also bake and cook for our friends in local long term care facilities, for special events, and for local soup kitchens and community meals. Recent Outreach Cooking events have benefited the Eastern Shore Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the Eastern Shore Literacy Council. Outreach Cooking supplies are provided by our members through the No Limits Activity Fund, which is primarily funded through the No Limits Café (snack, lunch & beverage sales in-house) & pet treat, plant & egg sales. Making Christmas cookies for our friends living in long-term care facilities! Making dog/cat/monkey treats for animals at local shelters and sanctuaries! Preparing baked goods for a fundraising event!
Exercise, Cat Toys, and Comfort Dolls Members (with help from staff & Youthworks volunteers) use catnip we grow and dehydrate to make cat toys for shelter cats & as a fundraising item. A grant from the United Way of Virginia’s Eastern Shore funds our seated Exercise Group, led by a certified massage therapist and focused on balance , stretching & movement (and followed by meditation class). We also work with the Kiwanis Club of Accomack on the Comfort Dolls project, which has distributed over 500 dolls on the ESVA to children in crisis & adults with dementia.
The No Limits Hot Dog Cart The No Limits Hot Dog Cart is a hot dog cart with purpose! The No Limits Hot Dog Cart provides supervised employment and training to survivors of brain injury and raises money to help to support our programs. The cart was generously funded by a grant from the Eastern Shore of Virginia Community Foundation. The cart is open every Friday (weather permitting) outside No Limits during the warm weather.
Walking Trail Accessibility Assessments NLES members assess local walking trails for accessibility, using a template based on national standards. Our initial round of trail assessments was done in collaboration with Eastern Shore Healthy Communities and assessed their trails. This year we are assessing state and federal trails in our region! Example of a Trail Assessment that can be found on the No Limits Eastern Shore website under “Walking Trails”.
We have developed brochures that are placed in the two main “Welcome Centers” on Virginia’s Eastern Shore to assist people in finding accessible walking trails in the area!
The NLES Pollinator &Community Gardens With assistance from grant funding provided by various local community organizations, No Limits has developed a flowering pollinator garden as well as fruit and vegetable gardens. NLES members have helped to establish, plan, and care for all of the plants in each of our gardens, including our accessible raised garden boxes. Almost all of our flowering shrubs and bulbs are perennial and will continue to provide a food source for many Eastern Shore pollinators for years to come. A recent grant award from the Eastern Shore Soil and Water Conservation District has allowed us to incorporate bird habitats into our garden and improve our access to our rain barrel water.
“Plant ES Natives” In an effort to promote the preservation of the diverse and beautiful ecosystem of the Eastern Shore of Virginia, we visited ALL of the Eastern Shore Natives Demonstration Gardens that have been installed in our community! On these visits we developed reports (available on our website) on the accessibility and amenities found at each garden as well as documenting our plant findings. We Geocache! NLES has our own Geocache that we set up, monitor and maintain. Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity in which participants use GPS to hide and seek containers, called geocaches. Info on ours can be found at www.Geocaching.com, search for cache “Native Plants of the Eastern Shore #1” Example of an assessment that can be found on the No Limits Eastern Shore website under ““Plant ES Natives” Demonstration Sites”.
The Eastern Shore Chapter of Virginia’s Master Naturalists Chapter members must complete an eight week course designed to train volunteers to provide education outreach and service dedicated to the management of natural resources and natural areas within our community, and benefiting the entire Commonwealth of Virginia. NLES Case Coordinator Kyle Fulk and NLES Member Brandon Cook completed the class in the fall of 2018. We are very, very proud to have members of the Eastern Shore Chapter of Virginia’s Master Naturalists operating out of our program!
Last, But Not Least –THE CHICKENS No Limits maintains a flock of laying hens in a coop and fenced yard provided by a grant from the Eastern Shore of Virginia Community Foundation. Members work with staff on all aspects of chicken care and maintenance. Eggs are gathered and used at No Limits. They are also for sale to the community, with proceeds going to support the No Limits Activity Fund.
….A Final Thought…. “Our name is No Limits because there are no limits to what we can try to do.” Maggie Byrd Founding Member, No Limits
