Since being at The Arc, Shellene has "Listened Generously" to her clients and has always gone above and beyond to make sure their needs are met. Recently, Shellene reached out to me for a couple of things. The first was to get a list of all of the recreational activities we offer at The Arc. For those that are not aware, members of this house have a lot of medical needs that make it a little more challenging to get them out into the community, but it is not impossible. Shellene has "Gone the Extra Mile" to make sure of this. After getting a list of activities, she signed up one of her individuals to attend one of the Saturday Recreation groups. Although illness prevented the individual from attending this event, Shellene communicated to me well in advance so we could accommodate the changes. I am sure she will be reaching out soon to get her signed up for some of our upcoming holiday events.
Second, this same individual is a big advocate. She has served on the Human Rights Committee and is an active self-advocate at The Arc of Opportunity. This takes a lot of coordination, but Shellene makes it work. Knowing this, I have reached out to her last minute on a number of occasions to inform her of upcoming town hall meetings and events. Each time she made sure that if her client wanted to attend, she did. In another example, Shellene rearranged her personal schedule to assure this client made it to all of her obligations. I’ve seen her transport this client in her personal vehicle, which is not an easy task. This meant transferring to the car from a wheelchair and vice versa. When this same individual wanted to learn more about the upcoming election, Shellene "Delivered Legendary Service" by picking up this individual early from her day program to attend the informational workshop. Feeling educated and empowered, this resident left with more confidence to take to polls on November 6th.
Time and time again, Shellene has shown that she embodies all the fundamentals. For these reasons and more, I nominate Shellene for the Way of the Arc Champion.