We just had Valentines Day at Merica House.  Cathy & Alvin went shopping for groceries & came back with a teddy bear & some red roses for me.  Cathy gave me a hilarious card with a picture of 2 grown women wearing silly glasses & making silly faces.  The inside of the card says “We’re good friends because we share the same high level of maturity & sophistication.”  I love it!  It describes our relationship perfectly. We laugh at & tease each other constantly.  That “sophisticated” relationship has sweetened my years at Merica House.  And it’s far better than mine & my husband’s 35 year habit of buying Valentine’s Day gifts & then opting to throw them at each other.

Cathy was feeling sad about not having a valentine honey this year so Sharita presented her with some Shari’s Berries.  An Aide who accompanies Maureen on her outings gave all the female residents some candy & a flower.  I gave each of the ladies a stuffed animal, cookies for some of the men & a boxed heart full of Reeses miniature cups for Joe.

Below are pictures of Merica House Valentine decorations and some of the valentine gifts we gave each other.

 

Are you getting ready to do your holiday shopping on Amazon.com? Did you know Merica House can receive 4% of your Amazon purchase price with no increase in cost to you? Just begin your Amazon shopping here at theapd.org . Click the red text, “Before you shop Amazon, click here.” That takes you directly to the Amazon site for shopping. All of your Amazon purchases will then be tagged for a 4% contribution to Merica House. Thank you for your support. Happy holidays.

This year’s, Eat for a Cause, fund raiser was a success again. For the third time, Pistone’s Restaurant in Falls Church, VA has hosted this delicious fund raiser.  This year, Telly Bonaduce, the owner, donated 20% of the proceeds for the night to the Alliance for the Physically Disabled. Friends and families of the APD and Merica House enjoy a delicious meal and at the same time much needed money is raised for the work of the APD.

Kathy Shields, V.Pres of the Alliance for the Physically Disabled accepts a check from Telly Bonaduce, owner of Pistone’s Restaurant in Falls Church, VA for the successful Eat for a Cause fundraiser on Oct 11, 2017. A total of $400 was raised to benefit Merica House.

Merica House got a face-lift when the Lowe’s Heroes spent a day painting. Jeremy Beasley offered to organize Lowe’s employees to refresh Merica House on April 20th. Cathy Parr and Kathy Shields chose the paint colors and in one day these special friends painted all but three rooms (they had recently been redone).

Lowe’s Heroes began this volunteer program more than 10 years ago. Employees team together, adopt a volunteer project with a local nonprofit organization, and make a difference.

Jeremy and his Lowe’s Heroes made a beautiful difference to Merica House for its residents!

Click on the picture to see the Paint Party album.

An unnamed donor has committed to match on a 1:1 basis, $10,000 toward our Thanksgiving goal of $20,000!

GIVE a GIFT and CHANGE A LIFE

THE APDis a qualified 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. Donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.

On May 10, 2014, Jeanie Hume and Debbie Pena, long time volunteers at Merica House, took to their culinary skills and hosted an English Tea Party for our residents and their family and friends.

Jeanie, who has lived in England for several years, and Debbie wore white laced aprons and fabulous hats. They served chicken salad tea sandwiches, cucumber cream cheese sandwiches,  scones, quiches and fabulous desserts.  The tea was brewed from tea leaves and served in the finest china.

We laughed and enjoyed each other’s company in a most fashionable way while feasting on a wonderful array of trays of delicious treats.

We thank them for hosting a beautiful afternoon for our residents and their friends.

We thank our friends, family and the Sydney Hale Company for making our 2013 holiday fund raiser a success.  We raised  $300!

This was our third year partnering with this family owned and locally based Virginia company. Meghan Cook,  the owner of  the Sydney Hale Company, is a dear friend to Merica House.  Thank you again for your continued support to our residents. We wish you a healthy new year.

The Barnes and Noble gift wrapping of customer purchases on December 18th went off without a hitch. Merica House volunteered to wrap purchases of Barnes and Noble customers for donations with B&N providing all the gift wrap, scissors, and tape. There were two volunteers for each three hour shift. Traffic was slow at times and busier at others. There was plenty of time for all of us to take breaks, meander around the store, and even get a “cup of joe” from Starbucks. The final cash-in for the day came to $200. We all felt that it was a worthwhile day, it was fun, and that it was worth doing again next year!

The Alliance for the Physically Disabled and Merica House wish you a wonderful holiday season and a very Happy New Year!

As we come to the end of another successful year, we want to thank those who have contributed to the success of Merica House.

Many of you have volunteered time, skills, and resources to truly make Merica House a home and make a difference in the lives of four women and three men with a variety of severe disabilities, allowing them to live independent lives.

We hope you will think of us as you contemplate your year-end giving. We make it easy to
contribute online.

Your donation to the the APD ensures the continuation of our excellent programs that support our residents and promotes our ability to fulfill the mission of developing community living residences.

Drop by and see us in 2014!

The Residents, Staff and Members of the Alliance for the Physically Disabled