News & Updates | UCP of San Luis Obispo - Part 4

Repost – Original Post on Oct 26, 2012

We wanted to thank some of those organizations and groups that have helped us recently with our efforts in reaching out to the community and achieving our mission and goals.

First, thank you much to Mike’s Shoes for holding a fundraiser to support UCP of SLO County. Mike’s Shoes came and approached us about doing this fundraiser. Thank you Mike’s Shoes!!! You can find their website by clicking on this link.

Mike’s Shoes

Second, Jim & I, a local band came to our Walk & Roll both this year and last year and really entertained our group. Thank you Jim & I (Jim Wilmore and Seth Blackburn). You can find their website by clicking on this link.

Jim & I Music

Third and last, we’d like to thank every one of you who come to our events, visit our website and help us in our mission. Whether your a person with a disability, a parent or sibling of a person with a disability, an interested citizen, a local advocate or just a friendly passerby, we greatly appreciate you being here and reading this. Thank you everybody for your work, your interest and your good times.

Repost – Original Post on Sep 4 2012

Hey Everyone! We had a total “SPLASH” … I mean BLAST at Sea World last weekend. It was totally amazing. We went to Sea World in San Diego. The ride down was a long one but we had a good time listening to great music and singing along. We had a great group of clients who were all so excited to get to go and see all the marine animals and a few of us who wanted to ride some of the new super-fast rides.

When we first arrived the hotel was waiting for us. They had rolled out a red carpet and even prepared a punch and cookies reception for us. It was really sweet of them. They are always so accommodating to us when we come down. It made for a nice relaxing time at the end of a long ride down on the bus. Some of us even went down to the pool the first night to splash around and play in the water before dinner.

When we got up on Saturday everyone was so excited to get out and get to the park. WE all decided what we wanted to do before we went into Sea World. We all got to go and see and do some fun things while we were there. Most of us got the chance to watch the dolphin show and the Shamu show. This of course meant a few of us left a little bit splashed on. Some of the groups even had the chance to feed the sea lions. That was really fun, except the birds kept swooping in on the fish we were feeding them. A few of our clients got to pet the manta rays. It was really neat to feel how soft they were. All in all, the whole trip was a great experience for everyone who went. We had a truly amazing time.

We would love for you all to have the opportunity to come along and join us for these trips. There are so many fun and exciting trips planned for next year. If you are interested in knowing what we have coming up, please contact Kristine here at the UCP office. (805)543-2039 or my email Kristine@ucp-slo.org

Repost – Original Post on Aug 31, 2012

~LATE BLOG ALERT~. =) Hey everyone this is me, Mandy…. It has been SUPER busy here at UCP. Setting up and getting ready for all the really amazing trips and activities we still have happening this year. Also sending out all the information on what is coming up in 2013. If you are not on our mailing list and want to know what is up and coming for UCP contact Kristine at Kristine@ucp-slo.org or call her at (805)543-2039.

Now back to the Real News –

Guess what?! We, UCP CIP Tours, went to LAS VEGAS! Yup that is right, Las Vegas, People… We actually were out there last month in July. It was hot and so were the machines. WHEW!!! These guys were all on a roll. I can tell you more than half the people who played came back home UP on the money! It was amazing. They all had a blast.

We stayed at the 4 Queens on Fremont Street. Frank, Tami and Marie all have amazing luck at the casino. They won and got free stuff and really enjoyed themselves. Some of these guys didn’t know what to expect. It was really great to get and sit down with them and have some great chats about their lives and show them how to play the machines.

We had a lot of fun walking down Fremont Street looking at other casinos there and checking out some of the street vendors and artists. It was so much fun. For lunch that day we walked down to the Main St Station for the buffet. Food was amazing and we all totally stuffed ourselves. That night we got all dressed up and went out to an awesome show on the strip at Planet Hollywood. Singing, dancing and SHOWGIRLS! They group really had a great time and we hope to have them all back with us next year when we hit up RENO!

As usual the staff was amazing. Special thanks to Hailey our Nurse. She was wonderful. She was there to help out with all our needs and anything that came up. She is really fantastic. Thanks so much to all our other staff for the great job they do. This trip was our first time having Aaron along for staff. We are stoked to have added him along with Ian, a second time staffer for our out of town activities, to our list. This was also Valen’s first trip with us out of town. HUGE help and we were really glad to have him along. Allen and Veronica… They have become UCP CIP regulars. They are always there to help out and make sure everyone has a great time.

Repost – Original Post on Jun 11, 2012

Hello my faithful followers. I wanted to pop in here and give you the entire scoop on Camp Kelley. Here goes nothing….

Another Year at Camp has come and gone. 2012 Camp Kelley ~ Mardi Gras~ YAY!! We had an amazing round of staff! The campers, as usual, made us smile over and over again. This year we had so many fun things to do it almost didn’t all fit in the week. We had a wonderful time doing arts and crafts. We had a blast, playing at the pool! There was camp fires and s’mores. We watched a movie and had popcorn. We played BINGO! Three lucky Campers even won a lunch date with Kristine! She took, Elizabeth, Steven and David to lunch one on one to have a nice time out. Also there was one lucky camper who was able to go and meet the HULK! Hurray, Suzette! I know she had an amazing day that day and that even made her whole week!

I have been a part of camp for a few years now and I am always just as excited to get to come back the next summer. I think that being able to be there and talk with and hang out and have meals with all the campers is an amazing opportunity and I wouldn’t give it up for anything. I hope someday everyone who wants the chance to come out and be a part of camp will be able to join us!

I want to take a minute to say THANK YOU to all our staff. You are all truly amazing individuals and I know that I, personally, am honored to have had the opportunity to work alongside all of you, especially with this wonderful group of clients. Without all of you, this would not have even been possible. Thanks so much for everything that each and every one of you gave. Thanks so much to our amazing activities staff, Lynny, Savannah, Sean and Rich and Laura. Thanks so much to Hailey, Rachel, Becky and BRIAN for leading the singing at the camp fire. Thank you Ian for the quick save on the camp fire s’mores night and helping us get those last few s’mores made. Thank you, Sarah, for always being there to help someone in the pool who usually would not have the chance to get in and enjoy the cool water on such hot days. Thank you to all the amazing staff for the help in taking care of all the clients and NEVER a care to whose group they were in. Thanks for all the help with cleaning up and helping it all go as well as it did. I am so grateful to know all of you and so happy that I get to have all of you in my life.

I don’t know about you all but I can’t wait for next year. I know next year will be EVEN MORE AMAZING!!!

ARRRRRRRGH you READY?! AYE AYE Captain’ Camp Kelley 2013 comes to port next June… Hope to see you all there….

Repost – Original Post on Jul 11, 2012

Hi ALL, it’s Mandy! I am back! Been SUPER CRAZY BUSY here at UCP with all our planning for UCP Camp Kelley Creek this Month in June!! SO Excited!

Well here is the story on the fun stuff we did LAST month. Last month we took a group of 21 people to the Dodgers game on May 19th. We spent a wonderful morning shopping at and walking around Venice Beach in Los Angeles. The clients really had a great time going into the shops and getting things they really wanted. We all saved a few dollars for the game though.. If you are a Dodgers fan you always want to show it off! So we did some much anticipated souvenir shopping at the game park as well. The game was against the AZ Cardinals… AS IF THEY HAD A CHANCE!!! Anyway.. one of the really amazing things about attending this game was FanFest! This year is the 50th year anniversary for Dodgers Stadium. So in celebration they had a lot going on at their Fan appreciation event like, autograph sessions with current and former Dodger players, Q&A sessions with Dodger players and coaches and games and dancing and so much more! Everyone along had an amazing time.. and we were all super PUMPED by the time the game started.. We ate Dodger Dogs and did the wave! All of us got up to sing and dance in the 7th inning stretch!

Needless to say I am sure, the Dodgers won the game.. It was awesome!

GO DODGERS!

Repost – Apr 16, 2012

♫ ♪ Who’s the leader of the club that’s made for you and me…? ♪ M-I-C-K-E-Y .♫.♪. M-O-U-S-E! ♪ ♫

Rain, rain go away! Friday the 13th was a rainy day and a long drive down to Anaheim, but that didn’t stop us! We went on down to the Happiest place on Earth, Disneyland! We took a smaller group than usual this Disney trip. We missed everyone who usually comes along. But with clear skies and warmer weather it was still awesome. Thankfully the park was not too busy in spite of the fact that it was Spring Break!! When I heard that spring break was going on that week I thought to myself, OH NO! It is gonna be packed! Well, it actually was not too bad. Not too bad at all. Nice sunny day and the clients got to go on quite a few more rides than we thought we would have time for. Highlight of the day for some was BIG THUNDER MOUNTAIN! A few guys got on that one and LOVED it! I was so happy to hear all about it when we all met up again for our late lunch before shopping at Downtown Disney! All in all everyone had a blast at the park and then we all got to go out shopping and it was a beautiful, fun-filled Saturday at the park! I am really sorry for those of you who missed it. Hopefully we will see you next time.

Next trip is next month, in May. I can’t wait to see everyone who was able to sign up for this trip. Dodgers Stadium, here we come! Until next time…. ♥ Mandy

Repost – Original Post on Mar 30, 2012

Hey Everyone! Mandy here, your friendly UCP Youth Services Coordinator. I will be keeping you posted on all the fun stuff we do like our out of town trips and Saturday Leisure Club events. Most recently, our group was off to the races! We spent three days in Fontana, CA and we had an amazing time down there! We went on a CIP trip to see the Royal Purple 300 NASCAR Race. It was a beautiful day for the race. Kinda seemed like sun came out just for us. I personally was cheering for #7 Danica Patrick who had to drop out half way through the race because of engine failure. However, the other Driver most of our guys seemed to be watching for was #54 Kyle Busch. It was a GREAT race! #54 was in the running for the 2nd or 3rd spot for a while for the last part of the race, but dropped back about 10 places on his last pit stop. He finished 8th in the race and the First place spot ultimately went to #18 Joey Logano. All in all not a bad day at the races. Pictures should be up soon. Until next time, keep living your life without limits! ~Mandy

Repost – Original Post on Mar 27, 2012

Do you know about our CIP Tours? UCP of San Luis Obispo takes SLO County residents with disabilities on various trips throughout California and beyond. Recently, we went to the Avila Lighthouse and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Below, we’ve included some footage showing us hanging out at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and having a good time going on our way out to the Avila Lighthouse.

Last weekend, we went to the NASCAR race down in Fontana. Later this year we’re going to places like Hawaii and Yosemite National Park. Check out our calendar of CIP Tour events in our ‘Events’ tab.

Repost – Original Post on Mar 22, 2012

It is the start of a new year. So far, we have gone bowling and went to the Melodrama, and had a great time. Now, we are having out first ever Spring time BBQ next month on the 21st of April! I hope you can all make it! This event will be held in San Luis Obispo at one of our local parks. I will let you know which as soon as I can. Also, we are getting a Theme Park trip together to go to Knott’s Berry Farm!

Click HERE to view the flyer.

Repost – Original Post on Jan 18, 2012

We wanted to thank everybody who participated, supported and sponsored the Night Without Limits event held this past Friday March 9th, 2012.

We’d like to send a special thank you to: the Mac SuperStore for donating an iPad and also congratulate Lynn Hendry for winning the iPad giveaway contest. We’d also like to thank Duncan at Porter’s Gourmet Truck for catering the event. The food was delicious. Finally we’d like to thank Radio Central Coast and specifically DJ Danny P from 95.3 The Beach for DJ’ing the event.

The event went in support of our iPads Without Limits program. We showed a video of Tyler Monteiro and his use of the iPad. Please view the video below, also hosted at our YouTube channel.