Helping Hands for Mount St. Vincent

Easter is a special time at Spruce Mountain Ranch. Each year, we open our doors to the public for our annual Easter Brunch.  This event not only creates a memorable tradition for local families, it is an event that we have come to rely on in order to help support our favorite charity Mount St. Vincent’s Home (MSV). 

Clearly, COVID-19 did not allow us to continue this year’s tradition, but we are still determined to lend a helping hand!

 A HUGE THANK YOU to all of ticket holders who continued to support this wonderful organization and still opted to donate their ticket purchase to Mount Saint Vincent! 

We wanted to share with you what is happening at Mount Saint Vincent during the current stay-at-home orders and how you can help!

“COVID-19 is making an impact on our world and it can seem overwhelming.  As we all take this time to practice physical distancing, work remotely and washing our hands, we want to share with you how Mount Saint Vincent continues to live out its mission in these unprecedented times.

Our Sister Daniel Stefani Day and Treatment School was closed for an extended Spring Break.  Beginning April 1, using online educational programming (iReady, Scholastic, ABC Mouse etc.) our teachers will prepare notebooks containing lessons for each subject area. Parents will pick up materials or teachers will drop them off at the families’ doorstep. (We have very dedicated teachers!) Lessons will be sent electronically to students and/or parents if that option is available to the family.   More importantly, our teachers will reach out to students daily to just check in and see how they are doing. 

We still have Residential children living on-site and though the kiddos cannot leave the campus for outside activities, our recreational therapist has many activities planned to keep them entertained.  We will be posting photos from some of these activities on Facebook and Instagram so if you don’t currently follow us, now would be a good time to join us.  On April 1st, the Residential kids headed back to the Sister Daniel Stefani Day and Treatment School where our teachers will be to continue their learning.  We have modified the classrooms to allow for physical distancing but the children will still feel the caring concern from their teachers.

The Foster Care Team has been working hard during this challenging time to ensure that our 37 foster families and 38 foster children continue to feel supported.  We have switched to virtual home visits every other week and weekly phone contact with foster families who have placements of children. To offer additional support to our foster families as they navigate this unique new life situation, we are offering virtual support groups and/or a training on a weekly basis.  This past Thursday, we had 15 foster families participate in the virtual meeting.  

The In-Home Team has moved to telehealth and phone sessions with families.  Our staff is dedicated to continuing to provide therapeutic support and guidance to families who are struggling.  This is truly a difficult time for families and increased stress is a reality.  The In-Home Team is trying to be as creative as possible to connect with families virtually and by phone to offer suggestions and resources to families.  The 21 families we are serving are trying hard to be open and flexible to work with us virtually.  We all hope this is temporary and we will be back in homes doing sessions soon!

Our Preschool which is typically open to the community for children ages 3-5 is closed at this time.  The teachers are taking advantage of this closure to deep-clean the preschool, further their own education via online educational courses and are creating lesson plans for when the preschool eventually reopens.  They also continue to have calls with the children in their classes in order to maintain the special relationship they have developed. 

MSV’s hardworking Maintenance staff are still ensuring the buildings and grounds are well-maintained, and safe for all.  They have even had some roofing and mechanical issues resolved taking advantage of having fewer staff and kids on campus.  Silver linings!

The Kitchen staff continues to plan and make nearly 100 meals daily that are needed for the Residential kids and the staff caring for them.  Extra precautions are in place but our Kitchen staff have handled the changes seamlessly.

MSV has always been blessed with volunteers ready to give their time to help maintain our 16-acre campus, provide activities for the children and assist with tasks as needed.  Our campus may currently be closed to volunteers and visitors but it has not stopped the offers to provide Easter Baskets, games, and cards and letters of support to the children and staff.  We very much appreciate these generous offers as they can brighten a day for the children and staff.

MSV staff are required to participate in regular training refresher courses.  During this time, while many staff are working remotely, training has not stopped.  In fact, in addition to staff training, we have also continued trainings specific to foster parents and families utilizing video conferencing options. 

As you can see, our mission continues.  We are dedicated to supporting and caring for the children and families we serve. COVID-19 won’t change that. Once again, thank you for being a part of our mission.  We are grateful to you.”

During these uncertain times, Mount Saint Vincent is looking for continued help. Please consider sending one of the following items to their facility or make a donation here: https://www.msvhome.org/donate/

 

Contact Caleigh Isaacks at 303-964-1122, or e-mail cisaacks@msvhome.org to donate any items. Items may also be dropped off or direclty sent to MSV at 4159 Lowell Blvd, Denver, CO 80211

Mount Saint Vincent Donation List.

Craft Supplles (perler beads, pony beads, chalk, paint, watercolors, scratch art, etc.)

Craft kits (slime making, bracelet making, suncatchers, wooden toys, etc.)

Spa Supplies (foot bath, facemasks, etc.)

Balloons

Sciencce Kits

STEM Kits

Build Robot Kits

Disposable Cameras

Yard Games (spkieball, ladder ball, foxtails, beamo frisbees, kites, etc.)

Hink Fun Logic Games

Yahtzee

Jenga (indoor and outdoor)

Croquet

Badminton

Frisbees

Puzzles Various ages (3 and up)

Sidewalk Chalk

Blue Painters Tape

Water Wow Books

Big Bubble Wands

Giant Easel/Drawing Pads

Origami

Spot It- Game

Hungry Hippos- Game

Life-Game

Clue-Game

Sorry-Game

Trouble-Game

Candyland-Game

Snakes and Ladders-Game

Yahtzee-Game

Headbandz-Game

Guess Who - Game

Busytown, Eye Found It - Game

Disney Eye Found It- GAme

Charades- Game

Apples to Apples Junior- Game

Over the Door Basket Ball Hoops

Ladderball- Outdoor Game

Bean Bag Toss Game

Ring Toss Game

Velcro Paddles, Toss and Catch Game

Flip Scoop Catch Games