Category: News and Stories

Great fellowship at our Christmas dinner & paint party with our staff & board members tonight! Mary English Thweatt Jane Partee Edible Bay catered the awesome meal, Develyn Dee & the amazing cupcakes from White Flour Cupcakes and local artist, Garret DeChellis did his best to bring out our art talents! It was a great night.  Watch photo/movie below.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from St. Andrew Bay Center!

Since 1957, St. Andrew Bay Center, a non-profit agency in Lynn Haven, Florida, has provided support and opportunities for adults with disabilities. Designed around individual needs, all of the services assist individuals to become as self-sufficient and independent as possible.

As St. Andrew Bay Center (SABC) closes out 2016 and prepares for 2017, please consider a Gift to St. Andrew Bay Center. [Make a Gift Here].

Your help is needed for SABC to meet the daily challenges of hiring the best qualified associates and  purchasing the needed resources to provide the best quality programming for our Clients (the people who benefit from SABC’s programs).

Your Gift is matched dollar for dollar by federal and state funding, sixty-nine and thirty-one cents respectfully. Lastly, administrative costs of St. Andrew Bay Center are an effective rate of 17%.  That means that eighty-three cents on each dollar received goes to the direct programming for our clients.

The St. Andrew Bay Center has an annual Christmas Party for our Clients. It was a great event with lots of laughter and color! To view a photo/movie of the event [Click Here].

Please Share with Your Friends and Family!

Thanks in advance for your support and Merry Christmas!

Ron Sharpe
Executive Director of SABC

St. Andrew Bay Center had the annual Christmas for the clients yesterday. The Christmas Party was absolutely awesome!  All the clients had a terrific day.  When they saw Santa, Mrs. Santa and The Grinch their eyes lit up.  Their smiles were from ear to ear.  You could see the true meaning of Christmas all over their expressions.  You also could see the pure Joy on the faces of all the guests present.

If you are looking for a way to serve the Bay County community, please check out the St. Andrew Bay Center.  The need is great to help those with disabilities and obstacles in their lives.  Your life will be richly blessed!  Take a moment and call to set up an appointment to tour the facility (850) 265-2951).

Please watch the photo/movie below and ENJOY!

Since 1957, St. Andrew Bay Center, a non-profit agency in Lynn Haven, Florida has provided support and opportunities for adults with disabilities. Designed around individual needs, all of our services assist individuals to become as self-sufficient and independent as possible.  Personal quality of life flourishes for most citizens in our community, however, for individuals with disabilities these opportunities do not often occur by themselves. St. Andrew Bay Center facilitates those opportunities for individuals with disabilities in Bay County. We offer a unique blend of training and services for over 200 individuals with disabilities in our community.

The Mission of St. Andrew Bay Center, Inc. is to provide supports and opportunities for people with disabilities to choose and participate in valued adult activities.

SABC thanks the News Herald Team for investing in our ” Employment Program” where we have 40 individuals wanting to make a difference in your company! 

Special to The News Herald

Your future employee is a young man whose dream it is to work in the field of graphic design/media. Being an exceptional artist, he would love to work as an illustrator. He has an Associate of Science degree in digital media from Gulf Coast State College, with comprehensive knowledge in vector graphics, Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, photo manipulation, raster images, Adobe Photoshop, Corel Photo-Paint and Paint Tool SAI. This candidate has volunteered extensively and worked at his previous job for over 10 years. He is a critical thinker with a positive attitude, has a strong work ethic and would be an exceptional addition to any workplace. In addition, he is eligible for OJT, a program that provides an incentive for employers who hire St. Andrew Bay Center clients.

 

For information about this client or any of St. Andrew Bay Center’s other services, call Kathie at 850-896-5798 or Crystal at 850-532-0884.

From Samantha Read of WJHG

Clients of the St Andrew Bay Center, students of the Chautauqua Charter School, and community members laced up their bowling shoes and took to the lanes Tuesday afternoon.

Five Rotary Clubs in Panama City partnered together to host their first annual bowling tournament at Bowlarama. Their special guests were those with special needs.  Organizers of the event say the purpose of the tournament is to let people with special needs know they’re not alone.

Some club members say the day couldn’t have been better.  “It’s so awesome just watching first-timers that have come out here to bowl and experiencing the excitement and fun on their face as they learn a little bit about bowling,” said Ron Sharpe, the Executive Director of the St Andrew Bat Center. “They’re keeping up the scores and they’re competitive, it’s just a ball it’s a great experience not only for the clients but but also for the volunteers.”

Organizers say they’re already in the talks of hosting another bowling tournament for the spring.

Clients and employees of St. Andrew Bay Center partnered with the Lynn Haven Rotary Club to raise over $1,000 to participate in the 2016 Walk to End Alzheimer’s. The walk was held in Panama City on Saturday, September 17 at the town center of the developing Sweet Bay Community.  St Andrew Bay Center clients George, Amanda, Autumn and Margaret joined dozens of participants of all ages and abilities to give back to the community that is so generous to us.  They helped to reclaim the future for millions by walking the walk and talking the talk to end Alzheimer’s disease!

Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States and it’s the only cause of death in the top 10 in America that cannot be prevented, cured or slowed. All funds raised through Walk to End Alzheimer’s further the care, support and research efforts of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Jarvis

Why?

Jarvis was chosen by his peers at August Employee of the Month for his quick & professional reaction to one of our clients who had food lodged within his windpipe.  Jarvis provided the Heimlich Maneuver and CPR that saved our client’s life.

What is St. Andrew Bay Center?

Since 1957, St. Andrew Bay Center, a non-profit agency in Lynn Haven, Florida has provided support and opportunities for adults with disabilities. Designed around individual needs, all of our services assist individuals to become as self-sufficient and independent as possible.

Personal quality of life flourishes for most citizens in our community, however, for individuals with disabilities these opportunities do not often occur by themselves. St. Andrew Bay Center facilitates those opportunities for individuals with disabilities in Bay County. We offer a unique blend of training and services for over 200 individuals with disabilities in our community.

This is a story from WJHG about cookies for Warrior Beach Retreat Veterans.  See photos at end of story.

LYNN HAVEN, Fla. (WJHG/WECP)

St. Andrew Bay Center is making sure the “treat” part of “retreat” stays in its name this weekend.

The center is a non-profit organization that helps adults with disabilities become independent.  All day Wednesday, clients who go to the St. Andrew Bay Center made the kitchen their home so that when the veterans who are participating in this weekend’s Warrior Beach Retreat come to Panama City Beach they will feel welcome.  “We’re making 25 dozens brownies and 25 dozen cookies,” said Kathie Riley, the Employment Specialist at the St. Andrew Bay Center.  All 25 veterans will each get a dozen of each.
“They love baking brownies and cookies,” added Debbie Bryan, one of the center’s trainers.  Like any recipe, ingredients are key.  “The mixes, and the cookies and the other stuff that we made before, everything was donated,” said Riley.  Although cooking so many treats may seem like a sticky situation, volunteers say it’s a piece of cake.  “I like to help out and stuff,” said Shannon Cluff, a client at the center. Employees say learning how to correctly use ingredients isn’t the only lesson their clients will learn from this experience.  “We’re teaching math skills,” said Bryan. “As far as cooking.”  “We’re making cookies here but you could translate that into making something else at home,” added Riley.  Riley and Bryan say they are able to help so many others because of the help and generous donations from the community. That’s why they enjoy participating in acts of kindness like this one.  “They’re learning to give back to the community just like the community gives to us,” said Riley.  Make no mistake the group of clients knows exactly why they’re doing this and who they’re doing it for.

“My daughter’s in Iraq,” said Cluff.
“You must be a proud mom?” asked Samantha Read.
“Yeah I am.”

A few weeks ago, we were blessed to have the youth group with The River Church from Forsyth, Missouri come and volunteer helping us wash & vacuum our vans, provide yard services, build a ramp and assist us in our community thrift store. The work they did was greatly appreciated.  In addition to the work performed, the group spent time with SABC clients. Last week The River Church sent Thank You Notes to our clients!

Thanks to this group for their hard work and a kind gesture! It is greatly appreciated! See the Happy Faces below.

Excited to announce that Beach 95.1 has joined St. Andrew Bay Center as one of our media sponsors for our upcoming “Beach Party!

WBPC-FM (Beach 95.1) plays “The Greatest Hits of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s” from studios in the heart of the business district of Panama City, FL. Our signal reaches a large part of the Florida Panhandle, from Destin to Mexico Beach, and “from the state line to the coastline.” Beach 95.1 is operated by Beach Radio, Inc. Our owners and our personalities are local. We live here, we work here, and we make our business decisions here, not in some far-off city. Beach 95.1 is part of your community.

[Learn More About Attending SABC “Beach Party”]