Client Shares Life-Saving Message in TV Interview

Did you know that a texting driver is 23 times more likely to get into a crash than a non-texting driver?  Special Tree client Brandon L. is all too famliar with the dangers of texting while driving. In October 2010, Brandon nearly died when a distracted driver who was texting crashed into his car causing a severe brain injury from which he's still recoverying.

Brandon recently talked about his recovery and his campaign "Heads Up, Phones Down" to stop drivers from texting on Ask Dr. Nandi, a new health TV talk show taped in Troy, Michigan which airs daily on the Impact Network.  The show is nationally broadcast and we're so excited that Brandon will get his life-saving message out to such a large audience.  The episode on Distracted Driving will air at a TBD date, but you can watch a 60 second trailer at the link below.  You will need to enter a password to view the trailer by using the password:  nandi

http://vimeo.com/70787390

Brandon has also made appearances at local schools, newspapers, and radio shows with the goal of inspiring others and to prevent further accidents like his own.   Through his website, www.headsupphonesdown.com Brandon also sells wristbands and t-shirts to people who take the pledge to stop texting and driving.  

Smooth Sailing

Teens in Discover Summer's work readiness program are sailing right through a project to refinish a sailboat by the end of the summer.  "The kids are in the final stages and we'll be ready for the big launch on August 15th," said Christine Morabito, Asst. Director of Children's Services at Special Tree.  The students and staff began the project in mid-June and have made several trips to a local boat store for tips and advice along the way to get it sea-worthy. Nice work everyone!

 

Students Show-off Yoga Skills on Fox2 News

Check out this really nice story that FOX2 News Detroit's Kam Carman did on yoga which featured kids from Discover! Summer, Special Tree's therapy program for kids with TBI.  Ms. Carman stopped by Special Tree's outpatient center in Troy to film the kids’ yoga class and to interview Belightful Yoga ownerinstructor Lisa Ballo who teaches students twice/week.  The kids love doing yoga and their enthusiasm really showed in the story.  

Great job everyone!  

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/22803240/kams-corner-belightful-yoga-brings-yoga-to-you

Learning a Boat-load at Discover Summer

Teens in Discover! Summer's are learning a boat-load of new skills in their quest to refinish an old boat by the end of summer.  The project is part of Discover Summer's job readiness program which offers students ages 14 and older part-time paid work opporutnites during the 10-week program. 
 
Finding interesting and engaging work-opportuntities for students is an important part of Christine Morabito's job as Assistant Director of Children's Services, so she knew exactly what to do with a small beat-up sailboat from Special Tree's archive of old, unused stuff.
 
"Overall, the kids are enjoying the project," said Morabito.  "They're very excited about the outcome and getting it on the water." The students spend three days a week working on the boat at the InPro Operations Center, which is Special Tree's in-house vocational training facility in Wayne. 

Without a "boat expert" on staff, the students and staff have been spending a lot of time researching how to clean, sand, and paint the boat as well as finding a new mast.   "We're now working closely with a Marine store in Westland to enlist the guidance of experts to keep us moving in the right direction," she said.  Students need to finish the project by August 16th, the date they've set for the big boat launch at a metro park.

Here's a few pictures of the progress so far. There's more photos to come so check back often!



All hands on deck!

Let's get this project started!

Teamwork!

Making progress! 
Filling dents to smooth out fiber glass.