Archive for March 2021

By Sheryl WildeWhen Caymin met Joanne Tawfilis last year, he didn’t speak. He’d been bullied at school and he always held his head down, rarely looking up from the floor.Just one year later, this 16-year-old autistic young man is now not only talking, but laughing, and getting straight A’s in all of his classes. Caymin…

2020 Holidays At Mountain Shadows by Sheryl Wilde Catalent Pharma Solutions Brings Thanksgiving To Mountain Shadows Oak House residents enjoying the decorations and crafts Catalent brought for Thanksgiving. “Our annual Thanksgiving celebration with Mountain Shadows is a longstanding tradition,” says Amy Fager, Director, Human Resources, Catalent Pharma Solutions. “While we couldn’t visit with the residents…

Bringing Families Together, Safely, During the Pandemic by Sheryl Wilde “They all have feelings. It doesn’t matter how interactive they can be. They have feelings. And you can tell when there is joy in them.” ~ Carol Zambrano, mother of Diane, Olive House resident Diane was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when she was 2 years…

Mountain Shadows Resident of Hope: Luca by Sheryl Wilde While many would say Luca faces insurmountable odds, his Grandpa Bill says, “Luca never gives up. He has such determination. He taught me to never give up.” “We were there when Luca was born,” adds JoAnne, his grandmother. “He spent months in NICU. He had so…

Manny Flores Makes Smooth Transitioninto New Beginnings Program by Sheryl Wilde A pounding, edgy beat vibrated up from the floor into the feet. Aaow!Annie are you okay? Are you okay Annie? Images of Michael Jackson, in white suit and fedora, doing the anti-gravity tilt, stirred in Manny’s imagination as the sounds of Jackson’s Smooth Criminal…

Mountain Shadows Aktion Club:Changing the World One Child at a Time by Sheryl Wilde “Sometimes, it makes me want to cry,” says Linda Claudius, Youth Pastor at Gateway Community Church in San Marcos, and Aktion Club volunteer. “The Mountain Shadows Aktion Club members want to help others and give back to their community when many…

New Beginnings at Mountain Shadows by Sheryl Wilde “We want them to thrive, not just survive.” – Donna Heard, Program Director, New Beginnings Therapeutic Day Program Fairview Developmental Center, a state-operated institution located on 114 acres of land in Orange County, opened in 1959 and at its peak served over 2700 people with developmental and…

for the 4th Annual M:POWR Virtual Art Exhibition! Join us online on Wednesday, April 29,2020 Online at:  MountainShadowsFoundation.org/2020MPOWR Proceeds will go directly back to the M:POWR project to fund paint and supplies, and support Mountain Shadows artists to continue building confidence and benefit from the therapeutic practice of painting. A True Peace Paint Ambassador:An Introduction…

Join us online on Wednesday, April 29,2020 at: MountainShadowsFoundation.org/2020MPOWR for the 4th Annual M:POWR Virtual Art Exhibition! Proceeds will benefit Mountain Shadows emerging young artists, like Carlos featured in the story below, in pursuing their dreams. Mountain Shadows Resident Carlos Ash:  Destiny M:POWR’d Through Art by Sheryl Wilde Authors note: We introduced you to Carlos…

Mountain Shadows Residents: Living the Impossible Through Adaptive Skiingby Sheryl Wilde “My motto is: ‘Living My Impossible Every Day.’ Imagine what it’s like toski down mountains at 70 miles per hour. Now imagine what it’s like to dothat blind. That’s what I do.” ~Three-time Blind Paralympian Danelle Umstead “Are you ready to go play?” “No!…