Durr Center Holiday Party
Durr Center , home to MercyFirst ’ s Preventive Services program , held their Annual Holiday Party with the generous support of “ The Flatlands Lions Club ”, spearheaded by Mrs . Gladys Pemberton .
For many years , The Lions Club and Mrs . Pemberton have supported the holiday party with gifts , food , raffles and even a visit from Santa ! The children and families enjoy games , crafts and the holiday spirit !
Santa gives out gifts to all the boys and girls .
Youth Create Tree Sculpture on Syosset Campus
If you ’ re take a stroll around the grounds of the Syosset campus , you will come across a tree installation designed and built by a group of artists in an art therapy group . Five residents along with an art therapy intern met weekly to design a tree swing sculpture that they titled , “ The Chill Spot .” These young artists of MercyFirst wanted to create a structure that represented themes of peace , family , strength , and support . The art therapy group was designed as a community project combining eco-art therapy , physicality , and bringing creativity outside . Throughout the process , the youth explored creative problem solving and working together to build positive team unity . They even took a trip to Socrates Sculpture Garden in Queens , NY to get inspired by other large-scale outdoor sculptures . During the trip , one resident stated when seeing the other sculptures , “ This makes me feel like everyone can be creative in their own way .” At the sculpture garden , the youth enjoyed the interactive sculptures the most , which inspired their own design . The group met over six weeks , and used wood , paint , and rope to create their structure . The residents shared that they enjoyed the splatter painting portion the best , and are proud of seeing their design come to life !
Annual Polar Bear Plunge !
On New Year ’ s Day , MercyFirst Board Chair , Scott Gildea again took the plunge in Coney Island . This year he raised over $ 25,000 for MercyFirst ! Despite the 17 degree air temperature , Scott joined the hundred of other Polar Bears and jumped into the icy waters .
On January 21 , a second group took the plunge , raising nearly $ 1500 . MercyFirst staff member Kerri Sneden , her sister Taylor Garner and ‘ Friends of MercyFirst ’ Committee member , Kelly Sternkopf , all jumped in for MercyFirst !
Thank you to Scott , Kerri , Taylor and Kelly for taking the plunge for MercyFirst !