Gina began her employment with Anthesis as an Instructor/Senior Companion in the Anthesis Day programs on January 9, 2020. Prior to joining Anthesis, she stayed at home to care for her children for 18 years and worked as a part-time Zumba instructor. Gina regularly volunteered at her church with the “Extended Hands” ministry and cared for children and young adults with disabilities. She learned about Anthesis because an Anthesis staff member recruited her to share her talents and hold a Zumba session for Anthesis’ program. Gina hosted a demo class for the Adult Development Center (ADC) program, and as soon as Gina saw how excited the participants were, she immediately knew that Anthesis was where she was meant to be.
At that time, Gina was eager to find a job that would be both personally fulfilling to her and allow her to give back to her community. She applied to Anthesis and was hired as an Instructor/Senior Companion, where she rotated between the Adult Development Center (ADC) and the ‘Round About Senior Services (RASS) programs. ADC is a day program that offers unique person-centered services, life skills training, and community integration opportunities. Through this program, adults with disabilities gain valuable opportunities, like being able to volunteer in the community. Whether an individual has interest in finding a job or volunteering in their community, the staff provides social activities, community integration, and enrichment programs to help ADC participants achieve their goals. The ‘Round About Senior Services (RASS) program is geared towards providing senior citizens with intellectual and developmental [dis]abilities opportunities to participate in age-appropriate activities and daily socialization.
Gina’s caring, positive, and fun-loving personality is a perfect fit for her position as an Instructor/Senior Companion – she loves doing creative and interesting activities with the individuals in her group! Gina has quickly adapted to person-centered planning and created her schedule to fulfill the needs and interests of the individuals she instructs. When asked how she incorporates the philosophy in her planning, Gina mentioned, “I use person-centered planning by focusing on the likes and interests of the individuals I support. When I talk with their families or group home managers, I ask a lot of questions. I also do a lot of research on different activities I put together for each person and how they will benefit from the activity. I include educational articles about the project they will be working on.”
Just as Gina was getting a handle on her position, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Despite the COVID craziness and uncertainty of what’s to come, her positive spirit remained. Gina has not shied away from any of the duties expected of her. She is flexible and willing to maintain quality services to participants even while working remotely. Gina stated, “The blessing and curse was COVID. A blessing because I was only with Anthesis 2 months when COVID hit, so I did not have much to change. I was starting from scratch anyway. A curse because I did not have the face-to-face interaction with staff or our participants.” Program participants love “Zumba with Gina.” During the live session, participants enjoyed interacting and getting active from the safety and comfort of their own home. For the 2020 Power of the Flower event, Gina, along with Anthesis participants, Nancy and Kimberley, submitted a Zumba video for a challenge and they won 3rd place!
Now that COVID restrictions are lifting, Instructors, like Gina, are resuming in-person services. Gina said, “I’m so happy to be back to in-person services. My first in-person was yesterday, 4/5/21, with Cecilia O. and it was so AWESOME to see her and her family. She showed all of the completed projects I dropped off to her. Her family was very appreciative for the weekly activities and phone calls.” Although the transition to resuming in-person services will be a slow process, participants and coaches alike welcome the change.
Thank you, Gina, for striving to make a difference in the lives of our participants!