Nicole Donant-Moore to organize FANS program
The new TuscBDD FANS program, based at Charmed: Gifts with Meaning in downtown New Philadelphia, will be organized by Nicole Donant-Moore of Bolivar. Donant-Moore and her service dog Ginger posed for this recent photo at the store.
With her nonstop work ethic, Nicole Donant-Moore, 25, of Bolivar has compiled some huge accomplishments in her life. Donant-Moore was given only a five-percent chance of survival at birth. Born at 25 weeks with cerebral palsy, she weighed only 1 pound, 11 ounces.
After proving her doctors wrong, Donant-Moore worked with the television show “Three Wishes” to get a library built in Mineral City and later earned a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in psychology from Kent State University.
Donant-Moore was eager to put what she had learned to the test in the world of work. “I’ve been looking for a job,” she said of her life after college, “looking and looking with really no success.”
When Charmed: Gifts with Meaning, a consignment shop operated by the Tuscarawas County Board of Developmental Disabilities, opened in January 2017 with an internship program designed to give people with disabilities real work experience, Donant-Moore applied.
The staff soon recognized her many talents. During the busiest times at the store, Donant-Moore was always placed on the register. She began designing signs for the store, and before long Donant-Moore was planning and posting all the Facebook posts for Charmed. With her attention to detail, she took over all inventory duties as well.
“It was a fun and enlightening experience for me,” Donant-Moore said. “It helped me socialize with people and know the community a little better. I wasn’t familiar with New Philadelphia and enjoyed getting to know the people and businesses in the area.”
In the meantime TuscBDD had been trying to get a new program called Friends, Allies and Neighbors off the ground, but the project was at a standstill, due to the lack of time that staff had to devote to it. Donant-Moore’s internship at Charmed was coming to an end, and staff proposed that she would be the perfect person to help with the FANS program, which is based at the store.
Donant-Moore accepted a new intern position as the FANS administrative assistant and began her duties on Jan. 8, working 18-20 hours each week.
“I started out by researching other county board of developmental disabilities’ programs to see what their FANS were like,” said Donant-Moore, who works closely with Kerri Silverthorn, community relations and special projects coordinator for the TuscBDD, to develop the program.
“Donant-Moore has become a valuable asset to TuscBDD and the FANS network initiatives,” Silverthorn said. “I am so happy with what Donant-Moore has achieved already, and I am excited to see where she takes this program in the future.”
FANS is a group that wants to help people with disabilities have better lives. Information is distributed, usually by email, on how to help, and it’s up to the members if they would like to help.
Information on the FANS program and activities are posted on the TuscBDD Facebook page with the hashtags #TUSCFANS and #BetterTogether.
Four initiatives have been developed to date. The Make a Memory Team can donate gift cards to restaurants, movies, sporting events and such to help provide an experience an individual might not have otherwise been able to afford.
A Novel Adventures Book Club is scheduled to meet monthly at Charmed starting in March. The club is open to everyone with or without disabilities. Books will be chosen from those available through the Sherlock Center Resource Library, which are free to download.
FANS Game Time is scheduled for the second Saturday May through August from 6-8 p.m. at Charmed. People with and without disabilities will be able to hang out together and enjoy playing board games, cards or other games together.
The Serving Hands initiative will allow volunteers to help with needs such as light home maintenance or transportation.
A FANS launch party is scheduled for Thursday, April 26 from noon to 2 p.m. at Charmed: Gifts with Meaning, where those wishing to participate will be able to sign up. The store is located at 117 W. High Ave. in New Philadelphia.
For more information on FANS or to become a member, email Donant-Moore at fans@tuscbdd.org or call 330-339-3199.