June 24, 2019 – An unbelievable amount of work was accomplished this past weekend by seven selfless volunteers from River City Church in DeBary, coordinated by Deacon Alex Fox.
This small crew did the work of a so many more: They assembled easels and art racks for the new Day Training Art Studio; they disassembled an old projection TV and stand; moved furniture; assembled large raised planters for the new Plein Air Art-Garden; painted benches and picnic tables; and landscaped an overgrown green space at the front entrance of ADT – all in 2.5 hours! Yes, it is hard to believe, but true!
The staff and residents are so very grateful and blessed to have such a caring community. Thank you all again!
Learn how to get involved with Duvall Homes at DuvallHomes.org/Get-Involved. Learn more about the ministry of River City Church in DeBary at RiverCityChurchepc.com. View more photos. #TheDuvallDifference #ImInspired #Volunteer
May 1, 2019 – Duvall Homes is proud to be a part of Volusia Parent Magazine’s Summer Planning Issue. The issue focuses on many exciting activities in which children can participate during the summer months, including volunteering.
Duvall’s mission of providing residential supportive care and day training services would not have lasted for 74 years if it weren’t for the generosity of our giving community. Community service is a huge part of that giving – an important activity for children to be part of and to learn from.
“We are fortunate to have the most generous supporters, and without them, much of our work would be difficult to accomplish,” said Elizabeth Bhimjee, Duvall Home’s Chief Marketing & Development Officer. “Volunteers are part of our long history, and we rely heavily on their kindness and compassion.”
We are fortunate to have a community of ambassadors of all ages who continue to donate their time assisting Duvall’s staff and residents. These caring groups are dedicated to service all year round and are essential to our daily operations.
Duvall’s story on Developing Community Ambassadors, appears inside the May issue of Volusia Parent Magazine, as well as Flagler and St. Johns Parent Magazines. Read the full story here on pages 8 and 9.
March 21, 2019 – Direct Support Professional, Jessica, personalized a blanket for a long-time resident of Duvall, Snookie.
“It is so beautiful and kind of Jessica to do this for my Snookie,” said Tess, who visits her daughter every week during Adult Day Training on our beautiful Glenwood campus.
Tess champions all Duvall staff, praising their efforts and dedication to caring for those we serve.
November 20, 2018 – Thank you to the youth ministry of Pass A Grille Beach Community Church PagChurch.org for reaching out to Duvall Homes. They chose us as their selected nonprofit to volunteer their outreach services.
Earlier this month, on Saturday, November 10, more than 30 students and leaders travelled from St. Pete’s Beach, Florida, to DeLand as part of their Mystery Service weekend. They did not know where they were traveling or for who they were volunteering – a rather fun way to engage youth in leadership service rolls.
After arriving and learning a brief history of the Duvall mission, the students went to work painting fences and parking poles, collecting landscape debris and organizing McGaffin Hall at our Glenwood Campus.
These inspiring youth are committed to improving the lives of others. They use their hands and hearts to help nonprofit organizations not just in Florida, but across the US and world! We wish them great blessings as they head to Puerto Rico this coming spring!
Thank you to Jeanne Haemmelmann, Associate Minister for Youth & Young Adults of Pass-A-Grille Church for organizing their morning of service. ImInspired.org. View additional images of the students at Duvall on Facebook here.
July 2, 2018 – Duvall Homes has provided residential supportive care and day training services that empowers people who live with a developmental disability since 1945.
Today, and every day, we celebrate our families and guardians, direct support professionals and trained specialists, and our community of volunteers and sponsors, who together make up a team that defines The Duvall Difference. Because of you, we’re able to empower others to learn new skills and to earn a paycheck. Because of you, we can make a difference and an impact on the lives of others in our care.
In the coming weeks and months, please join us in sharing inspiring expressions of The Duvall Difference. Your stories help families to plan ahead and others to get involved.
Visit ImInspired.org and leave us a friendly note, or share a comment or review on our Facebook page. Here’s another photo that will surely make you smile: When you smile, we all smile.
Learn about the programs, life-skills development and vocational training services available for adults with developmental disabilities like Down syndrome, Autism, Cerebral Palsey and other disabilities at DuvallHomes.org/Programs-Services.
May 11, 2018 – Happy Mother’s Day from the staff and residents of Duvall Homes! Adult Day Training Support Specialist, LaToya (right), tests out the new white board with Jon and Priscilla in Duvall’s newly renovated Vocational Training Center.
April 13, 2018 – Happy Spring Fling Friday! Participants in Duvall Homes’ Opportunities Enrichment (ADT) Center have fun in the beautiful spring weather flying kites, blowing bubbles, playing frisbee and more. View more photos. #TheDuvallDifference #ImInspired
Created by Tim Tebow and the Tim Tebow Foundation and hosted by Stetson Baptist Church in DeLand, residents of Duvall Homes participated in this incredible international event that took place February 9 in DeLand, Florida, in 16 countries at 537 host churches, where 90,000 VIPs with developmental disabilities were crowned Kings and Queens by 175,000 volunteers! Staff from Duvall Homes participated as well.
View additional images on Instagram at #ImInspiredDeLand #NightToShine and #NTSDeLand. This special night was a memorable global event recommended for anyone who wishes to get involved and be inspired. Be sure to put February 8, 2019, on your calendar.
February 8, 2018 – Participants in Duvall’s Day Training Program assisted in putting together 200 special greeting cards for each VIP attending the Night To Shine (NTS) Prom at Stetson Baptist Church in DeLand tomorrow night.
Each unique recycled card reads the message, “You Are Shining Bright Tonight And Every Day!” The cards were decorated with a single sparkling star on the front symbolic of the Faith, Hope & Love this special night represents for each VIP with special needs in our community, and the care put into sealing each envelope by those in our care. The cards were stuffed into the black NTS gift bags for each VIP and will be given out Friday night.
The Director of NightToShineDeLand.org, Pastor Dan Glenn of Stetson Baptist Church (top photo, center), and his hardworking staff, extends his gratitude to Duvall Homes and to the 400 volunteers who continue to work to create an experience like no other. Thanks to the Tim Tebow Foundation, we are now part of a special annual event that will occur in 16 countries, at 540 host churches by 175,000 volunteers for 90,000 kings and queens!
January 11, 2017 – New art panels debuted at Duvall Homes’ 2017 Inspiration Gala, which displayed artworks influenced by STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) subjects. The Opportunities Enrichment Center (Adult Day Training – ADT) at Duvall Homes incorporates, among other things, the cultural arts and influences of STEM subjects into their regular curriculum.
Created individually and collaboratively, the works displayed on the art panels were inspired through the observation of other art done by professional painters and photographers, by learning about and viewing images associated with current events in the news, and by exploring the natural environment surrounding Duvall’s abundant Glenwood campus.
The Support Specialists at Duvall’s ADT center create original programming. They use various educational resources, including digital guides and personal iPads to instruct science-based events like the epic solar eclipse that passed over the U.S. this past August, or eagle nesting that occurs at Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge just minutes from Duvall’s campus.
Given only modified assistance when required, Duvall artists incorporated designs, figures and shapes on canvases of all types and measurements, and created an impressive collection that inspired every individual privileged to view them. Mediums of all types were used from pastels, acrylics, charcoal, chalk and ink, to rocks, twigs and recycled wood, cardboard and aluminum. We’re excited with the specialized programming that takes place at Duvall Homes and proud of the empowerment instilled on all of our ADT participants.
Should your business be interested in exhibiting works of art created by individuals with developmental disabilities from our community in our care, please view our growing virtual DeLand Art Gallery and contact Elizabeth Bhimjee, CMDO, at ebhimjee@duvallhomes.org or 386.734.2874 ext. 102.
Read full Stem-Inspired story on pages 6 and 7 of Duvall’s 2017 Fall Newsletter.
August 22, 2017 – This past month, participants at Duvall Homes’ Adult Day Training (ADT) Center began reviewing and preparing for the “arrival” of the spectacular solar eclipse that would pass the U.S. August 21, 2017. While the skies over DeLand, Florida, were not sunny and clear that afternoon, it didn’t seem to have any impact on the cosmic excitement of the rare occurrence.
Kristin in science class at ADT.
ADT supervisors and support specialists used Nasa’s Eclipse Activity Guide to form appropriate-level curriculum to both educate and inspire all individuals on the developmental disability spectrum. Adults with special needs, who are fortunate to take part in programming at Duvall’s Opportunities Enrichment Center, learned a great deal in varying STEM subjects including science and technology. They reviewed current events, geography and astronomy, and received instruction and hands-on guidance to build and create several science and art-based masterpieces.
Adult Day Training participants look at the sun indirectly through box projectors made in house.
Participants learned Eclipse Basics, viewing and hearing the differences between solar and lunar eclipses, the difference between ultraviolet and infrared lights, and learning the sun’s essential role in our world. After several “Q and A” sessions with the participants, they built box projectors to view the eclipse indirectly and safely, and solar ovens to measure light and temperatures and bake s’mores! They also used paint and chalk to create works of planet art – each activity building to a culmination in the viewing of the actual solar eclipse. Precautions were made for many individuals to view the solar eclipse outdoors through the purchase of Nasa-approved eclipse glasses; however, due to inclement weather, the eclipse was thoroughly enjoyed on television, with and without the glasses.
Taking part in the same activities and experiences that millions of people across the nation are taking part in is not new to us at Duvall. “We take pride in the fact that we stay current, keep involved with the community and create opportunities of personal growth, pride and independence on a daily basis,” said Marsha Shankleton, Chief Operating Officer of Duvall Homes.
The solar eclipse is the first of its kind, where the path of darkness crossed both East and West coasts exclusively in the U.S., since 1918 – Duvall Homes has been empowering people with developmental disabilities since 1945!
July 31, 2017 – When Ruby Helton learned that the image of her developmentally disabled son, Jason, would appear this August in one of 16 banners that would adorn Woodland Boulevard (US Hwy 17-92) north and south of New York Avenue downtown DeLand, she was ecstatic. “Oh my, I will be driving down Woodland Blvd. every single day,” said Ruby in her sweet Georgia-native accent. Ruby and her husband moved to DeLand from Georgia seven years ago specifically for Jason. “Duvall Homes was the best place we could find for our son that makes him feel like a real person.”
Jason H.
Jason wears a helmet, because like so many individuals with a developmental disability, he also suffers from a seizure disorder. This however, does not curtail the goal setting and -achieving set by Jason and his personal Direct Support Professionals in his supportive housing nor reduce the educational, cultural and social opportunities organized by his team at Duvall’s Adult Day Training (ADT).
“We aim to provide daily experiences that produce opportunities of learning at various levels on the cognitive spectrum,” said Shirley Zonnevylle, Duvall’s ADT Director. Many experiences have a lasting positive impact on the participants’ lives and their families, while other experiences offer valued moments of curiosity and joy, which the images on the boulevard banners so clearly depict.
Banner images also include one resident, Meg, smiling after endorsing her check following fulfilled obligations for MBI. Other banners show residents holding art they have personally created (or discovered through #DeLandRocks) and young music students from Stetson University with residents who they performed for, or worked with, through their Instruments of Healing group.
Shirley T.
“That’s me! I did that painting!” announced Shirley T., an ADT community participant, as she pointed at an image of herself holding a painted vase of colorful flowers. When asked what she thought about being on a very large 7′ banner that will hang downtown DeLand, she smiled and said, “I’m happy… my painting is in that room over there.”
Duvall Homes will celebrate its third annual Inspiration Gala fundraiser, presented by Reames Employee Benefits Solutions, September 29, 2017, at the Sanborn Center, with the focus of honoring those inspirational experiences. The evening will also pay special tribute to businesses and individuals who support and sponsor the empowerment of those in Duvall’s care, including this year’s special honoree, John Olivari of Olivari & Associates, CPA.
Maureen Kemp, Kemp Realty Group Broker, and her husband Chris are the 2017 Gala entertainment sponsors, which will be Johnny Wild & the Delights. “I was first introduced to Duvall through the Keyettes Club at DeLand High School more than 30 years ago and am proud to support them today.” said Kemp
People are always amazed when they discover what the developmentally disabled are capable of doing, including community service and earning a paycheck, and these banners shine light on just a fraction of the inspiring stories of those who quietly live, and struggle, in the background, unknowing to the average person.
Randy E.
While the government does provide funding toward housing and training for developmentally disabled, not surprisingly, there remains a persistent gap between actual costs and what Medicaid Waiver covers. “Coupled with federal mandates tied to licensing and certifications, there remains additional costs for insurance, group home operations and special need vehicles. So we are dependent on the generosity of the members of our community to help us minimize this gap,” said Elizabeth Bhimjee, Chief Marketing & Development Officer. “Our Inspiration Gala has become an essential event to help us with those financial challenges.”
The installation of these symbolic banners is yet another milestone in Duvall Homes’ enduring 72-year history that began in the single-family home of Thelma and Alanson Duvall and their Down syndrome son, which has now grown to 16 group homes. Learn more about Duvall Homes and its 2017 Inspiration Gala, an RSVP ticketed event, at ImInspired.org. Members of the public are encouraged to comment what inspires them about the banners and Duvall Homes.
Tell us what you think about these banners and DeLand’s Boulevard of Inspiration by visiting ImInspired.org and filling out the fields, or by email Marketing@DuvallHomes.org.
July 7, 2017 – A symbol of independence and empowerment: ADT Support Coordinator Beth Conrad, a Duvall Homes’ employee of more than 20 years, recently completed an inspiring quilt that began as a labor of love in 2015, on her own time. The quilt depicts various hand patterns of approximately 90 residents and participants of Duvall’s Opportunities Enrichment Center. The sentimental work of art currently hangs in the Adult Day Training facility in Glenwood, Florida.
May 30, 2017 – Stetson University School of Music students brought their “Instruments of Healing” to Duvall Homes and entertained residents on three different occasions in the Duvall chapel. View a short video here.
Should your business be interested in exhibiting works of art created by individuals with developmental disabilities from our community in our care, please view our growing virtual 
