

DSP Month
What is a DSP? The letters stand for direct support professional, but it means so much more. DSPs are caregivers, teachers, mentors, confidants, and much more to the people that they support. They enable independence, teach new skills, and encourage and support full community participation. They are the heroes our clients need.
Our DSP’s come in before the clients and prepare the day’s activities. They ensure that the room is ready for each person coming on that day. When the buses arrive, they are waiting outside with smiles of welcome to greet each person as they get off the bus. There is an abundance of laughter and encouragement as the clients gather for another day of doing daytime life together.
RTC is blessed with DSP’s that see the individual. They know the people they serve so well, and they are constantly looking for ways to meet those individual needs. It might look like taking time out of the day to play a video game with a client who needs attention and that’s their way to interact. It could be figuring out how to adapt a recipe so that every person in their program gets to participate in making it. Other times it’s understanding the unique communication method of individuals and responding to them. Some days there are amazing art projects created, and others are all about singing and dancing or having a “proper” tea party.
Each day the DSP’s bring new ideas to share but the common element in each of those days is love, compassion, joy and laughter. Even on those hard days when everything feels off, clients can count on the love and the laughter from their DSP’s.

RTC Champion, Pam James
Pam has been spreading her special kind of joy and creativity with RTC clients for 8 years. Pam has the unique ability to look at almost anything and see it as beautiful art, and we are blessed to see the fruit of that gift in the Studio every day.
Pam enjoys working with the individuals she serves. She builds positive relationships with them as she helps them find their own talents. She also enjoys the relationships she has built with her co-workers.
When Pam isn’t working it is no surprise that one of her favorite things to do is crafting. She also enjoys shopping. Her goal each day is to find the joy in everything she does.
RTC is blessed to have Pam on our team!

Renovations Complete
The RTC expansion project is complete. Transportation has made the move over to the “new” part of the building and have plenty of space to do their jobs in one space.
The Buckeye Room and Grace’s Space also made the move recently from the Industries building, and the clients are thriving in their new space.

Haunted Halls are Back!
RTC is bringing back a tradition that has been gone since Covid in 2020. That’s right, the Haunted Halls are returning, and they will be better than ever! Drop in before you Trick-or-Treat on October 31. We will be serving hot dogs, popcorn and drinks after you walk through our haunted halls. After you enter, you will need to decide whether to go through the scary haunted maize or the tamer one. We will be open from 4:30 to 6:00 that day.


The Bellefontaine Fire Department visited our day programs on Columbus Ave. They brought a fire truck and an ambulance. Our clients were able to touch the equipment and even try on some of the gear. One of the highlights was getting to unroll the firehose! One of our clients said that it was the best day of his life! The firefighters spent time answering all of our clients’ questions. Then, they were able to take a tour of building and see the new program rooms. Events like these are important to assist our clients in understanding the services provided by emergency personnel.

Richwood Bank Awards
Every month we tell a story of how Richwood Bank enhances the lives of the people we serve. Since Richwood chose RTC as a beneficiary in March of 2023, RTC clients have had more than 20 adventures and field trips.
The Coffee in a Bank model came after a lot of brainstorming and discussions with attorneys and their finance team about the best ways to give back to the communities they serve. When a team member brought up people’s love for coffee as a way to make money to give back to the community, a new star was born.
Richwood Coffee held their first Beneficiary Awards this month and RTC received two!
Jack Costin and Mike Predmore were in the top three guest baristas category. The $579 they raised was the second highest earned by all guest baristas from June 2023 until June 2024.
RTC also received the best supporting role. Krista Salyer sited our social media collaboration, a podcast guest opportunity and the presence of RTC clients nearly every day as the reasons they chose RTC.
RTC also nominated Richwood Bank as Best Community Partner at the Ohio Providers Resource Association (OPRA). Richwood won that award and will be receiving it on October 25 at their fall conference.
When you want a coffee, think of Richwood Coffee. Your donation for coffee makes a big difference to RTC clients.
The programs at RTC continue to thrive. They spent September learning all things apples, talking football, making apple volcanoes, creating artwork, visiting the zoo, as well as cooking Zucchini boats, zucchini patties, fruit smoothies, lasagna, and so much more!
