Recovery Day 2017

Year after year, we continue to improve Recovery Day. The sixth annual event brought a wide range of new activities for attendees to enjoy. For adults, there were many new sports and games to play from volleyball to basketball to a water balloon toss. Carnival games like Plinko, a penny toss, and others were played by kids.

Unity House residents and staff

400 people were in attendance for this year’s celebration. Recovery Day also moved to a new location for 2017: Fontana’s Grove in West Seneca. The venue’s staff were very supportive and accommodating throughout the day, and the cookout food they provided was delicious.

Recovery Day 2017 served as an early kickoff of National Recovery Month, which takes place in September. The nationwide observance focuses on prevention efforts, positive treatment, and behavioral health services for individuals in recovery. Recovery Day provides a celebration for the accomplishments of Western New York residents in recovery.

Sue Bissonette, Cazenovia Recovery’s executive director, recognized the importance of the event in her welcoming remarks. “I commend each of you for all of your hard work to get this far,” said Sue.

Venus Wiggins, counselor at Cazenovia Manor and emcee of the event, kept the celebration moving throughout the day. “Recovery is what it’s all about,” she said.

Programs throughout the agency designed their own t-shirts to help celebrate. Shirts were entered into a contest for best design. Unity House tie-dyed shirts with the theme “rising from the ashes,” while Liberty Hall used stencils to create a silhouette of the Statue of Liberty. Madonna House, the contest winners, decorated their shirts with butterflies that symbolized their transformations in recovery.

Madonna House residents

Over a dozen information tables were featured that showcased the wide range of services available throughout Western New York for people in recovery.

Lisa Johnston, program manager of Casa Di Vita and event coordinator for Recovery Day 2017, said that this Recovery Day was our best yet. “So much work and planning went into the event this year,” she noted. “We’re happy everyone had such a good time.”